It seems veteran American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler has joined the long list of celebrities who’ve struggled with mental health issues, and the slightly shorter list of celebrities who’ve actually spoken publicly about those struggles.

According to Yahoo! TV, Pickler discusses depression, antidepressants, emotional wreckage, and an overall “crumbling” of her personal life in an upcoming People interview.

Although Bucky Covington, Chris Daughtry, and Taylor Hicks were my season five faves, I always liked Kellie Pickler, and now I love the fact that she’s openly talking about her mental health. Like I said with Britney, it’s a great way to promote mental health awareness and bust stigma.

Image: PicApp.com

Post from: Blisstree

Kellie Pickler Discusses Depression With People

Celebrity Health Week is over, and boy, and I glad.

Actually, Celebrity Health Week was technically over on Saturday, but as last week was quite eventful for me away from the computer, my own Celebrity Health Week posts carried over to early this morning.

I also opted to cut some of the posts out of the original Celebrity Health Week schedule. Honestly, given the busy week I had and the fact that I was just getting tired of writing about celebrities and mental health, I decided to cut myself some slack. It’s as simple as that.

Sure, I have, from time to time, mentioned famous people and mental illness here at Mental Health Notes; however, I’m not entirely comfortable with it, which is why I normally choose to only write about well-publicized information that has come directly from the famous person’s mouth or a seriously reliable source.

In any event, I hope Celebrity Health Week at Mental Health Notes taught everyone a few things. It definitely reinforced a few truths for me.

• Having a mental illness doesn’t mean you can’t have relationships and children, work your ideal job, and live your dreams.
• While your own health – physical and mental – is your own business, publicly acknowledging your mental health issues can be empowering. Not only does it leave little room for people to criticize you (honestly, there’s not much else for someone to say when you look them in the eye and say, “Yeah, I have bipolar disorder. What about it?”), but it also helps others understand that they’re not alone and it helps bust stigma.

So, in closing to Celebrity Health Week:

• I want to thank all the celebrities who have come forward with their mental health problems, and especially those who have become mental health advocates.
• I want to apologize to anyone about whom I’ve passed along incorrect information.
• I want to thank all the readers who commented and shared their thoughts, or corrections, on the Celebrity Health Week posts.

Tomorrow, we’ll get back to plain ol’ mental health issues! In the meantime, what are your thoughts regarding Celebrity Health Week at Mental Health Notes?

Image: Newscom

If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over to This Is Why I ROCK! and enter!

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrity Health Week Comes To A Close

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some celebrities who have either reportedly attempted suicide, or who have completed suicide.

Please note that I am not an authority on celebrities and mental illness, nor am I an authority on celebrities who have committed suicide. For a celebrity to be on this list, he or she or a spouse or reliable family member must have publicly discussed – verbally or otherwise – his or her suicide attempt or completion, or, in the case of the deceased, professionals must have addressed it later on.

Read on.

Halle Berry, actress, discussed her attempt at suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning with Parade.

Drew Carey, comedian, actor, and game show host, discussed his depression and two suicide attempts – one at the age of 18 and another in his 20s – with Nancy O’Dell of Access Hollywood.

Robert Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice (Ice Ice Baby!), reportedly attempted suicide twice in 1994 after struggles with drug abuse, depression, and being dropped from his record label.

Drew Barrymore, former seriously troubled child star turned seriously successful actress and producer, attempted suicide during her early teenage years.

Gary Coleman, actor, disclosed two suicide attempts by sleeping pills in a 1993 Geraldo interview.

Brigitte Bardot, actress, reportedly attempted suicide twice.

Johnny Cash, country music singer, attempted suicide in 1967.

Walt Disney, Academy Award-winning film producer, screenwriter, director, animator, voice actor, and entrepreneur, reportedly attempted suicide in the early 1930s.

Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, rapper, reportedly attempted suicide in the mid 1990s.

Kim Mathers, Eminem’s two-time ex, reportedly attempted suicide in 2000.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, author, reportedly attempted suicide.

Judy Garland, actress, reportedly attempted suicide in the early 1950s. Some speculate her accidental death by overdose was actually suicide.

Billy Joel, musician, reportedly attempted suicide in the early 1970s.

John McCain, the potential next President of the United States, reportedly attempted suicide during Vietnam.

