Last edited Wed Dec 12, 2012, 02:09 PM - Edit history (1)
At times, I think yes, it is good to know that many famous and successful people have had problems and gotten through them with life, career, and reputation intact.
And then I remember that I am not Catherine Zeta Jones or Billie Joe Armstrong who have unlimited resources for treatment, media fawning over them, and publicists to create the right spin to the stories of their meltdowns. Not in a jealous way, especially of Armstrong who is kind of a hero if mine for his politics and artistic talent, but on a pragmatic level because I know that most of us don't have that kind of support, which ultimately boils down to the same old thing, money and how our society treats people because of their socioeconomic status. And compared to a lot of average Joes so to speak, I've got it really good on this front, even with my crap insurance and my out of control spending, because if push comes to shove I can grovel for help.
As far as the embarrassment/stigma question goes, I am still deep in the closet in real life. I would die if someone found out. I keep thinking of what firewalls I have around this information, such as HIPPA, and hope it's enough. Yet I can't keep my mouth shut in cyberspace, it's like "I have got to get this out" - it really does help. I kinda think what I do online is a trial balloon for real life, that eventually I will be secure enough in all of this to slowly open up to a few people on a need to know basis.