Catherine Zeta-Jones recently made the public admission that she had sought treatment for bipolar 2 disorder . Now the truth comes out via her husband, Michael Douglas on the Oprah show that it was not her intention to become a spokesperson for mental illness but instead, she spoke out before she was outed.
It still was a brave move for a celebrity to make. Certainly celebrities who are "outed" about other personal subjects can refuse to comment. It is just sad that there is still such a stigma against those who admit to having a mental illness.
If you look at the statistics, nearly 5.7 million adult Americans suffer from a form of bipolar disorder. Many who do have a mental illness hide it like a shameful secret.
Mental illnesses are no different than diseases such as diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure. Is it because it involves behavior and mood swings and some mentally ill people are seen as "unstable"?
Although there are extremes in behaviors when someone is mentally ill, not every bipolar patient is without hope. Nor every schizophrenic, or anxiety sufferer or any other person who is afflicted with a mental illness.
Someday the stigma against those with a mental illness will have been replaced with compassion and understanding. I hope I see that day.
It still was a brave move for a celebrity to make. Certainly celebrities who are "outed" about other personal subjects can refuse to comment. It is just sad that there is still such a stigma against those who admit to having a mental illness.
If you look at the statistics, nearly 5.7 million adult Americans suffer from a form of bipolar disorder. Many who do have a mental illness hide it like a shameful secret.
Mental illnesses are no different than diseases such as diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure. Is it because it involves behavior and mood swings and some mentally ill people are seen as "unstable"?
Although there are extremes in behaviors when someone is mentally ill, not every bipolar patient is without hope. Nor every schizophrenic, or anxiety sufferer or any other person who is afflicted with a mental illness.
Someday the stigma against those with a mental illness will have been replaced with compassion and understanding. I hope I see that day.
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