It’s foolhardy to decide that someone has a mental illness based on how they act on television. Diagnosing a major illness, such as bipolar disorder, is tricky at best and requires a thorough evaluation by a psychiatrist. I don’t know Charlie Sheen, although I am a fan of his television show, so I have no idea if he might be manic or ill.
Having acknowledged that, I must admit that what I saw on ABC Good Morning America and NBC’s Today Show stirred painful memories. When my son was in the initial stages of his first breakdown, his mind was racing with thoughts and grandiosity. He couldn’t spit his words out quick enough. He believed everyone else had a problem, not him. I saw that same behavior on my television.
Sheen made it clear that he doesn’t believe that he is sick or that he needs help. That’s a familiar stance too.
If Sheen does have a disorder, I hope he gets meaningful help and fully recovers. I also hope that he simply doesn’t disappear behind a carefully worded press release. We need high profile movie stars to speak out if they become sick if we want to combat the stigma that comes from having an illness.
Hopefully, viewers would be as enthralled with that story as they are watching his outbursts.
As those of us with loved ones, who have mental disorders know, mental illnesses simply don’t go away. You deal with them or you pay the consequences.
That’s a sad lesson that I’ve learned.
Time will tell.
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I thought the exact same thing. It was so like my son when he had his first break. I get so angry at people who dismiss the idea that he may have a serious underlying illness. From my research on the subject many many people with serious MI use drugs to compensate for their illness. Him going cold turkey in getting sober, seems to be making things really bad for him. As always, thank you for speaking up with what I have been thinking for two days now.
With you.
Oh my. Gives me flashbacks to our family member’s most recent episode. Textbook grandiosity, painfully illustrated. I can only hope that he gets help and that the public gets to see that part of the story, too. The media needs to take some responsibility and not exploit someone who is so clearly ill just because he is famous.
I agree completely. My neighbor, who has a son with Schizophrenia and I were discussing this today and we both had seen the same looks in our sons’ eyes as we saw in Charlie’s. We hope that he might bring a big name to mental illness to help it, but after first getting treatment, if indeed that is his problem.
I only wish someone in the Sheen would actually read this site. I love two and a half men, and Charlie Sheen, best comedy show on TV to date. Charlie is so gifted and so talented. But, we all know the signs of Bipolar disorder, if not we would not be looking at Mr. Earley’s site and I would not be posting here. It’s so hard to watch him be played out as a clown on national TV. What is happening to Charlie’s life should no longer be ignored, another great person inflicted. To the Sheen family who love Charlie, touch base with California NAMI website and get this wonderful man the help he so needs. Bipolar holds no bars, it comes in to your life so fast, left untreated much longer, it will kill Charlie. Charlie is not a circus clown, he is episoding and on his TV episode tonight, they said, Charlie, some say you have bipolar. Yes, he does. Someone in Hollywood needs to put Charlie on a 72 Hour hold, his illness is defying him and we all know, its not curable but treatment, Charlie is self medicating.
I only wish someone in the Sheen would actually read this site. I love two and a half men, and Charlie Sheen, best comedy show on TV to date. Charlie is so gifted and so talented. But, we all know the signs of Bipolar disorder, if not we would not be looking at Mr. Earley’s site and I would not be posting here. It’s so hard to watch him be played out as a clown on national TV. What is happening to Charlie’s life should no longer be ignored, another great person inflicted. To the Sheen family who love Charlie, touch base with California NAMI website and get this wonderful man the help he so needs. Bipolar holds no bars, it comes in to your life so fast, left untreated much longer, it will kill Charlie. Charlie is not a circus clown, he is episoding and on his TV episode tonight, they said, Charlie, some say you have bipolar. Yes, he does. Someone in Hollywood needs to put Charlie on a 72 Hour hold, his illness is defying him and we all know, its not curable but treatment, Charlie is self medicating.
It is unfortunate about the drug issues revolving Sheen’s life, his television series and family. The hope is that it gets resolved