Being famous doesn't mean you aren't allowed to have a mental illness, or that your bipolar disorder is less difficult to live with than it is for the rest of us. Actors Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jonathan Winters and Margot Kidder all had great difficulties, and their careers became derailed for a time by bipolar disorder. Brilliant authors and poets Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and John Berryman all took their own lives.
I myself "went public" with my bipolar disorder - on this website - on the day I was diagnosed, and I've never regretted my openness. Am I rich and famous? Hardly. Was I especially courageous to do so? I don't think I was. But I think it does take courage for someone in the public eye like Catherine Zeta-Jones to reveal her bipolar disorder. The media's focus on her, and public perception, is forever changed, and particularly now every moment of her life is being scrutinized.
These days, every time a celebrity is frank about having bipolar disorder it benefits us all. The public is taught that this illness doesn't mean we're all violent, out of control, dangerous. Some celebrities, like Maurice Benard, go a step farther and become spokespersons for bipolar awareness.
I applaud the courage of Catherine Zeta-Jones and of all the famous people who have told the world they have bipolar disorder.
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People are petty, rude and jealous, THAT is why you see comments against CZJ. She is amazing and awesome, she just stood strong next to her husband as he fought a terrible cancer, no amount of money can take that away. Yes he had good medical treatment and won the fight but that will take years off a person’s life no matter how many dollars they have in their bank account.
I applaud people like CZJ and Demi Lovato (not bipolar but struggles with cutting and other mental health issues along with eating disorder) for standing up and saying I needed help and I got it. Much better to see that than to see people like Charlie Sheen who have to publicly hit rock bottom before they get even minor treatment for their mental health issues.
Love this article Marcia. We were just talking about this yesterday. It’ interesting to see these actors/actresses coming out of our bipolar closet. I applaud them.
Sure, maybe they are rich and famous, but doesn’t that make complete sense? Most bipolarees are gifted in the arts … whether it be writing/acting/painting/singing/etc…
I have a huge amount of respect to those who are open and honest with their battle with mental illness no matter what their social economic status is. My husband was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder last year and we really had our eyes opened to how much of a stigma is given to mental illness, especially bipolar disorder.
What if she had been misdiagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, as so many of us are? Do you think she’d still gone public? If I try to get help I’ll get laughed out of the doctor’s surgery, my ears ringing with the snide “You are not Catherine Zeta Jones, you know!”
Thankfully my mother taught me how to manage this condition, most of the time. But I have great difficulties finding work.
It is NOT just about being a celeb but also about courage and awareness. These people are showing courage by admitting they are a sufferer whether or not they have the finances to pay for the medications. They are bringing it to the front of our thoughts as to how this condition affects so many in such a cruel way. Marcia claims NOT to be a celeb but she is in many sufferers eyes and in the eyes of the people that care about their loved ones that have been dealt such a hand in life. Some media look for many of the high profile conditions that would sensationalise the condition. That does not help the sufferer or families but is done to increase their sales figures.
Perhaps if the sufferer was able to atleast share with their families then THEY could help to spot when a problem is starting to surface. I can understand why so many keep their condition under wraps by only sharing the symptoms with just Doctors or a therapist. I will admit that a few families shy away from mental illnesses BUT not all. We as family members want to help but we are also not aware of the condition that they are suffering from.
Thanks CZJ but a big round of applause in my books go to people like Marcia that keep us so well informed. THANK YOU Marcia it is appreciated by alot of us out here.
I applaud you Carrie for being public with your condition. I too suffer from bipolar disorder. I think of it as a condition, like diabetes or high cholesterol. It is treatable and manageable. There should not be a stigma associated with this or any other condition – depression, Asperger’s etc. The difficulty is in trying to correctly diagnose as the treatments are very different but the symptoms can be very similar. I am looking for ways to become involved in the awareness of this condition, to help those who suffer, their families and spur research into better treatments and capabilities to diagnose. @BIPLRbiker
I know all too well about bipolar disorder. My daughter was 15 when diagnosed. We went through hell with her from 12 to 19. She is now stable and on meds, although from time to time she can start going into an episode and we go thru a couple of really bad days but with love and understanding we can get her back. She was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was 11 so it was like a double whammy. She is our only child and we love her so very very much. It has been so difficult! Kudos to Catherine Zeta-Jones. I applaud her.
Dear bipolar about.com,
There has been an increase in mental illness of all kinds, especially bipolar disorder. This maybe a little frightening, but the increase of mental disorder is caused by the weakening f the earth’s magnetic field. There has been recent studies in scientific literature, etc. This is also why transcranial therapy is being used on bipolar disorder. This recent breakthrough in technology uses magnetic fields to stabilize our brain’s wavelength.
I myself is bipolar.
One of my professors also says that gwen towers, cell phones, wifi is interfering with our brain waves negatively in an exponential fashion also. In New castle, DE, there are protests to prevent more GWEN towers to be installed.
If the earths magnetic field wasn’t depleting so fast, there wouldn’t be as much psychological issues according to my professor. Face it, when the magnetic field flips we are all in the same boat. Within the past five years the magnetic field has been weakening very fast. Many scientists say we are overdue.
Bipolar disorder dominates my family. I have it and my daughter has it also. I know other people in my family has it too. It’s a hard illness to live with and it’s even harder when your in the closet. I am not afraid to talk about my bipolar disorder to anyone. If it helps others than it’s worth it. I believe celebrities that come out are very helpful to those who are not known. The stigma gets less when people talk about it. Marybeth is right, most bipolars have have a gift such as music, acting, writing. The illness helps with those abilities.