Poignant footage of Robin Williams addressing the act of suicide is circulating as the world tries to come to terms with his death.
The clip, from the 2009 film World’s Greatest Dad, sees Williams’s character Lance Clayton stating: “Remember, suicide is a permanent solution to temporary problems.”
As USA Today points out: “While… Clayton… may be disingenuous in his intentions, the eeriness is still here.”
The 63-year-old had been battling “severe depression” and is believed to have taken his own life.
Of Williams's words on suicide, Samaritans spokeswoman Sal Lalji told Huffington Post UK: "Suicide is a permanent solution to what can often be temporary problems.
"It is a very complex issue and we know that that often when a person is in crisis and struggling to cope, they feel trapped in their situation with no way out, and that the future holds nothing good for them. They may not be able to see beyond their situation and truly believe that suicide is the only option for them, this is where a service like Samaritans can help.”
In 2006 Williams discussed his depression on the Fresh Air NPR radio show.
While stating he had not been diagnosed with either clinical depression or bipolar disorder, he admitted at times he channelled his “mania” into his characters.
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He added: “I get bummed, like I think a lot of us do at certain times. You look at the world and go, ‘Whoa’. Other moments you look and go, ‘Oh, things are OK’.”
Williams had struggled with drugs and alcohol in the 1980s, but became sober after the overdose of his friend John Belushi in 1982.
The father-of-three was treated for alcoholism in 2006 and in July 2014 he checked himself back into the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Centre in Minnesota in an effort to maintain his sobriety.
Of his relapse in 2006, he told Diane Sawyer of ABC news: “It’s the same voice throughout that… you’re standing at a precipice and you look down, there’s a voice and it’s a little quiet voice that goes ‘Jump’.
“That same voice that goes ‘Just one’… And the idea of just one for someone who has no tolerance for it, that’s not the possibility.”
If you've been affected by the issues in this article, please call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90.
