The world lost its breath on the 29th of November. For what seemed like a personal loss to half of the population, we lost a really close 'friend' who was always there for us, making us laugh like no one ever did. Yeah, his name is Matthew Perry but we know him as Chandler Bing.
A man who rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s, his early fame stems from the widely popular American Sitcom, "Friends". The story revolves around the adulthood lives of six New Yorkers on the Manhattan city. It follows the romance, career, success and sex life of each individual with a chunk of humor cushioned between every conversation. Among the six, Matthew Perry plays the role of Chandler Bing and he's famously known for his witty replies and quick jokes.
But little did we knew that the man who made us laugh was constantly fighting his inner demons, masking his depression and loneliness of his personal life while smiling in front of the set. The irony remained hidden to most of the world until he died, when his life history surfaced on the net after his death due to apparent drowning.
Matthew met with a jet ski accident in 1997 during a shooting of a movie and started taking drugs for recovery. Since then, drugs had become his closest acquaintance in dealing with his depression. He had even confessed in an interview that he had had once taken more than 55 Vicodin’s in a day during his time of acting in the sitcom and his weight had dwindled to almost 58 kilograms. Avid series watchers must have noticed the drastic changes in Matthew's physical appearance at the premiere of Season 7 of the show, due to the pancreatic surgery that he had underwent at 2000.
While he had also stated that the cast members always had had his back, he still suffered from loneliness and the popularity he achieved made him even lonelier. He struggled to remain sober but was too addicted to alcohol. After the show ended with a massive success in 2005, his career sidelined. Though he still made other movies, he never reached the peak of his fame. In 2017, Matthew almost died when he suffered from gastrointestinal perforation where his colon burst due to overuse of anopioid drug. He stayed in a coma for two weeks, remained in a hospital for two months and had worn a colonoscopy bag for almost 9 months. The doctors had assured his family only 2 percent chances of surviving but he still fought strongly.
After almost dying, he strongly believed that he had a reason to live. While struggling to maintain his sobriety, he published a memoir called "Friends, Lovers and the big terrible thing" in 2022 to help people suffering from alcohol addiction. In the book, he has mentioned how alcohol and drugs had ruined his life and how much struggle he had faced in his lifetime.
Matthew is the perfect epitome of how a tortured soul is capable of lighting the world while burning inside. In today's generation, majority of the people, especially youngsters, suffer from depression and psychological disorders. As much as the world is getting modernised, the expression of mental health is still considered as a taboo, especially for men. It is no joke, depression is a disease and it requires sound treatment. To all the depressed people out there, stay strong for better times will soon come!
