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Catherine Zeta Jones Has Bipolar

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment...jones-charlie-sheen-bipolar/story?id=13427787

Addiction is for amateurs. The truly trendy are
bipolar.

That's meant to be facetious, of course. Bipolar
disorder is a serious mental illness that
approximately 5.7 million Americans live with,
according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
But one could be forgiven for thinking that the
disease wandered onto spring's list of must-haves
along with maxi skirts, bellbottoms and the iPad 2.

This week, the teen star Demi Lovato revealed she
suffers from bipolar disorder. Last week, the actress
Catherine Zeta-Jones announced she recently sought
treatment for the condition. Charlie Sheen, who
dubbed himself "bi-winning," not bipolar, during his
March media spree -- organized a walk for bipolar
awareness.

"There is no need to suffer silently, and there is no
shame in seeking help," Zeta-Jones said in an
interview for the latest issue of People magazine. "If
my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged
one person to seek help, then it is worth it."

It could be called Hollywood's mental illness. The
disease had a hold on actors, singers, writers and
artists long before it hit its latest star sufferers. Carrie
Fisher, Mel Gibson, and Richard Dreyfuss are a few of
the many celebrities who've talked about being
bipolar. (Gibson, who just opened up about his
recorded rants against his ex-girlfriend, said in a
2008 documentary that he's weathered "some very low
lows.")

"There is such a thing as artistic temperament, and it
is related to bipolar disorder," Dr. Igor Galynker,
director of New York City's Family Center for Bipolar
Disorder, told ABCNews.com. "When people are on the
manic side, they can be very creative, productive,
sparkling, the center of attention -- a lot of celebrities
have that. But the reverse is they are difficult, irritable,
they make bad decisions."

Galynker gave Hollywood credit for raising the profile
of the disease.

"Bipolar disorder and specifically bipolar II disorder
is becoming an almost fashionable diagnosis, and
that is not a bad thing at all," he said. "You cannot
treat bipolar disorder unless you diagnose it, and
you cannot diagnose it unless people know about it."

Charlie Sheen Stumbles Into Bipolar Awareness

Not all celebrity endorsements are created equal. Last
Friday, Kaj Korvela, executive director of Canada's
Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorders (OBAD),
was stunned when Sheen suddenly organized a walk
to benefit his two-person non-profit. Via Twitter,
Sheen, who was in Toronto for his "My Violent
Torpedo of Truth" tour, asked fans to walk 1.2 miles
with him from his hotel to Massey Hall to "Stop the
Stigma!!" He promised to match their donations.

Korvela said neither Sheen nor anyone who works
with the former "Two and a Half Men" star contacted
him prior to the announcement. Post-walk, Korvela
waited four days before getting confirmation from a
representative of Sheen's that the actor would match
donations made in cash and online, amounting to a
total of $6,000 for OBAD.

"I think it's a good thing," Korvela told ABCNews.com.
"In reality, I'm happy we got the money."

But he has reservations.

advertisement Bipolar Bandwagon: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charlie Sheen Go Public With Disorder

"We just want to be seen in the best light, and I don't
think that march was seen in the greatest light.
Especially when Charlie was wearing a hat that said
'I'm Not Bipolar' and standing on a car -- it's
suggesting that he's above people with very serious
mental health concerns."

"It's people like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Carrie Fisher,
who can really address the experience," Korvela said.
"Those are the people that express integrity and
elegance. We need people like that."

Follow ABC News Entertainment on Twitter!

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Bipolar is the most UNcoolest illness in the history of history. Right I feel like blowing my brains out.
 
To make light of this disorder is really sick. Those who don't experience bipolar do not know (so lucky) how it feels...how badly it feels. They think it is a cake walk. So sad.
 
If I could remain stable for a few (or more!) weeks, then I can begin to live a normal life. Each day is a different experience for bipolar folks, at least it is for me. I hope that, with my doctor's approval, that Electroconvulsive Therapy will grant me a stable life. I have forgotten how mental health feels like its been so long. Electroconvulsive Therapy may be my last hope. Let's cross our fingers.
 
Medicine and cognitive stuff with a psychologist. I have had neurologists give me several MRI's exams. That's it I think.
 
