Comedian Wayne Brady is opening up about how comedian Robin Williams helped him acknowledge his mental health.
In an interview with Verywell Mind, Brady revealed that he struggled with depression in his late 30’s and into his 40’s. Then in 2014, At the age of 42, he finally decided to do something about it.
“I think depression is an insidious beast. It’s an insidious disease that, in hindsight, I feel that I’ve always been depressed. I now know that for years I had an imbalance that I just didn’t deal with,” Brady told the outlet.
The 50-year-old also said that the suicide of Williams, whom he worked with before, was a wake-up call for him to receive treatment for his depression.
“Robin was someone that I respected greatly, [and I] was blessed to work with him,” he explained. I was touched by him my entire life. And when you see someone who had the mind of Robin Williams, and the kindness of Robin Williams, and the talent of Robin Williams say, ‘I cannot talk to anybody about what is going on with me because it’s too great,’ I knew that I didn’t want that for myself.”
Brady shared that he had to learn that he didn’t have to feel ashamed about getting the help he needed.
“[There] are people that look at this as not serious or as a moral failing. You cannot change someone else’s mind; you can only change how you react to it. That’s something that I had to learn—to not be ashamed. Shame will stop you from getting help and tending to your mental health,” he said.
Brady admitted that dealing with his depression “is a work in progress.”
“[This] isn’t the beautiful end of a story and then I’m fine…it is a work in progress. And there are some days when you feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve just been to the emotional gym and I feel great,’ and there are other days when you don’t want to get out of bed and you isolate, so if I can help inspire by sharing my journey, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.