Mindy McCready, country music singer, reportedly attempted suicide twice.

Sinead O’Connor, musician, reportedly attempted suicide in the late 1990s.

Yoko Ono, artist, musician, and John Lennon’s widow, reportedly attempted suicide in the 1960s.

Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of F@&*#%g Darkness!, reportedly attempted suicide several times as a teenager.

Jack Osbourne, the Prince’s son, frankly discusses his depression, alcohol and substance abuse, and suicide attempt in his book 21 Years Gone: The Autobiography.

Lee Harvey Oswald, John F. Kennedy’s assassin, reportedly attempted suicide when he failed to gain Soviet citizenship.

Edgar Allan Poe, writer and poet, reportedly attempted suicide in the late 1840s.

Lou Reed, musician whose parents confined to a mental hospital to “ward off” homosexual behavior, reportedly attempted suicide.

Donna Summer, singer, reportedly attempted suicide.

Elizabeth Taylor, actress, reportedly attempted suicide.

Tina Turner, singer, reportedly attempted suicide in the late 1960s.

Sid Vicious, former Sex Pistols bassist, reportedly attempted suicide in 1978. Vicious died of a drug overdose in 1979.

Hank Williams, Jr., singer and son of Hank Williams, Sr., reportedly attempted suicide in the 1970s.

Owen Wilson, actor, reportedly attempted suicide in 2007.

Sadly, the following celebrities completed their suicides:

• Kurt Cobain, musician and lead singer of Nirvana.
• Ernest Hemingway, writer.
• Margaux Hemingway, actress and Ernest’s granddaughter.
• Terry L. Long, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman.
• Marilyn Monroe, actress. (Though this is speculated.)
• Sylvia Plath, poet.
• Freddie Prinze, actor and father of Freddie Prinze, Jr.
• Anne Sexton, poet.
• Hunter S. Thompson, journalist and author.
• Vincent van Gogh, artist.
• Virginia Woolf, writer.

For more detailed lists, check out the NNDB’s lists of suicide attempts and suicide as causes of deaths.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more information about suicide, as well as my letters to a few of the people discussed during Celebrity Health Week.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrities And Suicide

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some celebrities who have battled schizophrenia – or had, in the case of the deceased. We’ll look at actors and actresses, musicians, writers, and other well-known figures.

Please note that I am not an authority on celebrities and mental illness. For a celebrity to be on this list, he or she or a spouse or reliable family member must have publicly discussed – verbally or otherwise – his or her mental illness, or, in the case of the deceased, professionals must have addressed it later on.

Read on!

• Tom Harrell – Famous Jazz musician.
• Meera Popkin – Broadway star (think Cats and Miss Saigon).
• John Nash – Mathematician, Noble Prize winner, and subject of A Beautiful Mind.
• Eduard Einstein – Albert Einstein’s son.
• Lionel Aldridge – Former defensive end for the Green Bay Packers.
• Peter Green – Founder of Fleetwood Mac.
• Syd Barrett – Pink Floyd member until 1968.
• Alexander “Skip” Spence – Member of the 1960’s rock band Moby Grape as well as Jefferson Airplane.
• Bob Mosley – Another member of Moby Grape.
• James Beck Gordon (Jim Gordon) – Famous drummer who played with John Lennon, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, the Everly Brothers, the Beach Boys, Judy Collins, Joe Cocker, Frank Zappa, Duane Allman, Carly Simon, Jackson Browne, and Joan Baez until schizophrenia took hold.
• Jack Kerouac – Beat generation author.
• Rose Williams – Tennessee Williams’s sister.

Note that this is not a comprehensive list of celebrities who have battled schizophrenia; it’s merely a list of the celebrities for whom I’ve found information. If you know of any others – and can provide credible sources – feel free to leave them in the comments.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more information about schizophrenia as well as information about celebrities and suicide.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrities And Schizophrenia

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some political figures who have a mental illness – or had, in the case of the deceased – as well as public figures who have a mental illness.

Please note that I am not an authority on anyone who may have a mental illness. For an person to be on this list, he or she or a spouse or reliable family member must have publicly discussed – verbally or otherwise – his or her mental illness, or, in the case of the deceased, professionals must have addressed it later on.

