8 Celebs that spent time in psychiatric institutions

Our society looks at mental illness as a less serious disease before it doesn’t have a physical manifestation and more often than not, it carries a social stigma. The stigma increases manifold if a person tries to seek help for his/her problem and God forbid if the patient has to spend some days in a psychiatric institution, the discrimination of the society against him/her is just unbearable.

But if those people are celebrities, their problems get multiple ears and that becomes a valid issue. The strange part is, that if a person close to someone battles with a mental illness and has even tried to kill himself/herself, it won’t be an issue for anyone. But if a celeb commits or tries to commit suicide, it becomes nationwide news.

Suddenly the world is aware of this ailment and is more sympathetic towards people who suffer from the same ailment that a celeb suffers from.

Quite evidently, in our culture and society nothing is bigger than the stars. Let’s take a look at 8 such celebs, who, you wouldn’t believe spent time in a psychiatric institution.

1 Marilyn Monroe

The sex symbol of the 50s and 60s, Marilyn Monroe defined hotness in Hollywood. But few people knew about her battles she fought against self-esteem issues, addiction and anxiety related issues. She was tricked into checking into a mental hospital by her doctor, as she had a phobia of hospitals.

The sad thing is that this event had a huge impact on her life and it changed her completely. Many even believe that this was the cause of her addiction, which led to her death.

2 Carrie Fisher

Princess Leia of Star Wars, Carrie Fisher battled some real mental issues after her career as an actress got over. She actually willingly submitted herself to shock treatments, claiming to have suffered from abuse and other shocking things in her younger age.

Finally she claims that the shock therapy helped her and saved her life.

3 Yoko Ono

The woman responsible for breaking up the Beatles, Yoko Ono loved John Lennon very much. But she has had her issues with mental health all throughout her life. You wouldn’t know that she had spent quite a considerable amount of time in a mental institution in Japan before she met John Lennon.

4 Britney Spears

In 2008, former teen pop star and crush of many young boys during the early 2000s, Britney Spears suffered a complete mental breakdown. She cut her hair, acted threateningly and did other stuff that led her to spend some time in a psychiatric institution getting all the help she needed. She spent a week at the Ronald Reagan UCLA medical center.

5 Joey Ramone

One of the founding fathers of the punk rock movement and its biggest stars, Joey Ramone battled depression and social anxiety all his life. Many believed that Joey was a schizophrenic, but do not know to which level.

He ended up in a psychiatric institution for a month after waving a knife at his mother and siblings. He was able to channel all that rage into punk rock music which kept him sane and this made him one of the biggest music icons of the world.

6 Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder tried to be a part of The Godfather Part III, but was dropped due to some issues. This left a big mark on her psyche and she fell into a very deep depression. She spent a couple of weeks in a psychiatric institution to get some help to deal with her depression.

Though she says that the experience didn’t do anything for her, she appeared in Girl, Interrupted later on, which is considered as her best performance till date.

7 Eminem

One of the best rappers of the world Eminem tried to kill himself after the initial failure to make it big in the industry which was dominated by people of African American descent. And he did it not once but twice and one time, police showed up at his hospital bed in order to arrest him since it is illegal to take your own life.

But he didn’t do any prison time and the hospital stay seemed to have helped him a lot as he went on to become one of the greatest and bestselling rappers in the history of rap music and worked through his pain to make the effort worth it.

8 Demi Lovato

Young and talented Demi Lovato has never shied away from discussing her battles with mental issues she has had. She has been hospitalised multiple times, and has also helped other people who have been battling the same issues as her, by coming out in the open and seeking professional help.

She should be applauded for the maturity she has shown for her age, since many celebrities who are double her age still hide their depression.