Of course famous people get a mental illness as frequently as the rest of the population. If 10% of the population is at risk at any given time for a mental disorder — such as depression, ADHD, anxiety or bipolar — then so are celebrities.
The problem is, most celebrities don’t want to give more fodder for the paparazzi, and health issues are generally a private thing for most of us.
So it’s always refreshing to not only see a celebrity share his or her mental anguish with others, but do so on their own terms.
This month’s Men’s Health has a nice piece by the Counting Crows’ front man Adam Duritz about his grappling with a dissociative disorder. His first-person account is helpful in understanding the disturbing symptoms behind this kind of disorder — a complete disconnect with reality to the point of losing time (and in some cases, place):
This was not depression. This was not workaholism. I have a fairly severe mental illness that makes it hard to do my job — in fact, makes me totally ill suited for my job. I have a form of dissociative disorder that makes the world seem like it’s not real, as if things aren’t taking place. It’s hard to explain, but you feel untethered.
And because nothing seems real, it’s hard to connect with the world or the people in it because they’re not there. You’re not there. That’s why I rarely saw my family back then: It’s hard to care when everything feels as if it’s taking place in your imagination. And if you’re distant with people, especially women you’re romantically involved with, they eventually leave.
What makes my case even worse is that every night I go out on stage and have this incredible emotional connection between me, the band, and the audience. Then, just like that, it’s over. I go backstage, back to the bus, back to my hotel room, and sit there all by myself. That deep connection is yanked away in an instant. It’s like breaking up with your girlfriend over and over again, every night.
He’s found help, and encourages others who have a disorder like this to do the same.
I’ve always enjoyed Duritz’s voice and the Counting Crows in general, so I especially enjoyed the article. I hope you do too.
Read the full article: Mental Illness
(11 votes, average: 4.55 out of 5)
Loading ...This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 am and is filed under General, Disorders, Men's Issues, Celebrities, Dissociative. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Responses to “Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz Talks About Dissociative” (Pingbacks/trackbacks not shown below)
jamworks at 4:10 pm on
June 25th, 2008
Sounds like a description of depersonalization, which is, indeed, classified as a dissociative disorder. I suffer from chronic depersonalization. It is highly misunderstood, no matter how one tries to describe it (and the term is constantly misused). I even heard a story about a psychotherapist, who experienced derpersonalization herself after many years listening to patients talk about it. Her reaction was, “This is nothing like what I thought my patients were experiencing.” So I applaud Duritz for attempting to describe it. It’s as if normal consciousness involves a Virtual Reality created in the brain, and everyone takes it for granted because it works so well. Then, in a state of depersonalization, the Virtual Reality is gone.
Jack Aubrey at 10:17 pm on
June 25th, 2008
I also wonder if this could be associated with the so-called “Impostor Syndrome” - i.e. you feel like you are posing, unqualified, somehow deficient, etc. just while doing your job, which you are clearly well-qualified for.
It’s a very “unreal” feeling - once at a meeting I was called upon by the company’s President to speak up and give advice on some subject to the company, and felt very weird while doing it - until I realized that yes indeed, I was by far the person in the room MOST qualified by age, credentials, and experience to give such guidance and opinions to help my employer - which was exactly what I was hired to do.
Lee at 9:45 am on
July 13th, 2008
I was diagnosed with a dissociative disorder. I “disconnect” to a high degree.
It is sometimes shunned as not being a real disorder. I was initially diagnosed Bipolar. When the doctors were diagnosing me they discussed the issue of dissociation, but then refuted it’s validity, labelled me bipolar, and tried to blame my “black outs” on drugs and alcohol which was not an issue, and was not the cause.
Everyone dissociates to a degree. Being road hypnotized is a form of dissociation. I get this to a high degree in social settings, and stressful events.
Anna at 3:20 am on
August 12th, 2008
I have a q ………..been here and can not figure out how to do a new post thingie so be patient with me lol.
please no offence to my wording here I really need help!
My sister is claiming that she has multipal personalities, she claims 15 of them, she is working with a good dr, now.
heres my question…..first off I need to explaine that I havent talked to my sister in years (about 11) so this why I am confused, she is claiming that there are years of her life gone! is this possible for one to miss years? I am kinda not believing because the years she is claiming is lost she woed people in my familt alot of money.
She did suffer abuse as a child, as did I. I am just trying to understand what is possible and what is not if anyone can help I would really appreciate it.
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Sounds like a description of depersonalization, which is, indeed, classified as a dissociative disorder. I suffer from chronic depersonalization. It is highly misunderstood, no matter how one tries to describe it (and the term is constantly misused). I even heard a story about a psychotherapist, who experienced derpersonalization herself after many years listening to patients talk about it. Her reaction was, “This is nothing like what I thought my patients were experiencing.” So I applaud Duritz for attempting to describe it. It’s as if normal consciousness involves a Virtual Reality created in the brain, and everyone takes it for granted because it works so well. Then, in a state of depersonalization, the Virtual Reality is gone.
I also wonder if this could be associated with the so-called “Impostor Syndrome” - i.e. you feel like you are posing, unqualified, somehow deficient, etc. just while doing your job, which you are clearly well-qualified for.
It’s a very “unreal” feeling - once at a meeting I was called upon by the company’s President to speak up and give advice on some subject to the company, and felt very weird while doing it - until I realized that yes indeed, I was by far the person in the room MOST qualified by age, credentials, and experience to give such guidance and opinions to help my employer - which was exactly what I was hired to do.
I was diagnosed with a dissociative disorder. I “disconnect” to a high degree.
It is sometimes shunned as not being a real disorder. I was initially diagnosed Bipolar. When the doctors were diagnosing me they discussed the issue of dissociation, but then refuted it’s validity, labelled me bipolar, and tried to blame my “black outs” on drugs and alcohol which was not an issue, and was not the cause.
Everyone dissociates to a degree. Being road hypnotized is a form of dissociation. I get this to a high degree in social settings, and stressful events.
I have a q ………..been here and can not figure out how to do a new post thingie so be patient with me lol.
please no offence to my wording here I really need help!
My sister is claiming that she has multipal personalities, she claims 15 of them, she is working with a good dr, now.
heres my question…..first off I need to explaine that I havent talked to my sister in years (about 11) so this why I am confused, she is claiming that there are years of her life gone! is this possible for one to miss years? I am kinda not believing because the years she is claiming is lost she woed people in my familt alot of money.
She did suffer abuse as a child, as did I. I am just trying to understand what is possible and what is not if anyone can help I would really appreciate it.
