As I’ve written and spoken about before, my sister suffers from a bipolar disorder and my nephew from schizoaffective disorder. There has, in fact, been a lot of depression and alcoholism in my family and, traditionally, no one ever spoke about it. It just wasn’t done. The stigma is toxic. And, like millions of others who live with mental illness in their families, I’ve seen what they endure: the struggle of just getting through the day, and the hurt caused every time someone casually describes someone as “crazy,” “nuts,” or “psycho”.

What’s remarkable is not her frankness about this personal history, but her motivation to act, which seems almost like a wholesale rethinking of her career and what it’s meant in popular culture. In Fatal Attraction, for example, she played a woman obsessed with Michael Douglas (those were the days, right Michael?). She loses control of the obsession and becomes terrifying. As Close writes, the movie was a great success, and audiences loved to hate her character.

Alex Forrest is considered by most people to be evil incarnate. People still come up to me saying how much she terrified them. Yet in my research into her behavior, I only ended up empathizing with her. She was a human being in great psychological pain who definitely needed meds. I consulted with several psychiatrists to better understand the “whys” of what she did and learned that she was far more dangerous to herself than to others.

The original ending of Fatal Attraction actually had Alex commit suicide. But that didn’t “test” well. Alex had terrified the audiences and they wanted her punished for it. A tortured and self-destructive Alex was too upsetting. She had to be blown away.

So, we went back and shot the now famous bathroom scene. A knife was put into Alex’s hand, making her a dangerous psychopath. When the wife shot her in self-defense, the audience was given catharsis through bloodshed — Alex’s blood. And everyone felt safe again.

The ending worked. It was thrilling and the movie was a big hit. But it sent a misleading message about the reality of mental illness.

This is a bold admission from a woman who derived so much success from this role, but there’s no escaping what she says. It has long bothered me — and, I suspect, other advocates — that the message there is one of terror and fear.

Not only does Close take on her role in that film, she assesses the entertainment industry as a whole:

Whether it is Norman Bates in Psycho, Jack Torrance in The Shining, or Kathy Bates’ portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, scriptwriters invariably tell us that the mentally ill are dangerous threats who must be contained, if not destroyed. It makes for thrilling entertainment.

There are some notable exceptions, of course — Dustin Hoffman in Rainman, or Russell Crowe’s portrayal of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. But more often than not, the movie or TV version of someone suffering from a mental disorder is a sociopath who must be stopped.

I like to think that her speaking out will change this. As she so eloquently says, silence is the problem. Read more of her elegant prose here. It is well worth it. There you’ll find links to the initiative she’s promoting.

Thank you, Glenn, for speaking out against silence. You rock.

The Cause of Ted Kennedy’s Life

Patrick, my condolences on your father’s passing. When your dad’s brothers died, he had to get himself together and stop being an irresponsible, drunken frat boy. He had to become a leader who espoused what they did: social justice, pacifism, equal rights, etc. You have a head start: You made mental health parity happen, and you’ve been engaged in fighting the good fight since the beginning. You’re my hero.

But I also know you’re flawed and troubled, like your dad was, like we all are. The politicians who pretend to be saints tend to fail us, so you just go on being imperfect. And if you need support in your time of grief, just think of us out here, rooting for you to do well. We support you because you’re our voice now. And because we know what it’s like to live with loss. We believe in you. Carry on.

Madigan: They didn’t flatter you with that lighting.

David Oaks: You’re looking so handsome! I had no idea. Your eyebrows are very sexy. (I’m completely sincere.)

“But critics worry …” That’s journalism-speak for “We don’t have any specific sources who say this, but we’ll generalize it so we have reason to focus on …”

… violence. That’s what they’re focusing on. Why am I not surprised?

So of all the things they could talk about related to Mad Pride — and related to mental health — this is what they’ve come up with: criminals and violent crime. Ugh. TV is so predictable and depressing.

Okay, so now we’re telling the story of a kid with hallucinations and delusions (the CIA, yadda yadda) who KILLS HIS MOTHER? Does the average American viewer understand how fucking rare this kind of thing is? That it’s not the necessary result of deciding not to take meds?

