14 Celebrities You Wouldn't Think Struggle With Mental Health Issues
Written by Craig Rogers, Posted on , in Section Essential Reads
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1 - John Nash - Schizophrenia -
John Nash is a Nobel Prize winning mathematician who became widely known after having the film A Beautiful Mind based on his life. Though incredibly successful in his field, Nash struggled throughout his life with Schizophrenia. This disorder is characterized by paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, and in some cases full psychotic break.
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2 - Kesha - Anorexia -
Kesha is a musician who has enjoyed huge success in the last several years, scoring a large number of radio hits. She recently checked herself into a treatment program for the eating disorder anorexia. This disorder revolves around a person having difficultiy establishing an accurate body image and starving themselves as a result of a perceived weight problem.
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3 - Gwyneth Paltrow - Postpartum Depression -
Gwyneth Paltrow is one of the most recent cases of Hollywood moms opening up about their mental health struggles after giving birth. Paltrow has discussed how she has struggled with post-partum depression and the help she has required to deal with this challenge.
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4 - Stephen Fry - Bipolar disorder -
Stephen Fry is a well known British actor and presenter who has struggled with bipolar disorder for much of his life. It's only recently that he's opened up about how this disorder, which is characterized by extreme mood swings, has impacted his personal and professional life.
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5 - Paula Abdul - Bulimia -
Paula Abdul was a popstar in the 1980's who found renewed success in recent years by hosting the popular show American Idol. She suffered from body image issues and eventually developed the eating disorder bulimia. This is similar to anorexia, but involves forcing oneself to throw up after meals instead of just choosing not to eat.
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6 - Jessica Alba - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder -
Many people would be shocked to hear that Jessica Alba suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder. This is a mental health problem that centers around a combination of obsessive and repetitive thoughts and the compulsive behaviors that are engaged in to reduce the anxiety that results from these thoughts.
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7 - Owen Wilson - Depression -
A number of successful comedians have struggled with depression and one of the most recent highly publicized cases of this involves Owen Wilson. After struggling with depression for a signifcant amount of time, he attempted to commit suicide.
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8 - Joan River - Bulimia -
Joan Rivers is well known for her comedy and frequent appearances on Entertainment TV. For a large part of her career she struggled with the eating disorder bulimia.
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9 - Michael Phelps - ADHD -
Michael Phelps is a multiple time olympic gold medalist who has struggled with ADHD for much of his life. ADHD stands for attention deficit disorder and impacts a person's energy level and ability to focus in school.
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10 - Catherine Zeta-Jones - Bipolar disorder -
Catherine Zeta-Jones is a successful actress who is best known for films including Ocean's Twelve and The Mask of Zorro. Throughout her career, she has been upfront about her difficulties with bipolar disorder and the step she as been forced to take to deal with it.
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11 - Paula Deen - Agoraphobia -
Paula Deen is a celebrity chef who has become well known for her programs on the Food Network and a series of successful cook books. She has recently been increasingly vocal about her difficulties with agoraphobia. This is a mental health disorder that is often characterized by a fear of going outside or leaving one's house.
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12 - Kurt Cobain - Depression -
Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the incredibly popular band Nirvana during the 1990's. Throughout his time with the band, he suffered from both depression and drug addiction. This would later culminate in him committing suicide at the height of Nirvana's popularity.
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13 - Herschel Walker - Dissociative identity disorder -
Herschel Walker was an extremely successful and popular football player in the NFL during the 1980's and 1990's. He struggled with mental health issues throughout his career but it wasn't until after he retired that he was diagnosed with Dissociative identity disorder. This is more frequently known as split personality disorder and is characterized by a person having two or more completely independent mental states.
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14 - Vivien Leigh - Bipolar disorder with hallucinations -
Best know for her role in Gone With The Wind, Vivien Leigh was an extremely well known during the 1930's and 1940's. During this time, she was also struggling with severe bipolar disorder. This was so severe that she was regularly struck with hallucinations.
