Mental health disorders have been around forever, but in the past nobody really knew what they were, how to treat or manage then and most often, the persons suffering from a mental health disorder was ostracized and pretty much doomed for life. These days, we seem to know more about them, but we’re still at a loss when it comes to curing the vast majority of mental health disorders. Celebrities help raise awareness about a plethora of disorders and illnesses, but when a media personality who is actually sick talks about a disease, they help the world to better understand the disease they’re suffering from. Today, we’re going to take a quick look at a list of 6 celebrities who are suffering from mental health disorders.
1. Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta Jones has admitted that she is suffering from bipolar II disorder. She has been very open about her struggles with this disease, but this only happened after she was outed by people in her treatment facility. Her husband, Michael Douglas, told Oprah that someone in there might have told the press about her. It’s good that Catherine didn’t deny anything as she’s managed to give a lot of people hope and now she has pretty much become the poster person for bipolar disease, whether she wanted or not.
2. Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson has always seemed a very balanced individual and that is why her depression came as a shock to the world. She claimed that she’s been battling clinical depression for years and that one of the few things that kept her from going under was her career. Emma went on to describe her feelings during a depression episode: she said she felt very sad and hopeless and that at times, she was unable to get out of bed. This is very common among people who are battling this horrible condition.
3. Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields has been very open about her battles with postpartum depression. After the birth of her daughter in 2003, Brooke said she was feeling anxiety, restlessness and worthlessness. She said that at one point she didn’t want to live anymore because of the intense negative feelings she was experiencing. She sought treatment for her condition and you should do the same if you’re suspecting that your baby blues are lasting more than they should.
4. Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD when he was just 9 years old. His mother shared with the media that he had trouble concentrating in school and said that swimming helped the athlete manage the disorder.
5. Herschel Walker
Former NFL player, Herschel Walker, is one of the few celebrities who has admitted to be suffering from dissociative identity disorder. This disorder used to be called in the past multiple personality disorder. This means that people who are suffering from it has two or more distinct personalities, which interfere with their real identity. Walker has even written a book about his experiences with DID and said that I feel the greatest achievement of my life will be to tell the world my truth.
Mental health disorders generally start showing symptoms early during childhood or in teenagers. Some, however, can manifest themselves in late adulthood. If you’re not feeling well, mentally and you might suspect there is something wrong with you, seek help and treatment. These days there are plenty of treatments that can help you manage the symptoms and treat the disease. Take the example of these famous people and don’t let the disease define you.
If you would like more information about various mental health diseases and disorders, we recommend you read up about it online; the National Institute of Mental Health has some great and comprehensive articles on different areas. What are your thoughts on the subject of mental health disorders?