Robin Williams' Daughter Has a Message for Those Who've Experienced Depression

This weekend, Zelda Williams shared a beautiful moonrise photo with her Instagram followers, captioning the moment with a positive message for anyone who’s experienced depression. The message comes a little less than a month after the one year anniversary of the death of her father, Robin Williams.

“Avoiding fear, sadness or anger is not the same thing as being happy,” she wrote in the picture’s caption. “I live my sadness every day, but I don’t resent it anymore. Instead, I do it now so that the wonderful moments of joy I find are not in order to forget, but to inhabit and enjoy for their own sake. It’s not easy.”

Towards the end of his life, Williams’ father had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and dealing with depression. He died by suicide last August, and his now 26-year-old daughter has been speaking up about mental health issues since.

She encourages those who have experienced depression to hold onto hope, and concludes her message with a promise.

“And for those suffering from depression, I know how dark and endless that tunnel can feel, but if happiness seems impossible to find, please hold on to the possibility of hope, faint though it may be,” she wrote. “Because I promise you, there’re enough nights under the same yellow moon for all of us to share, no matter how or when you find your way there.”

Read the message in its entirety below:

Moonrise on the lake. I spent this night shivering and laughing under a clear, cold sky full of stars with people I love just to witness something beautiful. We mooned the moon and laughed ourselves hoarse, and I’m so incredibly grateful for every silly second. I came to a realization this year that I feel compelled to share here, for whomsoever may need it: Avoiding fear, sadness or anger is not the same thing as being happy. I live my sadness every day, but I don’t resent it anymore. Instead, I do it now so that the wonderful moments of joy I do find are not in order to forget, but to inhabit and enjoy for their own sake. It’s not easy. In fact, I’d say it takes much more effort to consciously do than it does to just stay sad, but with all my heart, I cannot tell you how worth it it is. And for those suffering from depression, I know how dark and endless that tunnel can feel, but if happiness seems impossible to find, please hold on to the possibility of hope, faint though it may be. Because I promise you, there’re enough nights under the same yellow moon for all of us to share, no matter how or when you find your way there.