On to the withdrawal story: Clearly, the program wasn’t looking for a success story. This poor woman who decided to do the show so they could feed off her misery — I knew that’s what they wanted. Is she doing the withdrawal in conjunction with a doctor? Who the hell knows? The show doesn’t tell you. It hardly tells you her name. And …

Oh! There it is again: “Critics worry … ” (that she’s going to be “a time bomb” without her meds). Who are these critics worrying about this girl? Frank Rich? David Denby? I’d love to know.

“Violence is unpredictable with or without drugs.” Brilliant script.

Blurry homeless images. Madigan cello-ing. … This show is so bad, it’s like a joke. I guess it all goes back to what producer Ia Robinson told me, when we discussed my being on the show: She doesn’t have any friends or family who have mental problems, so the whole topic was like “walking on the moon.” Yes, that’s the phrase she used. The show should’ve been blasted out to Mars.

Except Joey P. He’s delightful and a voice of reason.

The New York Times ran an article about Ricky Williams that I think was really well-done. It talks about his struggle with marijuana addiction, which compromised his career in the NFL, but more than that, it portrays his psychic battles and explores the way his mind works. It’s a much more nuanced piece than the type we normally see about sports stars; but equally important, it examines the life of the mind in a way that doesn’t pathologize. Ricky Williams is just Ricky Williams, an interesting, layered human being. I wish people were more often written about this way, especially people with “troubles.”

Ricky Williams Is Hoping to Heal Others, and His Image

Friends of the King of Pop have claimed that he “often overdosed” and had been trying to kill himself for a decade. One said: “We’re surprised he even made it to 50”.

The Daily Star reported that insiders believe the financially struggling star “couldn’t face his problems” and wanted a way out.

He would keep the suicide note in his pocket and overdosed, they told the newspaper. “Michael always talked about dying young,” one said. “He wrote suicide notes then tore them up. He kept one with him – he often read it.

“He wanted everyone to know how sad he was.” Another friend told the newspaper that Jackson had wanted to end his life ever since he was humiliated by child abuse claims in the 1990s.

That’s quite sad.

Michael Jackson Kept Suicide Note

Jackson, whose cause of death is still unknown, is rumored to have been taking a lotsa meds, all at once. From various sources via Furious Seasons:

“Life & Style reports that Michael Jackson was taking a cocktail of up to seven prescription drugs in the months before his death.

“And a Jackson family lawyer told CNN he ‘feared’ the drugs could kill the pop star.

“The star had been taking prescription painkillers including anti-anxiety drugs Xanax, Zoloft and painkiller Demerol in recent months, sources close to Jackson told Life & Style.

Poor Michael. If it’s true that he’d been taking this cocktail, and it was diagnosed by his doctor, we’ll certainly be hearing more about it.

I’ve had near enough double the number of texts and phone calls about Steven Wells than I have Michael Jackson. One from a school friend I haven’t spoken to in almost 10 years. She remembered me going on and on about how bloody sexy his writing was and that despite my general dislike of NME I’d buy it regardless and read no only read his stuff.

Always controversial, always passionate and incredibly funny.

The world will be a duller place without him.

Isn’t that the truth. Not only that, but I’d love to hear what Steven would have to say about the Michael Jackson stuff — and especially about the BBC comparing his death to Princess Di’s. The fact that I have no idea what he’d say — except that it would be incredibly funny — is exactly what made him so special.

We’ll all miss Steven so much, and I’ll say more about that later. For now, I’m wishing the best to all family and friends who are hurting. That’s what Steven really cared about in the end, though he was very passionately annoyed by knitting, as well.

Steven was often told he was anti-American. I loved his passion, and he cracked us the fuck up every day. This video was part of a series he did for PW called Steven Wells’ America, in which he took sacred cows and basically grilled them for dinner. Below, he reflects on the religiosity of an America that voted for Bush a second time (Steven was a staunch atheist). Toward the end he smiles a bit, so you know that he knows he’s being ridiculous. And that’s part of what was so cute about Steven — he’d rant, but then laugh at himself.

