Does being a celebrity mean that you must also sacrifice your right to privacy?

Our celebrities are the golden people. After all, they are our role models, the ones we admire, look up to and even envy. They inspire us, entertain us, and hold out the promise of caviar wishes and champagne dreams for all to aspire to. We all remember them from high school when they were voted best looking, smartest, class president, and homecoming king and queen. They were gifted with talent, brains and looks to take them the distance in life.
We continue to be the subjects in their court and support them with our devotion, adoration and unwavering love. And we are interested in everything they say and do because our curiosity into their lives tells us they’re just like us and helps to humanize them. If they’re having problems it somehow gives perspective to our own difficulties and makes them more manageable. It’s the hook of the soap opera, that bird’s eye view into the troubles of others, seeing what they are struggling with which somehow offsets our own plight and makes the conflicts less daunting. Additionally, we can get answers for our own lives by watching the way they deal with their dilemmas and picking up some solutions along the way.

But when does it go to far whereby in order to make our own lives better that we do it at the expense of a celebrity’s personal and emotional well being? When did they become the property of the public and because they offer and share their talent lose their claim to any personal space whatsoever? The bullying and even stalking of so many celebrities today is testimony to the fact that the line between fact and fiction, reality and fantasy has been crossed. It has reached a point where the boundaries have been pushed so far that there are fans who truly believe their own fantasies and delusions about whichever celebrity they attach to. They shift from admiring the star and wanting to be like them, into the danger zone of either wanting to be with them or even more hazardous, wanting to be them. Unfortunately, their reality is the only one they can process. So while it is completely contrary to what is really transpiring, (reality becomes completely irrelevant to them). They take the notion of entitlement and feel they have a right to get whatever it is they need (or want) from their chosen one. And in so doing they shift from being fans to being fanatic.

It’s time to give back to these celebrities who entertain and offer us so much, Who become the vehicles for us to be able to lose ourselves and escape into the another realm for enjoyment. There needs to be some measures put in place to protect these stars from those who lose themselves so completely that their behavior and actions become hazardous and even injurious to them. If a celebrity’s energy and time is being consumed in protecting themselves from bullies and stalkers, they are not then free to direct it into what they do best, sharing their talent and entertaining. We owe it to them to put some checks and balances in place, some control measures that will both respect and insure their privacy. Without them, we perpetuate the notion that its ok to violate for our own self interest. That’s as big a loss for us as it is for them.

Dr Jane Greer: What is borderline personality disorder?

We all know people whose behavior we don’t understand, who do things that make no sense to us because it seems to be self destructive and hurtful.
Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan are good examples of this behavior displayed in public figures. Because of their extraordinary talent they are in the glare and scrutiny of the public eye (they don’t even need their last names to identify them any longer!). Their seemingly incomprehensible behavior becomes breaking news everyday as everyone tries to make sense of it all.

In truth, what people are seeing is in fact, mental illness. It is often layered and buffered by drug and alcohol abuse in an effort to tame the demons and keep them at bay, but it is important to gain some awareness of what true mental illness is all about and what, not only our young celebrities are up against, but what many others are coping with as well. Most people haven’t got a clue as to what they’re dealing with, or have a remote understanding of what seems like totally irrational and inexplicable behavior to an outsider. However, there are clinical explanations as to why Britney and Lindsey – like others – behave the way they do. Many of you may have experienced this with a sibling or friend without knowing at the time exactly what you were dealing with.

I will be dealing with these issues, and others, during the ”DOCTOR ON CALL ” show at www.healthylife.net on Friday February 1, at 11:am EST and 8:00am PST when my guest will be Dr. Perry Hoffman, a national expert on Borderline Personality Disorder.

Interesting statistics we will discuss are:
1. Four million adults in the United States have borderline personality disorder. While its prevalence is as high as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, it is much less well known.

2. Borderline personality disorder is a misunderstood illness with a high level of stigma even among professionals.

3. Borderline personality disorder is a leading cause of adult suicide, as 10 percent of adults with this disorder take their own lives.

4. Borderline personality disorder is a highly treatable disorder and has been called the “good prognosis diagnosis.”

Also joining the program will be Amanda Wang. Recently diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Amanda Wang has organized a support group in New York City for those affected by this disorder. The movement is coming from an incredible need to understand, educate and give access to available treatment. Amanda is also working on a formal venture to define new solutions for the BPD/SI community. Her organization is using its first year to bridge different resources, communities and professionals together and, by doing so, help build the next generation of effective, sustainable and social enterprises.