With campaigns like Bell’s Let’s Talk and the recent suicide of Robin Williams, mental health awareness is getting more attention than ever.
And it’s about damn time.
Mental illness affects one in five Canadians at some point in their lives and suicide is the second leading cause of death among those 15-34 in Canada. For many, mental health issues go hand in hand with addiction.
Of course, issues of mental health and addiction don’t discriminate and some of the world’s most famous and successful faces have not always shone as brightly as they do on the red carpet.
With that in mind, hopefully revealing 12 Hollywood stars who have battled with their own mental health or addiction issues will help further the realization that these conditions are never ‘a choice’ for anyone.
They are real. They are devastating. And they deserved to be addressed.
Mel Gibson: bipolar I disorder
Bipolar I disorder, which used to be called manic-depressive disorder, is characterized by at least one manic or mixed episode, which can occur alongside major depression as well. In the case of Mel Gibson, the media has had a field day in documenting his manic episodes. Perhaps the most famous was his anti-sematic rant when he was arrested for a DUI in 2006.
Catherine Zeta Jones: bipolar II disorder
Zeta Jones has been vocal about her struggles with Bipolar II disorder (extreme highs and extreme lows, without the manic episodes), which intensified when husband Michael Douglas was diagnosed with cancer. She first sought treatment for in April 2011 and it’s been an on-going battle ever since.
Robert Downey Jr.: drug addiction
It’s no shock that drugs and over-indulgence are rampant in Hollywood. Robert Downey Jr. has revealed that he struggled with years of cocaine abuse, followed by issues with heroin and marijuana until the only solution was a state of intervention.
Drew Barrymore: drug abuse
Lifelong Hollywood staple and once notorious wild child, Drew Barrymore has admitted that she was only 10-years-old when she smoked a joint for the first time. It was that experience that would open the door for years of cocaine abuse (starting at age 12), in a gradual descent to the bottom. Today, she remains rehabilitated – though of her mood, she admits she still has her “dark days.”
Demi Lovato: bulimia, cutting, and bipolar disorder
Disney Star Demi Lovato has struggled with an eating disorder and depression (and subsequent cutting) before checking herself into a treatment facility in 2010. She has revealed that she had no idea that she was bipolar until then, just that she felt she was “conquering the world, but then I would come crashing down, and I would be more depressed than ever.”
Jim Carrey: chronic depression
As we’ve seen in the case of Robin Williams, sometimes the funniest people have the darkest moments. Canadian funny man Jim Carrey has battled chronic depression for years. Throughout a troubled childhood, (which saw him drop out of school to take care of his ill mother while his father was unemployed) and a series of failed adult relationships, Carry’s long-term battle with chronic depression has seen him on medication like Prozac.
Halle Berry: depression
The seemingly always-flawless and composed Halle Berry has experienced some dark moments herself. In 2007, she revealed that she tried to commit suicide after her split from baseball player David Justice. What saved the star from taking her life was the image of her mother finding her body.
Ben Affleck: alcoholism
Many people may be shocked to learn that Hollywood heavy-hitter and family man Ben Affleck has battled issues with alcohol. Back in 2001, the star checked himself into rehab for alcohol addiction before remaining sober for a decade. He was spotted with a drink at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, but seems to have the problem under control today (though sadly, you never know).
Brooke Shields: postpartum depression
Brooke Shields has been extremely vocal about her struggles with postpartum depression (a form of clinical depression that can affect women post childbirth) after the birth of her daughter in 2003. Shields openly admitted that, after struggling for so long to conceive, that she “just cried all day long and I thought I’d made the worst mistake of my life.”
Elton John: drug and alcohol abuse
In “Love Is the Cure: On Life, Loss and the End of AIDS,” Elton John reveals his struggle with substance reliance and abuse, saying, “I was consumed by cocaine, booze and who knows what else. I apparently never got the memo that the Me generation had ended.” Of his drug use, John admits that it’s a “miracle” that he’s still alive.
Pete Wentz: depression
In a 2008 Playboy interview, Fall Out Boy musician Pete Wentz revealed that his depression had been so severe at times that it almost took his life. He has been vocal about the “grocery list” of drugs he has been prescribed and about taking a handful once of anti-anxiety drug Ativan.
Fergie: drug abuse
The Black Eyed Peas singer indulged for years in a drug-filled past that included abuse of ecstasy and crystal meth and a resulting downward spiral that saw her weigh just 90 lbs.
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