According to an article published by the Duke University Medical Center in 2006, 49% of US presidents had mental health problems.

49%.

That’s damn near half.

This post won’t focus solely on presidents, but will provide a well-rounded group of political figures and even their spouses.

Read on!

Abraham Lincoln spoke of his depression and was thought to have bipolar disorder.

Theodore Roosevelt was also thought to have bipolar disorder.

John Quincy Adams was thought to have clinical depression.

Calvin Coolidge was thought to have clinical depression.

Winston Churchill, a former British prime minister, was thought to have bipolar disorder.

Thomas Eagleton, a very short term running mate for 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern, was removed from the ticket after the public discovered he’d undergone electroconvulsive therapy for what was called “nervous exhaustion.” (I’ve also read Eagleton actually had bipolar disorder.

Patrick Kennedy, Ted Kennedy’s son and House Rep. for Rhode Island, announced he’d been diagnosed with and treated for clinical depression and bipolar disorder. Along with Senator Pete Domenici, Kennedy helped introduce legislation to place mental illness under the umbrella of health insurance. Kennedy has also won a plethora of awards in honor of his work, including: The Public Service Award from the Society for Neuroscience; Eli Lilly & Co. 2003 Helping Move Lives Forward Reintegration Awards; American Psychoanalytic Association 2003 President’s Award; American Psychiatric Association Alliance award; and the Paul Wellstone Mental Health Award from the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

Alma Powell, wife of Colin Powell, has talked openly about her depression.

Tipper Gore, wife of Al Gore, has talked about her depression and treatment as well as organized the first-ever White House Conference on Mental Health.

Kitty Dukakis, wife of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, has battled depression and substance abuse issues and wrote about her success with electroconvulsive therapy in Shock: The Healing Power of Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Mary Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, experienced depression and a serious decline in her mental health after the deaths of Abraham and her son Tad. Her remaining son, Robert, placed her in Bellevue Nursing and Rest Home in Illinois after a juried trial declared her insane. Once she was released, another juried trial declared her sanity restored.

Note that this is not a comprehensive list of political and public figures who have or had mental illnesses; it’s merely a list of the ones for whom I’ve found information. If you know of any others – and can provide credible sources – feel free to leave them in the comments.

Until then, stay tuned for information about celebrities and schizophrenia, writers and artists and mental illnesses, and celebrities and suicide.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Political Figures And Mental Illness

This post is part of Celebrity Health Week at the b5media Health & Wellness Channel. For more information about Celebrity Health Week posts here at Mental Health Notes, visit Introducing Celebrity Health Week: Celebrities And Mental Illness.

In this Celebrity Health Week post, we’ll take a look at some celebrities who have obsessive-compulsive disorder – or had, in the case of the deceased. We’ll look at actors and actresses, musicians, writers, political figures, and other well-known figures.

Please note that I am not an authority on celebrities and mental illness. For a celebrity to be on this list, either he or or she or a spouse or reliable family member must have publicly discussed – verbally or otherwise – his or her mental illness, or, in the case of the deceased, professionals must have addressed it later on.

Read on!

Back in March, I wrote Celebrities With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Smile For The Camera! as part of the I Must Shave My Legs: The OCD Miniseries here at Mental Health Notes.

While it would be a bit redundant to re-list those famous people with OCD, I will point you in the direction of a few Web sites that go into detail about each celebrity’s obsessions and compulsions or offer a few more names to add to the list of celebrities with OCD:

• 12 Obsessive Celebs – A Life Less Disorder-nary
• Here to Help: Famous People with OCD
• OCD in the Media
• Celebrities with OCD
• Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation: In the Media

Stay tuned for information about obsessive-compulsive disorder, political figures and mental illness, and celebrities and suicide.

Image: Newscom

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrities And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

This week, which was also Children’s Mental Health Week, was fairly busy at Mental Health Notes. I talked about mental health situations in the news (some…bizarre, and some not so uncommon) as well as well as a few mental health studies such as increasing intelligence and how compliments affect the brain. I told you about NAMI and the DBSA participating in the online Women’s Health Expo, how my local NAMI’s cookout for Mental Health Month panned out, and even shared a few extreme ups and downs I experienced this week. Perhaps most noteworthy, however, is that Ken Jensen took over the This Is Why I ROCK! series slot for the next week!

