Aaron Carter and Darrell Hammond are two prominent stars who have been willing to speak out about their struggles with schizophrenia. There are also famous individuals and celebrities from the past who have struggled with the condition. Some were identified throughout their lives, while others were diagnosed after they died by professionals.
If you or anyone you know suffers from this mental condition, knowing that these 10 trailblazers battled the illness and went on to do incredible things in their life may make you feel less isolated or alone.
what is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a severe illness that impairs one’s capability to think effectively, regulate feelings, decide things, and interact with each other. It’s a lengthy, complicated health condition. There are some cases of Catatonic Schizophrenia that are too complicated and show violent symptoms.
So, let’s talk about some of the most famous celebrities that have come out to the public and spoke about their mental condition.
Celebrities Suffered From Schizophrenia
Lionel Aldridge
Famous for his two Super Bowl Championships in the 1960s with Green Bay Packers, Lionel Aldridge is now a retired basketball player. After his retirement, he became a sports analyst.
In the 1980s, his mental health got so messed up that he ended up being even homeless. He was in his 30s when he got divorced.
Shortly after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, he began talking openly about it. He now concentrates on making presentations and sharing his insights with others.
“When I started, I did it as a way to keep myself stable but once I got well, it serves as a way to get the information out”, he stated in an interview.
Lionel said that medication is very important when it comes to treatment but that’s not enough. There are other things that need to be done in order to be completely cured.
Darrell Hammond
Darrel Hammon is famously known for his appearances on Saturday Night Live spoofing different celebrities such as Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, etc.
He is one of those celebrities who came out publicly to raise awareness on this subject. He started doing so when he left SNL. Hammond was diagnosed with Schizophrenia when he was just a kid.
Darrell Hammond said, “I was on as many as seven medications at one time. Doctors didn’t know what to do with me”.
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent is widely known for his mesmerizing artworks. Throughout his art career, Vincent Van Gogh painted around 2100 beautiful works of art; the world is still impressed with how they turned out to be. His most famous painting has been The Starry Night
A lot of historians report that Vincent Van Gogh was suffering from mental illnesses including Schizophrenia. According to some reports, he used to hear voices and had hallucinations. He was prone to psychotic episodes too which is a clear indication of how his mental health was disturbed.
Bettie Page
Betty was famous for her photos in the 1950s. Even though she was perceived as a stoic and didn’t seem bothered by anyone. According to Betty, she used to hear voices as her mental health was getting messier as time passed.
It was the 1970s when she was diagnosed with Schizophrenia when she acted violently with her landlady in 1982.