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The 29-year-old actress told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres that the pressures of her career caused her problems, due to which she had to check into the 'Cirque Lodge Treatment Centre', in February 2008.
"It's not something I feel like totally comfortable talking about but yeah, it's a very personal thing ... I dealt with it," Contactmusic quoted her as saying.
"Yeah. That and it's also interesting as an actress you're supposed to be sensitive and vulnerable and have this side to you. But then your supposed to be super sociable and 'on' and like nice to everybody. That's a weird dichotomy. It's a lot to ask of a person. It's not a normal thing," she added.
At least they’re trying to do something about what’s hurting them. You can’t expect them to get quickly & perfectly cured. Many of them will have to change their "meds" over & over again before a breakthrough can happen – if it can, that is.
Meanwhile, don’t judge – find more facts instead.
I love being 30
I understand that. I saw Oprah interview Marie Osmond where she was talking about her adopted son that jumped out of a highrise window to his death. I don’t usually listen too closely when she talks but she was dead on when she said something like, "You hit a point when you allow depression to consume you that you actually go insane and logic and reason no longer work". I’m a manic depressive person. I know those points at least once a year. I’ve gotten pretty good at calling someone so I guess I still haven’t completely felt that insanity. It’s funny when I snap out of it, I’m enjoying life and I look back on those moments and they seem unrecognizable.
I love your input. Its very true.
"The trick is not to allow the depression to consume you."
While this is generally true, the problem is HOW do you manage that? Once you’ve got it, you can’t merely "will" it away and, unless you’ve really been through depression yourself, you can’t comprehend what it’s like to feel as if you’re trapped within yourself with no way out.
To make matters worse, it is a selfish disorder as it causes one to look upon oneself with extreme negativity, but unsympathetic people will tend to comprehend that as being a voluntarily selfish state of mind. One of the problems with such a viewpoint is that, while criticism about ones depression may be well-intended to provide feedback of unacceptably selfish behavior (it’s always me me me, you’re so into yourself, other people have problems too), the criticism may only serve to confirm and further solidify the self-criticism of the sufferer. In short, it can make it worse, not better.
A depressed person requires help, specifically understanding and support from family and friends in addition to psychiatric and/or psychological care.
Of course, trying to support and understand a depressed individual won’t be a piece of cake and it’s very easy to give in to frustration and basically say or do the wrong thing that could unravel progress in the disease’s management.
What you describe is not necessarily depression. Depression isn’t some kind of phase of sadness in a person’s life, like what happens if you lose a loved one. Depression is a very serious mental disorder that can and does interfere with a person’s ability to live life and can even lead to death by suicide.
As for WHY a person would kill oneself in the throes of depression, it’s not necessarily that the depressed wants to die but that death would appear to provide relief from the suffering.
Adorable woman
Agree, when you 26-27 you have enough time to figure out who is screwing you, by 30 either you settle in or screw them back. Eithier way we grow up.
Be strong, believe there will be a better day coming.
Having experienced a 15-year bout of major depression followed by several more years of being mildly clinically depressed, I can understand first hand about this state of mind that affects the physical body as well. The first step toward rehabilitation is admitting there is something wrong and then work from there. It’s not an easy road, but it can be done with proper psychotherapy and medication. It sometimes takes a long time, but know there is help for this affliction. Understand that admitting there is something wrong, as opposed to denying it, opens the door to a certain vunerablitiy. This is when suicidal thoughts enter in. Absolutely understand it’s just another phase of learning about the disease, how it affects the mind, and how best to make it through each level. Be strong, believe in yourself, especially in the difficult times. It has absolutely nothing to do with religion or a carnal lifestyle. It simply is depression. Nothing more, nothing less. Often it helps to "observe" the symptoms, rather than being taken into them.
I certainly agree. It is the worst pain ever. Nothing is fun anymore.
I’ve never known anyone that hasn’t given into depression at least a few times in their life. The trick is not to allow the depression to consume you.
Mid to late 20s can be the most difficult years. Turning 30 was the best feeling ever.