My bookmarks are overflowing with mental health news-, research-, and government-related information. The Pentagon is working to reduce mental health counseling stigma (I wonder if this decision was made before or after VA mental health director Dr. Ira Katz sent around an internal email dealing with suicide data that had “Shh!” in the subject line?). Researchers in Canada believe celebrities are one reason the number of young people who visit mental health professionals has doubled in the last two years (well, that certainly adds to Tuesday’s conversation about celebrities and mental health), while researchers in Australia believe helping pregnant women cope with depression during pregnancy may lower the risk of being depressed after giving birth. And, sadly, another mental health care budget slash is in the works; this time, in California’s Santa Clara County.

And, as usual, the rest of the b5 Health & Wellness Channel has a slue of stuff going on. In addition to Mental Health Notes’s birthday giveaway, Grace at Kids Health Notes currently has five giveaways going on (some end tonight, so hurry on over!) while Gloria at Cancer Commentary is running an HPV Awareness contest. In addition to the upcoming Living with Pain blog carnival, Help My Hurt’s Marijke has interviewed the author of How-To Marijuana, A Step-by-Step Guide to Medical Marijuana and is hosting a contest to win a free copy of the book. And, for you poets out there, Angelique at Breaking the Mirror is hosting a contest for a free copy of For Keeps: Women Tell the Truth about Their Bodies, Growing Older, and Acceptance. Of course, just when you thought we b5 bloggers didn’t know how to do anything but give stuff away, Gabrielle at Fertility Notes gets serious with tips for coping with fertility problems while Elaine at Genetics & Health the connections between child abuse, genetic changes, and suicide.

That’s all the sanity I can stand this Saturday! Remember, if you have any Saturday Sanity-worthy stories, send ‘em my way for next week.

Top image courtesy of morgueFile.
Middle and bottom images courtesy of Newscom.

Post from: Blisstree

Saturday Sanity: Ain’t The A Kick In The Brain?

Depending on how well you keep up with sports news, you may or may not have heard about former England football legend Paul Gascoigne checking himself into a Roehampton rehabilitation clinic after a series of suicide threats and attempts. According to the UK’s Telegraph, Gascoigne “has struggled for years with alcoholism and depression and was detained under the Mental Health Act in February.”

I’m always just a tad bit hesitant to discuss celebrities’ mental health news in the media. On one hand, I feel these public announcements (the news stories that are just that – news stories, and not actual accounts from the celebrities themselves) are utterly disrespectful of the celebrities’ privacy. To broadcast someone else’s struggles for ratings or page views is tacky and shows serious lack of regard for your fellow human beings.

On the other hand, I realize that some news stories can actually help boost mental health advocacy and bust stigma. Many people may see their favorite singers, actors, or sports heroes going through the same things they’re going through, and feel less alone. Sometimes such stories also spark other helpful mental health tools, such as the suicide warning signs I offered after Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s suicide. (However, at the same time, there are media sources like TMZ that accomplish nothing other than promoting stigma with their ignorant stories about troubled celebrities such as Britney Spears.)

When the media first made Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt public, my heart went out to him. And when Grey’s Anatomy star Justin Chambers finally explained why he’d been in a psychiatric ward for a serious sleep disorder, I wondered how frustrated he might have been to feel he should come forward and clear up rumors.

It’s difficult enough to deal with any kind of mental health situation without having to deal with the public’s opinions, too. I expect this turns out to be even more difficult for celebrities, because unlike the regular folk who make the news simply because of their mental health issues, celebrities have to continue being in the public eye long after the news of their problems hits the press.

I know the media will probably never stop reporting this kind of “news,” and, like I said above, sometimes it could actually be helpful (especially when the celebrities themselves publicly address the issue). However, before we start sensationalizing and sending the rumors flying, we should pause, realize that these people are fellow human beings who are going through the same things many of us go through, and take note of how we’d want to be treated.

Image: Newscom

Chato B. Stewart is currently rockin’ out in the This Is Why I ROCK! series here at Mental Health Notes. If you have a mental illness and are still living the life you love, head on over the the official announcement post and enter!

Post from: Blisstree

Celebrities And Mental Health: Private Matters Or Public Domain?