Glamorizing Mental Illness

People who live with a serious mental illness do not tend to be open and public about it.  Mental illness to many is stigmatized and can be a shameful experience.  Imagine having no control over behaviors, overwhelmed by irrational thoughts always swimming around in your mind, confused by a delusional world and reality, constantly feeling the need for attention from others, unanswered anger, continuous sadness, extreme loneliness, do I really need to go on?  The feelings that go along with mental illness are nothing close to glamorous and the people suffering have pasts that haunt them, they resent who they are, they just want a peace of mind.  Why then, is mental illness being glamorized by celebrities who are going through the turmoil of mental illness? 

The obvious answer to this question is, because they can.  They are already in the spotlight.  Public awareness can be a good thing for mental illness sufferers, however, when its belligerent and negative attention seeking, it is no longer an appropriate way to cope, and it is giving mental illness, and those living in it, a poor image.

Over the past few months, the Charlie Sheen escapades have been talked about as much as the biggest political events occurring all over the world.  Although this man is in the entertainment business, his outrages and comedic attempts are consistent with symptoms, such as, loss of control, impulsivity, anger and rage, and possible psychosis.  He is painting an absolute false image of mental illness.  He is making mental illness “funny.”  And although, humor is a natural and adaptive coping strategy, he is being hurtful and mean about it.  It is not necessarily Sheen who has let this show go too far, show business has allowed it, and at other’s expenses.  Recently I listened on the radio that he was going on tour and his tickets sold out in minutes.  REALLY? 

His rants and foul language are being tolerated because “he is mentally sick.”  When someone is mentally sick, they need to seek help, not allow it to be in the spotlight getting the highest ratings in Hollywood! As I noted earlier, awareness is good, however,  he is allowing terms like “insane,” “crazy,” and “lunatic” be accepted.  He is giving himself this label. This label is transferable, others should see him as judgmental to others.  It is completely CRAZY to be allowing him to be using those labels in the first place, and he is allowing the incorrect and degrading terms to be used for someone who is obviously experiencing mental illness.  Should Sheen be allowed to continue his career in entertainment?  Yes, of course, that’s what he does.  I would want nothing more than to see my clients be able to continue and pursue careers if they were functionally able to do so.  But Sheen is not functionally able to do so.  He is, in my opinion out of control and it is a sad vision.  He needs help.  He is not functioning when he is putting messages out into the public eye that being “insane” is a party and glamorous life. 

Awareness for mental health is taking positive actions, especially in Canada since Clara Hughes, speed skater and Olympic medalist teamed up with Bell Canada. She came out to the public about her combat with depression and started her “Lets Talk” campaign, which encouraged people to open up about mental illness and allow it to be accepted in society.  This type of awareness not only allows people to feel listened to, it creates empathy, support, and advocacy.  Sheen on the other hand, consumes society with extreme ideas about being mentally ill and people buy into it as entertainment. The last few months of Sheen on television has made mental illness a joke, its turned into celebrity scandal and gossip, making people with addiction and mental health look crazy.

I hope people who know anything about mental illness, and I know there are more than one could even fathom, see Sheen, shake their head and pray for him and others to seek the needed help in order to ease their minds and accept who they are and I hope they create awareness about mental illness and what it really means to affectively cope with their inner conflicts.