Celebrities and Mental Health (or lack threreof)

Celebrity shenanigans make headlines. But do we need a blog devoted to their mental health issues?

One of my favorite mental health Web sites, PsychCentral, thinks we do. The site has launched a new blog devoted to mental health issues surrounding celebrities called Celebrity Psychings. Writes PsychCentral founder John M. Grohol:

Celebrities have the ability to reach an audience who ordinarily might not even think about (or recognize the legitimacy of) mental health concerns. While we’re not into celebrity worship here, we believe that people can use their popularity for good when they talk about mental health issues out loud and in public. The more people get talking about mental health, the more it reduces the stigmatization and misinformation about these issues.

One of the latest posts focuses on the actress Carrie Fisher, who has bipolar disorder and is promoting a new memoir, “Wishful Drinking” (Simon & Schuster). Other items look at how mental health issues are being portrayed in the media, including shows like “Boston Legal,” where William Shatner’s character, Denny Crane, has been coping with the onset of Alzheimer’s.

The blog is written by Alicia Sparks, formerly of the Mental Health Notes blog. While the posts often contain more chatter than I would like, I agree with Dr. Grohol that celebrities have the power to bring needed attention to important issues.

I looked for examples of celebrity news on the Well blog. Stories have included:

* Do the Rules Apply to Dr. Phil? Patient privacy and Britney Spears.
* An Actor’s Diagnosis Brings Attention to Pancreatic Cancer: Actor Patrick Swayze’s cancer diagnosis.
* Parents’ New Miley Problem: Celebrity misdeeds and how they affect our kids.
* Food Allergies Hit the Music Charts: Singer Trace Adkins brings attention to food allergy.
* Michael Phelps and the Potential of A.D.H.D.: The Olympic swimmer’s childhood diagnosis of attention deficit problems.
* A Hollywood Family Takes on Medical Mistakes: The story of a medical error that almost killed the twin babies of actor Dennis Quaid.
* More Celebrity Snooping by Hospital Workers: Privacy violations affecting actress Farah Fawcett.
* Hot Maybe, But Not Smoking: Model Tyra Banks bans smoking on a reality show.
* Reality Dance Show Puts Rett Syndrome in the Spotlight: A celebrity choreographer raises awareness about a little-known illness.

What do you think? Should the media pay attention to celebrity health issues?