Yesterday I couldn't resist clicking on a post titled "The Top 8 Celebrity Mental Cases!" at TheFrisky.com, a celebrity-gossip site whose motto is "Love. Life. Stars. Style." The post's introductory text muses about Transformers star Megan Fox, who recently stated in an interview that she displays many symptoms of schizophrenia.
"How was she able to diagnose herself? By reading every book ever written about Marilyn Monroe -- who incidentally did not have schizophrenia.... Megan, please seek professional help before deciding on a diagnosis!" TheFrisky jibes, then promises to show us "a few more celebrities that have been vocal about their struggles with mental illness."
It's a celebrity gossip site, so its raison d'etre is scandal and mockery and overexposure. And that's what it does with this post, ostensibly, as evinced by its headline. Yet the text of the post itself bears a hint of solidarity -- a teensy hint, but remarkable for a celebrity gossip site nonetheless. Could this reveal a long-overdue but growing compassion throughout mainstream popular culture for people grappling with mental-health issues? In a celebrity-driven society, might learning about celebrities' mental illnesses motivate more Americans to recognize, understand and address our own?
Next on TheFrisky's list is Britney Spears. "Remember Britney's bad year? Pink wig, paparazzi BF, crotch shot, shaved head? It ended in a standoff with police with her children as hostages before she was removed from her house on a gurney? Bipolar disorder," TheFrisky asserts, based on statements by experts and the singer's associates, as covered in this MSNBC article.
Next up is Jessica Alba, who has said in interviews that she carries Febreze and anti-bacterial sanitizer with her wherever she goes because she suffers from OCD.
Nicole Kidman, we read, "has admitted to suffering from panic attacks on the red carpet. Who wouldn't, though?"
Brooke Shields' memoir Down Came the Rain "chronicled her battle with postpartum depression."
Next: "Apparently Jim Carey isn't always laughing. The funny man took his happy mask off to discuss his struggles with depression."
And: "Carrie Fisher, best known as Princess Leia, thinks having bipolar disorder is cool since she overcame it. I guess the force was with her." (The Star Wars actress has become a bipolar-disorder-awareness activist, as discussed in this USA Today story.)
Last on the list is Britain's late Princess Diana, who discussed her eating disorder and suicidal urges with interviewers before her untimely death. "it is speculated that Princess Diana suffered from borderline personality disorder, a severe mental illness characterized by instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior," TheFrisky states.
I just want to believe that, glitzy pictures and headline notwithstanding, this list might not be so mean-spirited after all.
