A Hero in Mental Health Acceptance
As I sit here today writing my post for the day, I am saddened that yet again, my article today will focus to an extent on death. As a young boy, and even as a middle aged man, Star Wars had a tremendous impact on my life. I grew up with it, and unlike many of the things of our childhood, I never tired of watching it and even using it as therapeutic metaphor with my clients.
As a young boy, my first crush was on Princess Leia. Strong, confident and self assured are just a few of the adjectives of this character. These traits are also used to describe the actress who played her, Carrie Fisher. She waged her own “war” on the stigma of mental health. She had struggled with addiction and bi polar disorder, and rather than hiding from these things, she faced them head on. Perhaps even more importantly, she had spoken and written about these things with wit and honesty, that many of my professional colleagues respected.
Her death at 60 is a tragedy and far too young, but many are celebrating her not as a galactic princess, but as a hero in the fight to make mental health more understood and accepted. I think that is as impressive a legacy as her acting.
