SUNDAY STAR-TIMES Watch out for those overwhelmed by worry

REVELATIONS ACTOR Robin Williams was suffering the early stages of Parkinson’s disease adds a new dimension to his decision last week to end his life.

Williams’ wife Susan Schneider said the comedian, film and television star was battling depression and anxiety but was ‘‘not yet ready to share publicly’’ his battle with Parkinson’s, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.

While he had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, Williams was sober at the time of his death, though his ‘‘demons’’ were never far away and it’s easy to imagine the prospect of facing down a debilitating disease like Parkinson’s would have compounded his very real fears.

Williams, once asked why he’d turned to alcohol, said: ‘‘It’s just literally being afraid. And you think, oh, this will ease the fear. And it doesn’t.’’ Asked to name his fear he said: ‘‘Everything. It’s just a general allround arggghhh. It’s fearfulness and anxiety.’’

Perhaps Williams, with his multi-voiced articulateness, was simply stating a bald fact about life in general – that we all suffer in some fashion from something we cannot give a name to; it’s just that some of us are better than others at shrugging off fears and doubts and moving on.

And for others of us, no amount of success, fame, wealth, family, food or drink can completely shut out the fear that the rest of the world will one day see through us.

Here in New Zealand, there is no greater example of this than Sir John Kirwan, the man who appeared to have everything – sporting greatness, adulation, family, security – and yet he faced days where there appeared to be no hope.

There is no reason why depression affects some people and not others – it can be inherited or come from nowhere.

But there is strong evidence that major life trauma such as break-ups, job losses, bullying, financial pressure, the death of a loved one, or natural events such as drought or earthquakes contribute. Alcohol, drug use, social isolation, lack of sleep and poor diet can also contribute.

When you think about New Zealand in recent years – so many of those factors come in to play. Earthquakes, drought, job losses, bullying, high alcohol consumption, poor diet . . . these are very much part of everyday life in this country.

It’s no wonder then so many New Zealanders suffer depression and anxiety.

And the statistics are raw: in 2011 almost 500 Kiwis took their own life – and the figures have been relatively steady over 30 years – while 2500 self-harmed.

This week, the chief coroner is due to release the latest figures from 2012 and it would be no surprise if suicide rates have increased in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes, extreme weather, which makes it so difficult for farmers, and the tail-end of the global financial crisis.

The challenge for all of us is to recognise when friends or family members might be suffering – though as Kirwan has pointed out, and as Williams has demonstrated – it is often incredibly difficult to see past the masks people put up to protect themselves.

It seems, according to anecdotal evidence from the Mental Health Foundation, that Williams’ suicide has prompted a large number of people to seek help and support.

And hopefully, the extraordinary emotional reaction around the world to Williams’ death will help the rest of us start a much-needed conversation about depression and anxiety and we can start looking out for those close to us and make them less afraid.