12/17/2022 0 Comments Robin williams good will huntingYet, sadly, he couldn’t look for or find the same therapy for himself. That’s a skill Robin Williams conveyed with great poignancy in Good Will Hunting. Bringing deep knowledge of personal experiences to empathetically understand and reach you or anyone who comes into my office, helps to go beyond your own familiar self-protections (defenses). Because he had similar struggles, perhaps it’s no wonder Williams brought so much to the role of Sean Maguire.Īs therapists, we all need to do our own personal work. Many a scene in Good Will Hunting shows us what underlies this kind of self-hate, vicious self-blame, and terrible fear of not being loved. In my work with depressed patients, I’ve witnessed this kind of self-hating voice lodged in their minds-a voice that won’t let go for complicated reasons. “People see your insecurity,” Williams replied. That fear makes opening up to help most difficult. It’s like lifting a siege.” And, yes, depression is a siege. Especially when depression brings torrents of self-hate: “What are you afraid of?” Moran asked him. ’”Ĭomedy, Williams said, was the only “sanity clause.” “The idea of going on the stage is one salvation. In a particularly candid 2010 interview on comedian Marc Moran’s WTF podcast, he described his major relapse while shooting The Big White in Alaska: “I was feeling kind of isolated…and I was thinking, there’s one cure…I think it’s trying to fill the hole and it’s fear…Rather than going, ‘this will pass….’ you go, ‘this will pass quicker. ![]() ![]() He used alcohol to “defeat”it and the lonely emptiness it inflicted. In addition, to help mask this demeaning voice, Robin Williams also struggled with sobriety. In a 1986 60 Minutes interview, Williams openly acknowledged a self-deprecating voice in his head: “Sometimes I get afraid. Like Will, Williams admitted he was a very lonely boy and he developed his now-famous comedic personality to hide his sadness. Robin Williams’ Suicide & Good Will Hunting He knew quite well, I might conjecture, struggles and fears very similar to those of Will Hunting. Himself a once-chubby, bullied only child who spent much of his time playing alone in his family’s mansion in Bloomfield Hills, MI, Williams knew about scary fathers, shaky trust, and the terror of abandonment. As Sean delves into Will’s personal history, he slowly wins the frightened orphan’s trust. Williams played the role of therapist brilliantly and sensitively. Sean’s treatment of Will Hunting ( Matt Damon) confirms my years of psychoanalytic work and sheds light on the considerable influence of self-hate and never feeling good enough that underlies depression. Why was he unable to get the kind of help he “gave” Will Hunting, to go on. In real life, Williams’s decision to end his life leaves many unanswered questions. But Williams never felt good enough himself. Remember the iconic scene? “It’s not your fault!” That’s why the film was called Good Will Hunting. ![]() ![]() Maguire, a gifted, underachieving therapist saved Will Hunting from self-hate. Why did he do it? Ironically, Williams won his only Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for his emotional performance as Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. The heartbreak of Robin Williams’ suicide brings depression and suicide to the forefront of everyone’s mind, along with remembrances of his many film roles.
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