Ahem.

This weekend I went to NYC and saw Next to Normal, a Broadway musical about a woman who’s been diagnosed with the kind of bipolar disorder I have — depressive with psychotic features. In the play, she gets ECT, as I did. Safe to say it all hit close to home, but it didn’t upset me. It was such a rockin’ score and fun good time that I really enjoyed it.

It was the private voicemail message not meant to be shared and yet ended up being heard by nearly everyone – Alec Baldwin’s angry April 2007 tirade against his daughter, Ireland, accusing the then-11-year-old of being a “rude little pig” who needed to have her “ass straightened out” after she had “humiliated me for the last time.”

Only now, as the Emmy-winning 30 Rock star admits in a candid interview with Playboy for its July/August issue (on newsstands and online Friday), after the phone message was exposed, he contemplated killing himself.

…

Describing his thoughts of killing himself as “very serious,” Baldwin, 51, says, “I spoke to a lot of professionals, who helped me … If I committed suicide, [Kim Basinger's side] would have considered that a victory. Destroying me was their avowed goal.”

His self-destructive state of mind was such, recalls Baldwin, that he also offered to quit 30 Rock and actually went ahead and – briefly – dropped his agent, who also represented Basinger.

I find him quite delightful, personally.

Alec Baldwin Was Suicidal over Angry Voicemail to Daughter

We are deeply shocked and saddened to report that Kill Rock Stars artist Jeff Hanson passed away on June 5, 2009 in his home, a victim of a terrible accident. Jeff has been a part of the KRS family since 2003 when he became the first artist signed to the label from an unsolicited demo.

Jeff Hanson was an amazing artist, a riotously funny person, and a good friend. Everyone at Kill Rock Stars feels that we were privileged to put out his records. We will miss him tremendously. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

Embedded video from <a href=”http://www.cnn.com/video” mce_href=”http://www.cnn.com/video”>CNN Video</a>

Judge Piers Morgan on Susan’s issues:

Questions are being asked about who is responsible for her mini breakdown. Her brother tries to explain, including his belief that she misses her cat, Pebbles:

I hope she feels better soon.

The Eagles’ (<3) Shawn Andrews has been very open about his struggle with clinical depression, which I greatly admire in a lineman. The New York Times is apparently all over the pro sports/mental health beat (thanks to Dave K. for letting me know):

Andrews said he had seen a psychiatrist last summer in Little Rock, and then in Philadelphia, but that he was not currently undergoing counseling. He did say he was taking antidepressant medication, along with the drug Adderall to treat attention-deficit disorder.

He said he understood that some people had little sympathy for a highly paid professional athlete, that even some of his teammates might feel he was exaggerating, or using depression as an excuse for an indifference to football. “That’s fine,” he said. “I don’t work for them. They don’t pay my bills. They don’t take care of my family.”

He said he took gratification from a handful of players around the league who told him they felt similarly and from others who said they had been emboldened by his own admission.

“A lot of people say football should help you channel your anger and aggression,” Andrews said. “But it’s not as easy as people think it is.”

…

Compared with last year, Andrews said, “I’m at a better point, mentally and physically.”

Early last August, as rumors grew about his absence, Andrews told reporters that he was suffering from depression, had sought professional help and was taking medication. He eventually reported to the team, but played in only two games before sustaining a herniated disk in his back, which required surgery.

For a brief period last season, he said he stopped taking his medication.

“I was feeling great, I was like, this thing is over,” Andrews said. “Man, things went south. I’ve never been a big fan of medication, but at this point it’s very crucial for me.”

So far this off-season, [coach Andy] Reid said, Andrews is “doing a great job.” Andrews said the move to tackle could rejuvenate his career.

Still, his renewed enthusiasm has been tempered by the fact that he has missed nearly two full seasons to injury.

