Beware The Masks We Wear: We Are
All Clowns
Benningtonwere‘likebrothers’atthetime
ofBennington’s suicide.“I seehisface,which
wasalwayssmiling.I thinkabouthisheart,
whichheworeonhissleeve,”say Leto. The
actor-singeralsospeaksfondlyaboutlate
SoundgardenfrontmanChrisCornell, who
wasa closefriendofBenningtonandwho
alsodiedbyhisownhand.Cornelldiedin
MayandBenningtoninJuly2017.Bothmen’s
deathsweredeterminedbyauthoritiestobe
suicides.Anotherfamousfacewhosuffers
frommentalillnessis thesonofPamela
AndersonandTommyLee.BrandonThomas
Leehasa longhistoryofdepressionandtook
tohisInstagramtoopenupabouthisstruggle
afterwatchingJoker.
“Jokerrhitthenailonthehead.I hopepeople
willrealisehowmuchweconstantlytorment
peoplewithmentalillnessinthiscountry.We
deprivethemofcounsel,medication,andaid
topayforthose.Weteasethemasadults,
andwearesurprisedwhenpeoplelashout
inanextremefashion.Weneeda betterway
toaddressmentalhealth,becauseit is only
gettingworse.I’vedealtwithdepressionand
anxietymyentirelifeandI’vebeenlucky
enoughtobeabletoaffordtreatmentfor
that.It’snotfun,anduntreated,it doesn’t
getbetter.Thereis nolightattheendof
thattunnel.Youfeelalone,helpless,and
likethereis no way out. You feel like you are
drowning.”
THE CATCH-UP
If this article has raised issues for you or if you’reconcernedaboutsomeoneyouknow,calltheSouthAfricanDepressionandAnxietyGroup–
Africa’s largest mental health support and advocacy group: Suicide Crisis Line: 0800 567 567, SADAG Mental Health Line: (011) 234-4837.No One Is Immune To Mental
IllnessofeverythinggoingonthatI literallywake
upinthemiddleofthenightwithfull-
onpanicattacks.”ChrissyTeigennever
thoughtdepressionwouldhappentoher.
“I couldn’tcontrolit.Andthat’spartofthe
reasonit tookmesolongtospeakup:I felt
selfish,icky,andweirdsayingaloudthat
I’mstruggling.”Beyoncésayswhenshe
begansuffering
depression
herworld
got‘fuzzy’.“I
couldn’teven
tellwhichday
orwhichcity
I wasat.My
motherwas
verypersistent
andshekept
sayingthatI hadtotakecareofmymental
health.”MileyCyrussaysdepressionis
moreofanissuethanpeoplereallywantto
talkabout.“I wentthrougha timewhere
I wasreallydepressed.I’mthemostanti-
medicationperson,butsomepeopleneed
medicine,andtherewasa time[when]I
neededsometoo.Somanypeoplelookat
mydepressionasmebeingungrateful,but
thatis notit––I can’thelpit.”Othercelebs
whosufferfrommentalillnessinclude
DakotaJohnson,DemiLovato,Emma
Stone andNicki Minaj.A Phoenix Risingchildrenwholivedholedupina tinysingle-room
apartment.Duringhisteens,helosthisolder
brother,River,whosuffereda drugoverdoseon
Halloweenin 1993 – threedaysafterPhoenix’s
19thbirthday.A fewdecadeslater,in2005,
theactoradmittedhewaspronetoconstant
anxietyattacksandbookedhimselfintoa
rehabforalcoholismanddrugs.A yearlater,he
almostlosthislifeina car
accidentwhiledrivingdown
a windingcanyonroadin
Hollywood.Hiscareerbegan
a downwardspiralandhe
suffereddepression.Atone
pointhealmostthrewin
thetowel,announcinghe
wasretiringfromacting,but
hehasmanagedtoturnhis
lifearound.TodayPhoenix
is a well-respectedactorwhohasreceived
severalaccolades,includinga GrammyAward,a
GoldenGlobeAwardandnominationsforthree
AcademyAwards,andcontinuestolandnew
projects.Outsideofacting,Phoenixsupportsa
numberofcauses.Heservesontheboardofthe
LunchboxFund,whichprovideshealthymealsto
childreninneed.A lifelongvegan,Phoenixwas
alsoa spokespersonforPeoplefortheEthical
TreatmentofAnimals,andhasbeenactive
inthePeaceAlliance,whichaimstocreatea
cabinet-levelUSDepartmentofPeace.
Get the help you need to beat depression.FOROR my whole life,
I didn’tI did know if I even
really existed. But I do,
and people aree
startingstarting to notice.to notice.