Mental Health And Nervous Breakdowns

Wyclef Jean was admitted to a hospital due to exhaustion a week after his campaign to become Haiti’s leader ended in failure. Upon this announcement, gossip and celebrity outlets began to speculate that he had succumbed to a nervous breakdown. The 37-year-old Grammy Award-winner announced his bid for Haiti’s presidency in August. It ended after the Electoral Commission ruled him ineligible for the office as he had not met the five year residency requirement for a Haitian president.

Many often speculate about the mental health issues of celebrities and even make fun of these situations when people may be seriously suffering from a mental illness of some sort or have suffered a nervous breakdown. The problem is compounded by the fact that many laymen do not know or understand what a nervous breakdown is.

A nervous breakdown is a generic term used describe someone who experiences a bout of mental illness that is so severe, it directly impacts their ability to function normally. The specific mental illness can span ranges of severity and include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia, among others. It is basically observed as a sign that one’s ability to cope with life or a mental illness has been overwhelmed by their normal life events, work or relationship issues. Often, people who suffer from the affliction are no longer able to maintain their social relationships with others, and find it difficult to work.

This is not new for many famous people. They just get more attention than normal people do. On May 7, 1996, comedian Martin Lawrence suffered a nervous breakdown. Lawrence was picked up by police for standing in the middle of a busy, mid-day Los Angeles intersection and screaming at cars. Although he said it was due to exhaustion and dehydration, his behavior was symptomatic of a mental breakdown including allegations of sexual harassment in a law suit filed by Tisha Campbell in 1997, being arrested for carrying a loaded gun at the Burbank airport and for hitting a man in the face at a nightclub.

Then there is Lauryn Hill, who has dropped from the music scene and is described by some as exhibiting odd behavior. Although there is no evidence to support she had a nervous breakdown, it is thrown around loosely that she has. The most famous breakdown may be what occurred with Mariah Carey, who was convinced that she was invisible, took a bath with her clothes on and was thrown into the psychiatric ward against her will after a mental meltdown. Her behavior also included screaming in an airport that her plane was going to crash and that Marilyn Monroe was speaking to her from her grave.

Nervous breakdowns may be due to Mood (Affective) Disorders or even psychosis. The root of the difficulties may not be obvious, but can be so difficult to cope with those everyday tasks and responsibilities become overwhelming. Seeking treatment for it will usually result in a recovery within a few weeks. Longer-term recovery usually takes months of ongoing outpatient treatment with mental health specialists, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist.

African Americans Underserved When It Comes To Mental Health Read More According to the National Institute of Mental Health, these and other diverse communities are underserved by the nation’s mental health system. For example, one out of three African Americans who need mental health care receives it.

The Importance Of Open Access To Mental Health Medications In The African American Community Read More A Health Affairs article noted that restrictions on access to medicines could “reduce appropriate care, adversely affect health status, and cause shifts to more costly types of care.

African American Community Mental Health Fact Sheet Read More Culture biases against mental health professionals and health care professionals in general prevent many African Americans from accessing care due to prior experiences with historical misdiagnoses, inadequate treatment and a lack of cultural understanding; only 2 percent of psychiatrists, 2 percent of psychologists and 4 percent of social workers in the United States are African American.