Depression is not sadness. In depression, we lose the ability to feel any emotion strongly. The true opposite of depression is vitality — the ability to feel a full range of emotions, including happiness, joy, pride, but also including sadness and grief._
The annual cost of depression to the U.S. economy is estimated at $44 billion. It is second only to cancer in terms of economic impact, higher than the cost of heart disease.
Almost 20 percent of Americans have depression, most without knowing it. They just assume that they can’t win, that their relationships are always trouble, and that hopelessness, insomnia, chronic fatigue, and guilt are their lot in life._
Research estimates that 10 percent of children will suffer a depressive episode before age 12, although as recently as 1980 it was thought that children did not suffer depression._
Many alcoholics treat an underlying depression with alcohol. Their depression makes sobriety doubly difficult. Many substance abuse treatment programs now refer their patients in recovery for treatment of depression._
Procrastination is a hallmark of depression. The depressive puts things off until they seem insurmountable. This reinforces his feelings of self-blame and despair. But it also protects him from ever risking his absolute best effort at any task.
from http://www.undoingdepression.com/index.html
People with depression are often viewed as "weak" or unable to "handle" things, & that’s just not the case. Anybody can become depressed, there is no religion, race, or social class that has any more depression than any other–everybody is susceptible to it. Since there is still a "stigma" attached to it, many are reluctant to seek help & end up in a very bad place, often leading to suicide attempts or successful suicide actions. When people say "Why are you depressed? You’ve got everything! How can you be depressed?", that is the epitome of not understanding the disease.
Humm….so have most people.
I didn’t like The Spiderman movies either but your comment does not fit in this thread. It’s mean-spirited and pointless.
I’m surprised at how many people I meet who say they are on some type of pill to counter depression but the pills rarely seem to be making their lives better.
My thoughts exactly.
I doubt you see 20,000+ posts here but this is something that affects tens of millions of Americans.
Depression is a dark hole without a ladder. One has to ‘call out’ for help as it is often so deep there is no way out but for the aid of another. And that is just to get you started. I had chronic depressive episodes with bipolar type swings and with each passing year it got worse. I am blessed that even though it was decades before I reached out I finally did. The results have been amazing. Anyone that has suffered from chronic, systemic, depression will understand the following. For the past 10 to 12 years since I have healed, and taken steps to keep the beast at bay, my life has been immeasurably better. I do at times have to work at letting go of the regret of life lost but that became easier in time and seldom affects me now.
With any of the various forms of depression, help is there and I would encourage you to seek it. For situational depression, help can shorten the time and lessen the depth. Sometimes the short term use of a mild medication, simple therapy or a support group will help. But, for those who suffer from a biological/chemical cause you need significant help as you will have a slim chance of recovery without it. This is often a life long condition with deepening levels as you get older.
So brave of her to portray something she has struggled with herself!
A family member deals with this problem. Its not fun when things go array for this person. Sadly this is not a topic people chose to discuss a lot. I am glad their are actors such as Kristen Dunst who choose to tell about it, along with others such as Catherine Zeta Jones~Michael Douglass wife (don’t know if I have spelled her name correct ) as she discussed her bi-polar disorder. Let’s others know there are supportive people out there and a big thank you to them for making us all feel a bit more human.
Suffering from chronic depression myself, I am anxious to see how this silent disease is protrayed. Many people suffer in private and alone and she is right…the light does go out of one’s eyes. You look forward to nothing and nothing is appealing. I hope they don’t glamorize depression because there is nothing glamorous about it. Thank you.
sadly, I have not experienced kirsten dunst
Maybe according to you. I think she did well in the movies.
Thanks Kirsten, for taking some of the shame out of depression.
yeah me too, watching you ruin 3 spider-man movies
I’m looking forward to this movie. I think she is a classy young lady and always leaves a lasting impression in her career.
I can’t wait to see her performance in this film. She brings a very naturalistic, simple style to acting. She rarely plays anything too hyperbolic; she’s believable. Melancholia has a great cast; a great director. It will probably do reasonably well during the awards circuit next year.
Kirsten, you can experience a purposeful, happy life if you focus on it and aren’t distracted by the pitfalls of your industry. You are an incredibly gifted and beautiful person. Godspeed Kirsten.