Controversial subject.. Anxiety in Z list superstars

[Doyadoyadoya]

Name changed for this as I'm fairly sure this will spark debate.. I am on Instagram, I've seen a sudden rise in Z list celebrities alleging they have anxiety.. It almost feels like its "fashionable" and plays disservice to those genuinely who do have anxiety related issues.
Or am I seeing it incorrectly? Surely the pressure of fame, spotlight and constant media attention can cause anxiety in these celebrities.. I don't know, I just wondered what others think?

@therocinante 👍

Perhaps 'anxiety' and 'worried' have got confused in people's minds.

I worry about things quite often. I don't go around saying I have anxiety, I say I'm worried, or have concerns about whatever it is.

Mental health problems have been and still are often belittled and people accused of making them up for attention -- if we don't want that to happen, then we also need not to go around identifying people we say aren't 'really' suffering from the symptoms they say they are.

Take for example Naomi Osaka who said she has anxiety and took time off. She has grown up seeing the way her idol Serena Williams has been treated by the press. She decided that she doesn't / won't cope with that sort of shit and told everyone to piss off. To her I say chapeau.

There's something about older generations that want younger generations to suffer "because I had to." It's quite pathetic but I applaud gen Z.

Is that good enough for you?
As I said before, I am sorry about your DD. Not sure why you are attacking me though. It wasn't clear what you were saying in your previous post.

No, it wasn't at all clear, @Lonel. I'm not sure why she's having a pop.

With respect, @TeenMinusTests, if eating crisps with a spoon is 'a tiny, tiny example of how her life has become debilitated' then it was a curious decision to use it as the lone example. Of course, you don't have to give any details at all, but producing that one as a kind of argument-winner was confusing.

@Needapoodle

Name changed for this as I'm fairly sure this will spark debate.

Too scared to stand behind your own opinion of other people's mental health?

It might trigger her anxiety.

Anxiety exists on a spectrum and some here don't realise that. It's like covid, or a cold or a fractured arm - there are light cases not needing treatment, people go about their normal day. Others spend days in bed, need to go to hospital or need surgery. It doesn't mean that the former never had a cold or a fractured arm - but anything to do with your body does get accepted as illness, whereas not everything to do with your mind does and the responses here show that.

This thread here just shows there is so much to do to get mental health issues accepted. It is well possible to have anxiety and to be suffering without taking heavy medication. Equally, there are an awful lot of people out there who take antidepressants - you probably have no idea about the people in your life on them.

It's not a competition, you know. Consider yourself lucky if you aren't suffering.

@Twatalert has summed it up brilliantly here.

Unless you've seen someone's medical records you have no idea if they "genuinely" have anxiety or other disorder(s) or if they're "attention seeking" so who are you to decide who is or isn't legitimate? Most people I know consider me to be calm, laid back, and able to deal with whatever situation is thrown my way, I can't count the number of times I've been asked "how are you so chilled out?". I have a diagnosis of GAD and PTSD that I'm open about if asked or if it's relevant to the conversation but many people have no idea because I don't "look/act like someone who has anxiety or PTSD". The attitudes displayed here towards anxiety are akin to asking someone with depression what they have to be unhappy about.

Hard to say really. I think anxiety is really, really widespread. And I think many celebrities intersect with those aspects of contemporary culture which are most linked to anxiety - constant social media presence, seeking public approval / validation, narrow beauty standards, hostile media etc. So it wouldn’t be surprising to me if there was a higher incidence of anxiety in female celebrities than in the general population.

Surely everyone has anxiety at some point. Everyone gets anxious before a big exam, public speaking, an operation etc. That’s completely normal.
I’ve suffered with quite bad panic attacks and anxiety at one point it my life, but thankfully it wasn’t permanent and I’m now ok. I wouldn’t say I suffer with anxiety now but I’m very aware of what it is and know the feelings of when it might come back. I have a friend whose life has been crippled by anxiety and OCD. She’s suffering in ways like many of the PP have talked about.

I agree though there is definitely a fad at the moment for the Z listers to be talking about their “anxiety” with their fans. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but can see how it could be annoying if you’re in the middle of a crippling bout of OCD/Anxiety/Depression to see someone talking like this, then the next day posting photos of their night out in Sushi Samba.

The thing is, we never know which of these people are actually mentally ok, and their anxiety quotes are based on them feeling nervous once before a date (!) or something much deeper and more serious. I’m sure people never ever thought that someone like Caroline Flack would ever take her own life. Point is - they’re just Instagram posts. You don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors.

Sometimes it is a bit galling. Like when actors talk about their “crippling shyness”. Yeah, right. A person with crippling shyness would never in 20 billion years get up on a stage.

I think the worst was a z-lister talking about “my cancer scare”. A smear test recall. Strewth. I know a real-life person who calls herself a cancer survivor because she had an abnormal mammogram which when repeated was clear.

I suppose some people love attention and drama and anxiety is the latest thing. It’ll be something else unquantifiable next like out of body experiences.

Given the attitudes shown towards people who are open about having anxiety, do you really think anyone is claiming it to be fashionable? Visible is not the same thing as popular.

@Pedalpushers

I have diagnosed GAD and OCD. I don't take medication and those around me wouldn't know of my suffering. Just because someone isn't being sectioned or on beta blockers doesn't mean they don't have anxiety.

No one has said that but self diagnosing anxiety helps no body including the sufferer.

How do you know it isn’t diagnosed? As a midwife I’d say at least a third of pregnant woman are on anti depressants. Whether that’s due to over diagnosis, better diagnosis, lack of resilience, a result of modern day pressures I have no idea. But numbers are rapidly increasing.

My just adult Dd has been diagnosed with anxiety, ptsd, depersonalisation disorder amongst other things. This was pre lock down. Can only imagine the pandemic will make things worse for many.

There is a stark world of difference with being anxious and having diagnosed anxiety.. All I hear is "my anxiety" on Instagram.. I read an article on Lauren goodger who now professes to suffer from generalised anxiety.. I do sort of feel it is jumping on the band wagon.

How do you know she doesn't have generalised anxiety though? Have you read her medical records?

If you read my original post.. I wasn't judging anyone.. I asked a question.

You have though, in your own words you think its people jumping on the bandwagon.

I was diagnosed with anxiety and panic disorder long before it was fashionable.

If only they knew

An issue I have seen in schools is that we stop recognising that anxiety is a normal reaction to anxiety inducing situations, and instead pathologise what is actually a fairly normal response to things like exams or change.
We need to be able to accept and feel those feelings instead of fighting them or trying to resolve them at all times.
Though if course there are people whose anxieties reach such heightened states that it may make life unmanageable.
But we do young people know good by trying to protect them from any and all anxiety.

No not know!
Oh, for an edit button!