Major television network newscasts, newspapers, and Internet media sources continue coverage of the suicide of comedian and actor Robin Williams, nearly all mentioning the fact that Williams suffered from severe depression. All three television networks led their nightly newscasts with the story. Some sources point out that older white men who are depressed are in a group at a higher risk for suicide, while others note that despite heightened awareness, stigma remains surrounding depression and its treatment, which may make some people reluctant to reach out for help.
In its lead story, ABC World News (8/12, lead story, 3:55, Muir) reported that Williams appeared to have committed suicide by hanging. Marin County, California Assistant Deputy Chief Coroner Keith Boyd Keith Boyd was shown saying that Williams “had been seeking treatment for depression,” while in its lead story, NBC Nightly News (8/12, lead story, 2:55, Williams) pointed out that toxicology testing is now underway to determine what, if any, “chemical substances were in Mr. Williams’ system at the time of his death.” The CBS Evening News (8/12, lead story, 2:35, Pelley) led its newscast with similar coverage.
In a different segment, NBC Nightly News (8/12, story 6, 2:45, Williams) quoted American Psychiatric Association president Paul Summergrad, MD, who addressed the stigma of mental illnesses, including depression, saying, “It’s very important that we stop seeing these illnesses as faults and blames, and see them as what they are, medical conditions, genetic conditions, brain disorders which require appropriate diagnosis, treatment, care and support.” Medical editor Nancy Snyderman, MD, reached out to people who need help, saying, “If you have concerns about suicide, call this national number, 1-800-273-TALK.”
In another segment, the CBS Evening News (8/12, story 2, 2:40, Pelley) reported that according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are “more than 39,000 suicides each year. That’s an average of 108 each day.” Correspondent Jim Axelrod mentioned that US suicide prevention hotlines experienced a big increase in the number of calls following the announcement of Williams’ suicide.
ABC World News (8/12, story 3, 0:50, Muir) also reported the spike in the number of calls made to suicide prevention hotlines across the US, and medical correspondent Jenn Ashton, MD, emphasized that “new and effective treatments” make both depression and addiction “treatable” diseases. In yet another segment, ABC World News (8/12, story 2, 1:30, Muir) pointed out that last month, Williams was in rehab to deal with “his struggles with addiction.”
USA Today (8/13, Szabo) reports that advocates for people with mental illness hope that Williams’ death “will also renew efforts to prevent suicide.” The US “suicide rate has been stubbornly high for decades, with more than 39,000 annual deaths – a number that has been growing even as deaths from other causes have fallen, says Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health. “ Dr. Insel pointed out that suicide “now kills twice as many people as homicides, yet receives only a fraction of the attention.”
Bloomberg News (8/13, French, Basak) reports that according to the National Institute of Mental Health, symptoms of depression “vary and can include feelings of hopelessness, extreme anxiety, appetite changes, insomnia or excessive sleeping, and suicide risk.” Sadly, “just half of Americans diagnosed with major depression are treated and only 20 percent are cared for according to practice guidelines, according to the National Institutes of Health.” Bloomberg News quotes American Psychiatric Association president Paul Summergrad, MD, who said, “Not everybody who has a depression disorder gets recognized.” In a telephone interview, Dr. Summergrad explained that depression “affects rich people, it affects poor people, it affects people across the spectrum.”
The Washington Post (8/13, Millman) “Wonkblog” reports the effect that stigma has on mental illness and depression, noting that a study published two years ago in the APA’s American Journal of Psychiatry “showed that Americans, between 1996 and 2006, developed a greater awareness of the neurobiological basis of mental illness and became more supportive of medical treatment.” Nevertheless, “the social stigma associated with mental illness” remains “significant – and in some instances, actually increased from 1996 to 2006,” the study found.
In wake of Williams’ death, Murphy calls for action on mental health reform. The Hill (8/13, Viebeck) reports that yesterday, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) “called for action on mental health reform in response to the death of actor Robin Williams.” Rep. Murphy, “a psychologist, said mental health problems have become a ‘national crisis that demands our response.’” Murphy is the author of a mental health reform measure which “has proven too controversial to move in one piece, though Murphy is keeping up the pressure.”
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