CELEB SUPPORT SYSTEM
More stars are speaking out about their struggles with mental illness — and it’s helping
Demi Lovato leaned into the microphone. “I tried to talk to my piano,” she sang softly, stopping as she broke into tears. It was her first performance since she suffered a drug overdose in 2018. The audience — gathered in the Staples Center last month for the Grammy Awards — applauded as Lovato took a deep breath and restarted Anyone, the intensely personal ballad she wrote just days before the overdose nearly took her life.
There was no need for Lovato to explain the emotions behind that moment — the singer has talked for years about her battles with bipolar disorder, substance abuse and eating disorders. That honesty made Lovato a “pioneer” when it comes to celebrities opening up about mental health, said Katrina Gay, director of strategic partnerships for the National Alliance of Mental Illness.
It’s a space that largely didn’t exist in 2012 when Lovato first shared, in an MTV documentary, that she had struggled for years with self-harm, anorexia, bulimia and drug and alcohol abuse, even as she courted increasing fame as one of the Disney Channel’s marquee talents.
One in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem or illness in any given year, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association. Experts say talking openly about mental health can help break down stigmas that persist around depression, addiction, eating disorders and other issues.
“Research has told us that the best way to change someone’s beliefs around mental illness is to have a direct contact with someone who has a mental illness that you relate to,” Gay said. Because social media has lessened the degrees of separation, celebrities — with highly visible platforms and fans who look up to them — can be particularly influential when they share their stories. But opening up about these serious, sometimes deadly, illnesses can come with its own set of challenges.
Lovato, 27, has emphasized that her recovery is ongoing. In an interview released Feb. 18 on model Ashley Graham’s podcast, she said she continues to educate herself on how to talk about the issues that affect her. “When I make mistakes, it’s important that I own up to them right away and am vulnerable with it and say ‘hey, I don’t know about certain things’ or ‘you’re right, I should have been more educated on this topic,’” Lovato said. “But it’s just about being real. And if I’m wrong, I’ll admit it.”
Taylor Swift opened up about her history with disordered eating as part of her uncharacteristically candid Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, released last month.
“I’ve learned over the years that it’s not good for me to see pictures of myself every day,” Swift says, noting that in the past, pictures she perceived as unflattering would sometimes lead her to “just stop eating.”
“I thought I was supposed to feel like I was going to pass out after a show — or in the middle of it,” Swift says as the film flashes to images of her during the world tour for 1989 — an unspoken emphasis on a frame she now says was never meant to be that thin.
The juxtaposition between footage of Swift now and photos of her from several years ago made the singer’s story “so much more visceral and more emotional,” director Lana Wilson told Glamour.
But those scenes veer into territory that can raise concerns for those who treat eating disorders. Experts caution against sharing images — particularly those that perpetuate the stereotype that eating disorders only affect emaciated white women. “The more that we put forward that particular image, the more people that actually end up getting undetected and go without treatment that they could really benefit from,” said psychologist Christine Peat, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sharing specific numbers — as Swift does with her past and present dress size — or detailing diet or exercise regimens is also discouraged. “With eating disorders there’s so much comparison that even if your intent is a good one — to show your story and how dangerous some of this was — inadvertently people may take that as a benchmark ... to measure themselves against,” said Peat, who spoke generally because she had not seen the documentary.
Swift’s ability to share that experience reflects changing cultural attitudes. Less than two decades ago, Gay had trouble booking a celebrity for a NAMI event. She eventually landed Patty Duke, the Oscar-winning actress who became an outspoken mental health advocate following her 1987 diagnosis with bipolar disorder. At the time, Duke told Gay that many of her colleagues were reluctant to discuss their experiences with mental illness because they feared professional fallout.
Gay cites the 2014 suicide of beloved actor-comedian Robin Williams as a major turning point, in part because “so many different people related to him across demographics and age groups.”
Over the past few years, a diverse group of stars — including Bruce Springsteen, Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, Justin Bieber, Dwayne Johnson, Big Sean and more — have also spoken openly about their experiences with issues ranging from substance abuse to anxiety and depression.
Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson has similarly incorporated his battle with mental illness into his persona on the NBC sketch comedy series, where he once began a bit by riffing, “I think I speak for all crazy people when I say ‘Aaaah!’”
Renee Solomon, a clinical psychologist who runs Forward Recovery, a Los Angeles-based rehabilitation centre for mental health and substance abuse issues, has mixed feelings about Davidson’s comedic approach, because his self-reported diagnosis of borderline personality disorder is a serious illness that is not widely understood outside of the mental health community.
However, Solomon says seeing Davidson on air — even amid public setbacks including his 2018 breakup with Ariana Grande — can be an inspiration for viewers struggling with mental health.
Lovato’s Grammy’s moment was triumphant for the same reason: “It gives people hope that they can get through their own issues and come out on the other side stronger.”
The Washington Post