I recently watched a documentary on the last years of Robin Williams before he died. It’s hard to put into words the feeling I had while watching it. But I felt very sad, not just because of his death, but because of the sadness and confusion that he must have been feeling.
The documentary is called “Robins Wish” - Click here
It talked about how Robin lost some of his cognitive thinking and became somewhat confused and paranoid at times. They explained the reasoning was from a fast progressing brain disease called “Lewy Body Dementia”. This disease can be so aggressive, that neurologically there is no turning back.
Even though Robin had gone to doctors for various symptoms, and had tests done, it wasn’t found. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s though. The disease wasn’t discovered until after his death which is very sad. Lewy Body Dementia can have some symptoms similar to some mental illnesses, such as anxiety and paranoia. And it was said that he struggled with those for a couple of years, along with confusion.
I think about how I have struggled with my own confused thinking at times having a mental illness. It isn’t that much fun fighting with your own thoughts and trying to do what is considered right when it doesn’t feel right to you at the time. I can only imagine the fear and confusion that Robin Williams felt those last couple of years.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Pennie's Writing's to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.