To be honest I've found that people are very quick to jump down the medicine route in hoping that it will cure them, as opposed to trying a far more natural and therapeutic course of action. In my experience with people suffering from bi polar, they never really recover from the illness because a lot of it is to do with deep seated, negative attitudes they have that are ingrained in their head for so long that that is how they are programmed to think. Obviously this is from my experience, and you may be very different carlos...but people close to me have become far worse through medicine, and it's almost as if they expect other people to cure them- they ask questions like 'what can you do for me?' and say 'These psychiatrists are useless' as if it is in some way another person's responsibility for curing them. This way, i think, you're doomed to fail before you even start. Instead of trying, at a fundamental level, to change the way they think to a more positive way, they prefer to engage in self-pitying, lamenting talk and leaving the issue up to others. Again you obviously may be a lot different, but that's just what i think. The only thing i've seen medicine do is sedate the person, and in the long run, exacerbate the problem.
 
If I may LaGs: bipolar is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The disorder is not caused by cognition or environmental factors. It can only be treated by other chemicals - medicine - and can only be managed for there is no cure. This is my number one enemy in my life. I believe that in order to effectively fight such a foe (medically speaking) one must first learn as much as possible about that enemy (illness). I know for certainty that attitude adjustments or positive self-talk can not do anything, at all, to make any dent in the mania cycle associated with bipolar disorder.

Please Google the issue and review all the resources around you and stay informed. I have lived with this foe for a too long and I guarantee that in this case, I am assured in all my words.
 
I should have clarified that i was actually talking about depression mainly, which a lot of the time is the starting point for other mental illnesses which tanscends to other illnesses such as bi polar. I mean if people looked after their mental health at an earlier stage, they may not be as susceptible to illnesses such as bipolar later in life. I mean you don't just wake up one morning and find that you have bi polar, i think it is often reflective of a person's deteriorating mental health over time.
 
-Carlos- said:
Medicine and cognitive stuff with a psychologist. I have had neurologists give me several MRI's exams. That's it I think.
Click to expand...

-Carlos- said:
If I may LaGs: bipolar is a chemical imbalance in the brain. The disorder is not caused by cognition or environmental factors.
Click to expand...

It may not have been caused by cognitive factors, (even though i think it has an effect in the long run) but that is not to say that you cannot try cognitive solutions to the illness. Sometimes it's the best way
 
LaGs said:
I should have clarified that i was actually talking about depression mainly, which a lot of the time is the starting point for other mental illnesses which tanscends to other illnesses such as bi polar. I mean if people looked after their mental health at an earlier stage, they may not be as susceptible to illnesses such as bipolar later in life. I mean you don't just wake up one morning and find that you have bi polar, i think it is often reflective of a person's deteriorating mental health over time.
Click to expand...

I fully agree.
 
LaGs said:
It may not have been caused by cognitive factors, (even though i think it has an effect in the long run) but that is not to say that you cannot try cognitive solutions to the illness. Sometimes it's the best way
Click to expand...

Yes, indeed. I always try to use all the tools I can when I'm under a manic episode. I feel so highly desperate during such swings that I will not think twice about using any form of positive cognition in soothing my pain. Again, I agree with you.
 
Here's the deal - Let's say you were in ~my~ family, Carlos. And let's say you went into one of your "hammer episodes". It would have been handled much differently. First of all, you wouldn't be living in the parent's basement as the special little boy, but that's beside the point, let's just assume you were. So you come into the family room with your hammer, babbling your bipolar nonsense. You have grown accustomed to your family picking up the telephone and dialing 911, you are taken away for a little while, everybody tells the cops how much they love you, how special you are. In my family you simply would have been staring down the barrel of a loaded 12 guage shotgun, told to drop the hammer and cut the shit. And you would have been instantly cured of your bipolar. Unfortunately for you, you were never given good old Appalachian therapy, and now you wile your life away posting snippets of your writing, asking for critiques, and claiming to read books that you obviously have not read. You see, if you wanted to blow your brains out, (as you said you did yesterday), you would have done it. It's a simple task. But you didn't. Also, if you wanted to get pity and attention, you would have done it, and in fact, you are much more successful in that than the former. And that's why some people regard you as a nuisance and force you to put them on your ignore list.

Do you want to live life to the fullest? Get the chicks? Write the books? Then you can't be the special little boy in the basement. You have to choose one or the other.
 
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