E-mail livinginstigma@gmail.com
Robin Williams, a comedian, born on July 21st, 1951 in Chicago, Illinois. He rose to fame with his role as an alien on “Mork and Mindy” TV series. Winning many Academy Awards for his role in movies, he also won Grammy and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as, Golden Globes. A comment made by Williams' at the 1986 Academy Awards never saw him hosting the event again. Although there is not enough evidence to support that he suffered from bipolar disorder, they argued that manic depression was behind the performances in many of his movies. Almost always the comedian in movies, he has played serious parts also. At his death on August 11, 2014, he was struggling with major depression, causing suicide and later noted that he also was in the first stages of Parkinson's. He wore a mask with a smile, yet so sad inside.
Born July 13, 1942, Chicago, Illinois… What many of his fans do not realize is that the future Indiana Jones was far from the tough guy as a child. He was shy and often beaten up by his peers. Taking a stance of non-violence he refused to fight back, instead keeping the anger inside himself for years. During college he did not fit in, finding the school too conservative for his tastes. He began exhibiting typical signs of depression, such sleeping long hours, missing classes and struggling to keep up with his studies. He later said of his time at college, "The kindest word to describe my performance was Sloth". Due to his failing a philosophy class during his senior year, he was expelled from school. Notoriously private about his life, Ford has not personally characterized this period of his life as one of depression, but has confessed to being painfully shy until his junior year of college, when he signed up for a drama class and overcame his fears.
William Martin Joel, better known as Billy Joel. May 9, 1949, Bronx, New York. In a book by Hank Bordowitz entitled "Billy Joel: The Life and Times of an Angry Young Man" it was revealed that Joel has battled for years with depression and alcoholism and tried to commit suicide by drinking furniture polish. He is quoted as saying, "I drank furniture polish. It looked tastier than bleach." Prior to the attempt, he left a suicide note, which later became the lyrics to "Tomorrow Is Today".
Drew Carey (born May 23, 1958) in Cleveland, Ohio, battled depression as a young adult. In the Marine Corps Reserves, he found structure as well as his signature style buzz-cut hair and heavy glasses. At Kent State University in the ‘70’s, he encountered difficulties while struggling with depression. A suicide attempt had him expelled, eventually dropping college longing to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. Travelling across the country trying his luck, his depression worsened, then in his early 20's, he attempted suicide once again. In 1986, he met up with a childhood friend, who was also a DJ, and began writing comedy bits. This led to making rounds on comedy circuits, TV appearances, and ultimately “The Tonight Show”. The "Drew Carey Show" debuted in 1995, a fan favorite, later hosting “Who’s Line is it Anyway?”, and also in his career replacing Bob Barker on “The Price is Right”. He’s also an active supporter of personal freedoms.
In 1982, after actress Patty Duke and John Astin had separated, she was finally diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. She said receiving the diagnosis was a huge relief - that she never heard two better words than "manic depressive." Lithium became her savior.
In 1985 she and Astin were divorced, and in 1986 she married Michael Pearce, a military man who had been hired to prepare her for a role. Her autobiography, Call Me Anna, was published in 1987, and a book on bipolar disorder written with medical reporter Gloria Hochman, A Brilliant Madness, in 1993. Patty Duke passed away at age 69 with sepsis from a ruptured intestine.
James Eugene Carrey…January 17, 1962, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada…Even though Carrey worked hard and achieved great success in his career, he still suffered from depression. In the 60 Minutes interview he explained, "There are peaks, there are valleys. But they're all kind of carved and smoothed out, and it feels like a low level of despair you live in. Where you're not getting any answers, but you're living OK. And you can smile at the office. You know? But it's a low level of despair." Carrey further revealed, "I was on Prozac for a long time. It may have helped me out of a jam for a little bit, but people stay on it forever. I had to get off at a certain point because I realized that, you know, everything's just OK."
He no longer takes Prozac or another drug, but instead copes through spirituality. "I rarely drink coffee. I'm very serious about no alcohol, no drugs. Life is too beautiful."
"Howard "Howie" Mandel was born on Nov 29, 1955 in Ontario, Canada. He is a stand-up comedian, actor, and famous for host of TV game show “Deal or No Deal”. In October 2008, on the show “Regis and Kelly” he revealed that he has (OCD) and (ADHD) and working to raise adult ADHD awareness. Mandel also has mysophobia (an irrational fear of germs) prompting him not to shake hands with anyone unless he wears latex gloves. He is a big advocate of mental illness awareness. “We take care of our dental health, but not our mental health. We go to the dentist for x-rays when there’s no issue — when we feel perfect. But we don’t get a mental health check-up, because there’s a stigma involved.”
Virginia was a brilliant author, penning some 10 novels, numerous short fiction and non-fiction, as well as, autobiographies. However she was the victim of depression and drastic mood swings, later diagnosed as Bipolar Disorder. Relapse after relapse eventually led to her death in 1941. Virginia drowned herself by weighing her pockets with stones and walking into a river. Her body was not discovered until one month later.
A great reminder, because something as seemingly simple as breathing and being proud of the achievement of surviving a day is something that’s often overlooked! x
LikeLike
Wise words. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
LikeLike