Depression Confession: Drew Carey
Drew Carey has admitted he suffered from depression and tried to commit suicide. According to MSNBC, he told Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell:
“I was depressed for a long time,” Carey revealed.In fact, both at 18 and in his early 20s, Carey attempted to take his own life by swallowing pills.
“Living in Hollywood, you can get disconnected from everybody. You can feel like you are the only one,” Drew explained. “So you feel it, you hold it in and you don’t let it go and you don’t try to find help because you think, ‘Oh man if I tell anybody, I’m going to seem like I’m weak. I won’t get a movie deal. I won’t get invited to…’ whatever goes through your head.”
But his experience, it seems, hasn't taught him much empathy. When O'Dell asked him what he thought of "the Owen Wilson thing," Carey said:
“It’s going to sound cold, but I wasn’t reading the paper going ‘Oh poor guy.’ I was thinking, I hope he’s learning what he is supposed to be learning from this whole experience and not wasting the opportunity to learn."
Um , yeah. It does sound cold.
You know, I never liked Drew Carey. Now I know why.
Comments
What is it about Carey's remarks that set wrong with you? (asking sincerely here)
I dunno, I don't necessarily equate his quote with a lack of sympathy or compassion, nor do I see a direct corollary between the two.
As a Person with a Mental Illness my feelings correspond v. much w/what I interpreted Carey saying in his interview. Based on my own personal experiences with depression I have every ounce of sympathy for others - 'There but (including?) the grace of god' and all that... But I am only able to sustain my support (patience? something like that) of another PwMI if I have some basic understanding that s/he is at the very least trying her/his best to create something doable from a very ugly thing.
I don't ask of others what I wouldn't ask of myself. Love and understanding, yes. But again, as a PwMI I loathe self-pity. It gets me nowhere fast.
Posted by: McBeth | September 27, 2007 05:15 PM