Robin Williams' Widow, Susan, has revealed that she doesn't think depression was the only reason for her husband's suicide.
Speaking to Good Morning America, she said: “It was not depression that killed Robin Williams." She went on to add that there were maybe 50 symptoms leading to his suicide, of which depression was only one - and not a very important one.
Robin Williams faced dementia
It seems that Williams was not willing to face a life with a slow descent into dementia. Doctors have now determined that he was indeed suffering from dementia with Lewy Bodies, known as DLB.
Similar to Alzheimers, DLB brings on a range of symptoms. These include hallucinations, an altered mental state, and deteriorating motor functions, as well as issues with memory and communication.
“I’ve spent this last year trying to find out what killed Robin,” said Susan, speaking emotionally with the news programme.
She adds that one of his doctors had decided on what the problem was. That doctor told her that her husband had realised he was losing his mind, and wanted to do something about it.
Robin's last days
Susan admits that Robin's symptoms were clear in the time before his death. He would, she says, be speaking clearly one moment - then switch to a strange and different tack a moment later.
She described him as being like a "pinball machine", in that there was no way to gauge how he would act or react at any point.
His condition had escalated severely, and it seems that his final act was to try to take control of his body once again.
Susan isn't angry at her husband's decision to take his own life. In fact, she says she has made her peace with it.
“I think he was just saying, ‘No.’ And I don’t blame him one bit. I don’t blame him one bit," she says.
It's sad to learn that the death of this much-loved comic actor, who brought a smile to everyone's face, was something so tragic. But at least now we can always remember Robin Williams as he wanted us to - a funny man who was in full control of his life and mind.
