to think it suddenly seems 'the in-thing' to suffer with bi-polar?

[Champersonice]

This is really getting to me. Perhaps these 'celebs' really are suffering with bi-polar but I remember the days when it was the biggest taboo. My mother suffers with this illness and it is just awful.

There have been so many and whilst I really believe some I really do not believe Kerry Katona and now Catherine Zeta-Jones. Apparantely, CZJ booked herself into a psychiatric hospital for becoming manic-depressive following her husband's cancer, and now, according to her publicist is "feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on two upcoming films". Perhaps Ms Zeta-Jones should visit a real psychiatric hopsital (not a detox clinic) and see real life patients suffering with this terrible, terrible illness.

AIBU?

"And how lovely that so many of you believe absolutely all your hear about your 'lovely' celebs."

Amazing thoughtful kind and fully of compassion statement! Champersonice what I absolutely believe in is that your attitude sucks, so please do a favour and crawl back whatever hole you have crawled out from.

Oh my god, champers you believe a lot of people fake bipolar? Where do you get that from? earlier on you challenged the source of my statistics, and now you are making awful statements like this?

Do you know that many undiagnosed Bipolar people are actually self medicating with alcohol and drugs, which masks the fact that they have Bipolar?

Have you actually read anything at all on bipolar, it's many forms, and how it affects people's lives?

Champers I dont know where you come off saying things like this unless you live with the person, are the person, etc. We have very recently lost someone to suicide as a result of this. He was to ashamed to come out with it for fear of finger pointing, whispers, judgement, etc. No-one had a clue he was Bi-polar until after the suicide. Not a single person knew and yet had over 500 people at his funeral.

I think people like you like to believe you are experts who can sit on your ivory tower and point fingers and judge but actually you have no clue and are part of the problem. I love the fact that these people are coming out and saying they have it. It will allow so many who are suffering in silence to feel that they may also be accepted if they reach out.

I so wish people would engage brain before opening mouth! Stop with the judgement of other people FFS.

I'm repeating myself here, but I heard the story on R4 yesterday morning and the way it was reported - that CZJ came over a bit bipolar following her husband's illness, booked herself into a clinic for a week or so and, hey presto, is cured - sounded like utter bollocks.

I am not surprised that anyone with any experience of bipolar was a bit not to mention angry - it utterly trivialised this devastating illness.

EricNorthmansMistress however suggested that the story was reported this way thanks to her publicists, which makes perfect sense.

Hospitalisation for bipolar could just be for a few days to tweak meds etc...

My relative has had spells in hospital lasting from a few days to several months.

She's not cured, just trying to play it down. Her choice I guess.

What I have seen it reported as a very patchy story of her suffering from stress and alc over many months when her husband was very ill. I have also read an article by a doctor pinned next to the story that manic depression can never be cured, it is brought into an accute phase by all sorts of things including drugs, stress and alc.

I think it is great that she is not hiding behind "stress" label as so many people in and out of public eye. Mental illness should be recognized as an issue of many and those should be able to seek help without the sorts of comments CZJ is subjected to here. Nobody, including people with family members suffering have any right to judge HER (I know we all do anyway)... everyone is different. The way the story is reported/came out fine, but not the individual. ...Incidentally, we do not know why the story came out - was it an honest update to her fans (and I am not one of them) or something treated as a secret but about to break, so damage limitation exercise.

it was fairly clear to me from the BBC news - she has had a hard time, this has triggered bipolar II, she's received treatment and it's under control. Perfectly possible and reasonable - it's bipolar II which has less issues around mania (hypomania is more prevalent in Bipolar II). It didn't detail whether she was in a hypomanic, manic, depressive or psychotic phase, so it's hard to judge the severity of the crisis.

Bloody good for her in 'coming out' and raising awareness. It's a horrible illness and very much stigmatised.

My mother has Bipolar as is on Lithium. I wish it could be cured by a few days in detox tbh.

*and

...but where did CZJ say that she was cured in a week? I understand that it is incurable, but can be managed well with various forms of therapy including meds.

Anyway, I view this attack on her as inability to deal with the fact that people get ill irrespective of their financial and public position. Sad. And I do not even particularly like her as an actor, but I feel for her as a human being who has been through a lot in the past year. I know what it is like to watch your loved one die from cancer. (Thank goodness Michael Douglas has beaten his disease but it easily could have been a very different outcome.)

The only reporting I've heard was on the Today Programme yesterday morning, which I think included a statement from her publicist. It does sound though that there has been some more indepth reporting elsewhere, which is good.

Bipolar does have a certain cachet about it though - the whole creative genius type stuff - so it wouldn't surprise me if there are idiots around who do self-diagnose and claim to be suffering from it (I am not claiming that CZJ is one of them). As most of us here know however the reality is very different.

Could it be that because she has a lot of money and access to intense treatment they could get her meds sorted very quickly and get her stabilized in a week?

She wouldnt have to wait for ward rounds and pharmacy to sort out her script would she? No hanging about for admissions (poor buggers used to wait 6 + hours in the A&E I worked in just to see a psych), no hanging about for discharge because there is no doctor available to sign you out.

You cant 'fake' Bi-Polar. You could try it for a day, but after that it would be impossible to sustain.

Dont discredit the suffering of those who have BPD.

You're right emma, you can't fake it. Which is why anyone trying to do so would be an idiot and an insult to genuine sufferers and those close to them.

Absolutely right MrsDeVere.

and I agreee. you can't 'cure' bipolar and I don't think I've seen the word used in the media reports at all. you can 'recover' 'manage' and 'relapse' though.

Yes MrsDeVere. Could be as simple as upping her existing meds, as well as rest and speaking to a psychiatrist, would leave her well enough to go home. Anyway she's a mum. Soon as you feel remotely well enough you go home to your kids. I'm sure she is being monitored closely and receiving the best care money can buy.

cant fake bpd cant sustain it,or mimic the cognitive disturbance
id be surprised if anyone could fake any mental illness.the actual psychomotor,cognitive and emotional presentation of bpd is complex.any cursory assessment and observation would dig out any faking it.

Very true SM

Dh's classic depression manifests physically as much as emotionally: incomnia, reeduced immunity, shekiness (has quite severe ahnd tremors when he is unwell).

I woudl suggest anyone who could fake that deserves an oscar, and that anyone who would really want to probably has an MH disorder of their own if they need the attention that badly!

OK can understand some of the confusion here. To make it clear - I am not saying people fake the illness per se, rather it can be used as a red herring. That some may be fake by saying they have it when they don't. Or misunderstanding the symptons and self-diagnosing.

I wish some posters would read my comments properly too. As for the one who said I have no understanding of the illness, I do. My mother is bipolar. And for the one who said unless someone has traits akin to my mum, I won't believe them. That is utter nonsense too.

I sometimes think one of three things are happening on this thread; 1. I am not always articulating myself correctly, 2. people aren't reading the thread properly or, 3. people are reading a misquote from another poster and taking it as read.

And just to throw this into the pot: wasn't CZJ awarded an oscar at some point?

There you go again, Champersonice lots of people can be high achievers and live with Bipolar!!!

What the heck??? And there YOU go again misunderstanding me. Show me where I said high achievers/famous/rich/beautiful people cannot be effected. Cos guess what? You will never be able to do that because once again YOU are assuming wrongly.

you really are something else Champers

i think you're still angry with bipolar, you've had a shit time with your mother, but instead of learning about how to help her and deal with it you're letting it eat you out

you lack empathy with those of us who have suffered with close at hand experience, only yours is relevent it seems.

why do i say this?

the post about the Oscar

Affected! Not, effected before the grammar police come down on me.