Catherine Zeta-Jones To Become "Face" Of Bi-Polar Disorder?

Having gone public with her struggles with the disease, Catherine Zeta-Jones seems ready to take up the cause.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is perhaps the first star of our time to admit fully to an ongoing battle with a mental-helath disorder, and she’s owning the responsibility that (fairly or unfairly) comes with this. As she tells People, “If my revelation of having bipolar II has encouraged one person to seek help, then it is worth it…There is no need to suffer silently and there is no shame in seeking help.” She’s right that there shouldn’t be shame in it, but sadly for many people there still is — and her coming forward is important. What one hopes is that, in time, it won’t be as big a deal to admit to this — and that she won’t be the single “face” of the disorder, simply because others have addressed it openly. While this is the sort of thing many people prefer to keep private 00 as is anyone’s prerogative about anything, health— related and otherwise — no one should feel they have to out of shame. And every time someone admits to it publicly, they’re helping to chip away at stigma, ignorance and silence.