Los Angeles, August 22 (IANS): Actor Jonah Hill has received plaudits for recently sharing his decision to stop promoting his movies to protect his mental health.
After the Superbad star came clean in a public letter he shared on Deadline, saying he had suffered from anxiety attacks for 20 years, which were exacerbated by media appearances and public events, two psychologists told the BBC on the importance of his message to the wider audience.
Dr. Sandra Wheatley told the BBC that “someone who has so much to lose is really prepared to step back” is to be admired, Deadline.com reports.
She said that celebrities constantly acted up when they were in public.
“But when they’re offstage, they go back to being who they really are. So celebrities have to remember that this persona in the media is an impersonation they have, not as individuals, and that can be difficult to balance.”
Consulting psychologist Dr. Elena Bailey agreed that celebrities were “very vulnerable” in the public eye, and that stepping back as Hill has done is “self-protective behaviour”.
“This is because the kind of attention, feedback and comments about your life can have a very big impact on your mental health, causing a lot of anxiety, negative thinking and symptoms of depression,” he said.
Hill premieres ‘Stutz’, a documentary he has made about sessions with his therapist and mental health in general, at fall festivals, but he won’t be promoting them at all.
Tom Holland and Ryan Reynolds are just two other stars who have shared their experience of anxiety. Spider-Man star Holland recently announced that he was taking a break from social media because he found it “overwhelming.”
