When it comes to celebrities, we put them on a pedestal. We obsess over them, idolize them, many people practically worship their favorite movie stars, singers, and sports people! But when it comes down to it, celebrities are just people like you and me. They might live incredible, swoon-worthy lives and be far more pleasing to look at than us mere mortals but deep down, we’re all the same.
However it can still surprise us when celebs talk about their mental health issues, it’s easy to believe that just because you have riches, good looks, and adoring fans, nothing could possibly knock you. But it’s simply not true, mental health doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you’re male or female, rich or poor, what race or religion you are. Consider Robin Williams for example, more money than he could possibly spend, millions of devoted fans across the globe, the kind of lifestyle most of us could only dream of. But he was so ravaged by depression he felt the need to take his own life. Here are some other celebrities that have confessed their mental health issues.
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as ‘manic depression, causes severe fluctuations in mood. It’s characterized by periods of ‘mania’ which can be felt as extreme euphoria (or agitation/ irritability) and can cause sufferers to act in ways they wouldn’t usually. It could be gambling large amounts of money, going on huge shopping sprees and running up debt, engaging in risky unprotected sexual practices and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol amongst others. This is then followed by periods of severe depression, which most of us recognize the symptoms of. Being sad, teary and feelings of hopelessness.
Sleeping a lot or not getting out of bed, and a loss of interest in usual activities. According to http://www.everydayhealth.com/bipolar-disorder-pictures/famous-people-with-bipolar-disorder.aspx,Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jean- Claude Van Damme, Demi Lovato, Sinead O’ Connor and Amy Winehouse are just a few celebrities which have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Demi Lovato stated that living well with bipolar disorder is possible, but it takes patience and work, and that dealing with it is an ongoing process. She confessed ‘it isn’t always easy to take positive steps each day, but I know I have to in order to stay healthy.’
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia affects the brain and causes changes in behavior. It can present a range of psychological symptoms from hallucinations and delusions to confused thoughts and feelings of paranoia. It’s a serious mental health condition, although there are treatments out there to help sufferers deal with the symptoms and live a fulfilling life. Eduard Einstein (son of the great genius himself), mathematician and professor John Nash (the 2001 film ‘A Beautiful Mind’ was a depiction of his life) even Van Gough was said to have been suffering from the affliction. This site http://www.schizlife.com/famous-people-and-celebrities-with-schizophrenia/ has more surprising celebs with the disorder. While schizophrenia is relatively uncommon and only affects around one percent of the population, you can see that celebrities aren’t immune from the condition
Depression and Anxiety
Depression and anxiety is incredibly common in the general population- it’s thought up to twenty percent of adults are deal with the condition at any one time. So it’s not surprising that there are tons of celebs who have confessed to being diagnosed with the illness. Lady Gaga, The Rock, Cara Delavigne, JK Rowling, Oprah Winfrey and Emma Stone have all spoken about dealing with anxiety, depression or both.
Leave a Reply