What to make of celeb ‘exhaustion’
Kanye’s ordeal spotlights vague diagnosis
Kanye West’s struggle with what is being reported as exhaustion was serious enough to keep him in the hospital for Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, he joins a long line of celebrities who have ended up floored by ... well, what exactly?
After days of erratic and angry behavior and after abruptly canceling the remaining 21 dates on his Saint Pablo tour, West was hospitalized last week after his personal doctor called 911, according to E! News.
Late last week, he was at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center but “feeling much better,” Enter
tainment Tonight reported. TMZ has reported that West may be released Monday to the care of his doctor. His wife, Kim Kardashian, who rushed back from New York to be at his side, was spotted leaving the hospital late Wednesday,
People reported. West was taken to the hospital on a psychiatric hold after he suffered a breakdown at his trainer’s house. His mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, attributed his collapse to “exhaustion” and dehydration.
Cynics might be excused for assuming “exhaustion” is just a Hollywood publicist’s catch-all euphemism to tell the media while they and their clients decide what to divulge.
“‘Exhaustion’ can mean anything from something really serious or a press stunt, and the fact we don’t know any details from a family known for over-revealing makes people suspicious,” says publicist turned gossip writer Rob Shuter (NaughtyGossip.com).
Jenn Mann, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles who serves as a counselor on VH-1’s Family Therapy and
Couple’s Therapy, concurs that it’s “often suspect” when a celebrity hospitalization for exhaustion or dehydration makes the news.
“Oftentimes, it’s a cover for either mental health issues or substance abuse,” she says. “And the fact that they have canceled 21 of his tour dates points to it being something other than exhaustion or dehydration. If it was, they’d let him sleep and they’d hydrate him and he’d go back to work.”
Although exhaustion is often cited to mask more serious problems, “this is a real disease,” says Leonard Jason, a psychology professor at DePaul University in Chicago who has been studying chronic fatigue for 25 years.
Experts agree exhaustion is a real illness, covering a multitude of symptoms and causes of varying severity. It’s recognized by medical insurance companies and the diagnostic manual published by the World Health Organization, the ICD. There are multiple billing codes depending on whether the exhaustion is the result of overheating, pregnancy, exertion, stress, combat or simple burnout. Jason says characteristics of exhaustion include impairment of memory and concentration, feeling sick after exercise and “unrefreshing ” sleep.
West is in good company in Hollywood, where overworked celebrities have frequently pleaded exhaustion when checking in for medical care. Mariah Carey was hospitalized for “extreme exhaustion” in 2001. Eminem canceled a tour in 2005 because of “exhaustion” and other medical issues, later revealed as sleep medication dependency. And just as Lady Gaga was becoming a superstar in 2010, she canceled and postponed tour dates after “exhaustion and dehydration” resulted in an irregular heartbeat.