“All the physical anguish I’ve been through, the thought of not being able to get up and play with my son, that really keeps my mind going every day,” Andrews said.

He sees some of his teammates dropping items and struggling to bend and pick them up.

“I don’t want to live like that,” Andrews said.

Inside Lineman’s Helmet, Doubts and Depression

“Imagine being put in a coffin with the things you fear the most, being buried underground and feeling it start to shrink, and multiply that feeling by 1,000. You think, ‘If I die now, that’d be cool.’”

Isn’t that a superb evocation? Good is speaking at a mental health conference about his experience with bipolar disorder, having become a real advocate on the subject. I like this song by him.

Vancouver’s Matthew Good speaks from the heart about his bipolar disorder [Vancouver Sun]

But I’m not so sure it’s a hoax. According to James Gray in People magazine:

But the director, who has cast Phoenix in three of his films, embraces the intensity. “For all the [craziness] that you deal with – the rapping and the look of him now – I work with him because he has very deep reservoirs of emotion, and he’s a serious person, believe it or not ”

On the Lovers set, “I would get to work at 6 a.m. and his call time would be 9, and he would be [there] in tears. And I’d say, ‘What are you doing? Is everything all right?’ He’d say, ‘I’m getting ready for the day.’ ”

Adds Gray: “He’s been doing it for 30 years. I think he ran out of juice. I just think he’s exhausted.”

Something seems off there. Other clues have me worried about him. From The Independent:

Indeed, having been nominated for two Oscars playing emotionally fragile public figures – the incestuous Roman emperor’s son Commodus in Gladiator, and Johnny Cash in Walk the Line – Phoenix’s recent behaviour suggests he may be losing contact with his own marbles.

The previously stylish 34-year-old has ballooned in weight, say fans, and begun dressing like a native of Skid Row. He is rarely seen out without sunglasses, and has cultivated his beard to the extent that one supermarket magazine recently compared him to “Jim Morrison’s ghost”.

Phoenix has always been prone to eccentricity (he once famously asked a red-carpet journalist: “Do I have a large frog in my hair? Something’s crawling out of my scalp.”) But it has been almost a year now since fans have seen him conducting what one might call a normal conversation.

It’s a particularly worrying fact given his previous personal struggles – he endured a spell in rehab for alcohol addiction in 2005. Tom O’Neill, who writes the Envelope website for the Los Angeles Times, noted yesterday that he had appeared “quite out of it” on the red carpet recently.

“It’s entirely possible that this latest ‘hoax’ line is being floated by Phoenix’s close pals, trying to give a rational explanation for the latest bizarre antics of a wacky celebrity,” O’Neill said.

The manner in which Phoenix announced his retirement from acting also raised eyebrows.

It happened in October, when he appeared at a theatre to perform in a charity fundraiser looking dishevelled, slurring his words, and fidgeting nervously.

Here he falls off the stage after a hip-hop performance. Everyone seemed to think this was planned too.

Given that his behavior might not be a hoax, I thought it was really uncool of Ben Stiller to make fun of him at the Oscars:

Maybe Stiller has some inside dope on this whole thing, but if not, I’m disappointed. I’ll have more on this story as it develops.

Bar Refaeli to make film debut as psychiatric patient

Israeli model Bar Refaeli has been very much in the news after posing for the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, and now she will be making her film debut as a psychiatric patient.

Refaeli, 23, will be playing the part of a psychiatric patient in the suspense drama Session, which will be released later this year.

“It’s about my love-hate relationship with a therapist. It was a lovely experience,” the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

As for her making the cover of the swimsuit issue, Refaeli is very excited about it, and says that her grandma is her biggest fan.

“As soon as I found out I’d got the cover this time, I called 30 people – all my friends in Israel, all my friends in LA, my grandma and my grandpa,” she said.

“My family is so proud of me. My grandma says she walks down the street and people go up to her and say, ‘Are you Bar Refaeli’s grandmother?’ She keeps every single article on me,” she added.

And, I can’t help saying the following: She’s Jewish! Mazel tov, Bar.