Robin Williams’ Son Zachary Featured In ‘Faces Of Fortitude’ Suicide Awareness Campaign
By Corey Atad.
Robin Williams. Photo: Brian J Ritchie/Hot Sauce/REX/Shutterstock
It’s been almost five years since Robin Williams tragically took his own life, and now his oldest son Zachary is helping give a voice to those who’ve lost loved ones to suicide.
In the series of photos posted to Instagram, people with loved ones who have committed suicide open up about their struggles.
“There’s no education in place to tell you how to deal with this, to balance how to grieve privately with your family and then also to have to grieve publicly,” Zachary says. “While it was nice to be heard, I was spending time on the outer layer instead of on the inside. It wasn’t just the survivor network for me, it was grieving with the whole world.”
He continues, “The past three years have been healing for me. I started to feel bad for myself, I was seeking solace and healing through my grieving. Once I took out all the inputs and elements of self medications, it all became really raw. It was super painful. I had to stop thinking big and expansive to heal everyone and look inward. I found a lot in there. I realized I wasn’t broken. There was a lot of strength I didn’t know was in there.”
Zachary also gives advice to others working through the pain of losing a loved one to suicide.
“It’s so important to prioritize your grieving process,” he says. “You can’t be there for others until you first have done the work and processed for yourself. Be able to differentiate what public versus private processing looks like. It’s something I wish I had realized for myself.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.
The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Depression Hurts and Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 all offer ways of getting help if you, or someone you know, may be suffering from mental health issues.