Robin Williams was my Princess Di

When will the stigma of being unwell end?

I was a 25-year-old know-nothing when Princess Di died.

I remember being so callous as to wonder why so many people were devastated when she passed. There was no two-way relationship between themselves and the Princess of Wales. They didn't even know her, how could they be so upset?

How could a person weep and be so devastated over the death of someone whom they never met?!

17 years later, I was given an insight into the answer to that question when Robin Williams took his own life, after suffering from depression and Lewy body dementia, a progressive form of dementia.

On that day, August 11th, 2014, I began to stop being funny.

Before that, I had built my entire identity around making people laugh - and although I was often unsuccessful, my brand of humor was the rusty vehicle I used to connect with the world. For those who have seen me do sketch comedy, they know that I would do ANYTHING to elicit a giggle from an audience.