Not even a half-hour after the news broke about Catherine Zeta-Jones checking into a rehab facility for treatment of bipolar II disorder, I received a half-dozen emails. Followed by about five voice messages. And then more emails.
While I was ecstatic that one of my favorite celebs had the courage to disclose her mental illness – especially in a Hollywood culture that often outright denies that such conditions exist – I wondered why it took a beautiful star getting diagnosed for us to talk about bipolar in way that didn’t mock it (Thanks, Charlie Sheen), and for us to believe that the illness is legitimate.
You may recall that it was the same thing with Brooke Shields several years ago. There were some people in my life who simply didn’t buy postpartum depression until this gorgeous creature came out with her story and a bestselling book filled with not-so-Hollywood-friendly details. Afterward, most of us made fun of Tom Cruise’s blanket dismissal of psychiatry and psychiatric illness; but based on all the feedback I’ve received about my own diagnosis of bipolar II, I think about half of us actually agree with him, even after that now-legendary (and embarrassing) Oprah-couch-jumping incident, where Cruise himself certainly manifested a mental illness – or five. More »
