The Top 8 Celebrity Mental Cases!

Kiki T
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 01:33 pm: [report]

MJ and body dysmorphic disorder…or is this only celebs that are still alive?

Keesh Mia
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 01:48 pm: [report]

At least Megan Fox is honest about her being nuts!

AgentBeryllium
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 01:50 pm: [report]

I would vote Borderline Personalty disorder for Megan. I am not sure WHY she thinks schizophrenia? Not unless there is something that is going one that we don’t know about?

Stef-F
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 01:50 pm: [report]

Isn’t Robin Williams also bipolar?

AgentBeryllium
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 02:19 pm: [report]

@Stef-F: I thought he was a drug addict?

retro chic
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 02:23 pm: [report]

Isn’t some form of mental extreme required to be highly creative and famous now, or is it the other way around?

DJ AM: PTSD, depression, suicide
Pete Wentz: Bipolar
Jean-Claude Van Damme: Bipolar
The Two Edies (Beale/Grey Gardens): Folie A Deux

Is this list limited to those *very* famous *right now*? ‘Cause there’s a whole slew throughout time that are highly creative and off the radar or dead.

AgentBeryllium
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 02:33 pm: [report]

Delta Burke has been hospitalized for depression and has also talked publicly about her problems with compulsive hoarding.

Ami Angelowicz
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 02:40 pm: [report]

There are so many celebrities with mental problems that I could never list them all. I just picked a few.

sophiafaith
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 03:07 pm: [report]

Why does panic attack qualify as a disorder? most performers have some stage fright. I think Retro Chic is right on, there needs to be some sort of imbalance somewhere to be so creative and so noticed for it.

Ginger
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 03:18 pm: [report]

Shizophrenics tend to be intelligent, so Megan Fox is probably safe.

Imbalances just tend to make people see the world differently, I think. I’ve got problems (I’ve never been properly diagnosed, just had a therapist tell me that I should get a mental evaluation) and people constantly tell me that my imagination/creativity level is higher than most people that they know. Maybe there is something to being a little off.

Ginger
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 03:19 pm: [report]

@Sophiafaith Stage fright and panic attacks are different things. Kidman might be dealing with full on anxiety, which can cause people to really freak out.

IAgrl
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 05:43 pm: [report]

@ Ginger - um, no.  People who have schizophrenia are not usually gifted in intelligence.  There are savants and many who have a “normal” (bell-curve) IQ.  Your may know professionals and persons who lead a relatively “normal” life.  However, many if not the majority (I’d have to look it up for exact percentages) of people who have schizophrenia have a low IQ if not a diagnosis of MR.  Sometimes this is from the illness.  The more severe psychotic episodes = more brain damage and lower IQ. 

Also don’t always accompany “full on anxiety”.  There is a panic disorder (which is an anxiety disorder), but there are many other anxiety disorders that do not necessitate this symptom.  Panic attacks can be had by the general population without having a disorder, and they can also accompany other mental illnesses and health related issues.

Ellis
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 09:36 pm: [report]

@IAgrl I was about to say the exact same thing about schizophrenia.  The disorder doesn’t necessarily mean low intelligence or low functioning, but it can mean some huge problems with basic cognitive skills, reasoning, etc.  I seriously doubt Megan Fox is schizophrenic, but it’s because I think she’s having fun feeling special diagnosing herself, not because schizophrenia connotes intelligence.

I’m also not sure what “full on anxiety” means…anxiety is a general term with many applications.  It doesn’t cause people to freak out, though - it is more or less synonymous with “freaking out.”  But anyway, I do agree that there is something to be a little off - both research-wise and in my own experience, creativity and mental illness (or just mental…offness? can I make that a term?) go hand in hand.

Ginger
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 09:39 pm: [report]

@IAgrl and Ellis

Looking back over my comment, I’m not entirely sure what ‘full on anxiety’ means. I couldn’t think of a word or phrase for when people get so nervous about something that it causes problems for them.

canadiancutie
wrote on September 3 2009 @ 11:19 pm: [report]

Honestly, I have never taken issue with anything she has ever said. This is a girl who speaks her mind. Nothin’ but love for the Fox.

betty123
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 08:20 am: [report]

Isn’t schizophrenia an “SAT word”? I thought Megan Fox didn’t need to use those?

tigerstripe
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 10:59 am: [report]

From the quotes I’ve read from Megan Fox, I’d guess either Borderline personality or Narcissistic Personality.

Ellis
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 01:39 pm: [report]

@Ginger - That’s just fine, I was just sort of confused by the way it was phrased.  Anxiety can certainly get to the point where it can cause problems for anyone, I know what you mean by that.  If you’re interested in getting a basic understanding of types of very serious anxiety, any recent abnormal psychology textbook, or the DSM-IV (or a simplified guide to it) would list them.  If you want a general way to refer to really high, problematic anxiety though, you can just call it clinical anxiety.
/psych nerd

Ginger
wrote on September 4 2009 @ 01:48 pm: [report]

@Ellis I wish I could buy a copy of the DSM-IV. I saw a copy in the bookstore while I was doing my textbook shopping and I had to resist the urge to ditch a book I actually needed to get it.

Ellis
wrote on September 5 2009 @ 10:23 pm: [report]

@Ginger Hahaha, same here - I’m a grad student and probably need it eventually, but I can’t afford it now and am trying not to give in.  Good to know others want to buy the same weird stuff I do!

Jayne
wrote on September 7 2009 @ 10:17 am: [report]

My question is where in the heck is Naomi Campbell? That woman deserves some sort of recognition for those crazy temper tantrums.

magenta generation
wrote on September 7 2009 @ 02:31 pm: [report]

I think Megan Fox is hilarious! I don’t think she suffers from any form of mental illness- I just chalk up her situation to being 23 years old with great looks and potential astronomical earning power in an industry that not only praises but demands you have good looks/sex appeal, especially if you’re female. 
I think her situation could be stressful and since the media (*ahem* fanboys) want to know about the latest “It” girl, she makes it interesting for them.

I’d say except for Carrey and Fisher, who have talked about severe episodes which may have had them end up on Anti-depressants and/or anti-psychotics. The rest of them just have quirks/issues exaggerated by the media.

I don’t know about mental illnesses also being linked to creativity, An ex friend of mine was schizophrenic: she was boring as s**t to be around sometimes and whined about not having any artistic talent, yet she was very creative at storytelling (*ahem*lying).

As for me (diagnosed with depression), I guess I fit the creative bill, I write like a mother——er
( screenplays,short stories, essays etc.) and I can come up with ideas ( and they are quite off the wall) in a second. I feel I tend to think of at least 300 zany things a day but I don’t know if that’s abnormal but for a screenwriter: that #&@$% is a f***king godsend. However, some of my favorite, prolific authors: Toni Morrison to Stephen King, have not been publicized as being diagnosed as mentally ill. But there are quite a few artists that have been. I’m just not certain if there’s a concrete link is all.

I am not sure if being “uber-creative” has to do with my illness or me being an Aquarius: an astrological sign famous for it’s eccentricity or seeing it for what it is; a gift I thank God for everyday.