Lady Gaga and Prince William FaceTime about this health topic
It was a video seen around the world. Released early last week, Lady Gaga and Prince William talked via FaceTime about mental health as part of a campaign to raise awareness.
The video, which streamed live on the Royal Family’s Facebook page, calls for a more open conversation concerning those dealing with mental trauma. The duo encouraged young people to feel safe opening up about past issues, challenges and not fear stigmas attached to mental health issues.
“There’s a lot of shame attached to mental illness. You feel like something it’s wrong with you,” Lady Gaga said in the video.
Just last December, Lady Gaga revealed she suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after being raped as a teenager. She shared her past experiences in order to eliminate the stigmas around mental illness and encourage others to seek help.
“It’s okay to have this conversation. It’s really important to have this conversation, you won’t be judged – it’s so important to break open that fear and taboo which is only going to lead to more problems down the line,” Prince William added in the video exchange.
The release of the video came just days after Prince Harry shared he sought counseling to deal with the death of his mother, Princess Diana.
Experts applaud the campaign.
“I think it is both encouraging and destigmatizing that public figures would both normalize those seeking mental health treatment and share their own experiences,” says Dr. Ann Barnes, a clinical psychologist on medical staff at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. “Millions of Americans suffer from mental health problems that interfere with living a happy, productive and healthy life.”
Dr. Barnes adds that if these issues are left untreated, they can debilitate peoples’ lives.
“All too frequently, even in these progressive times, the shame and stigma of seeking mental health treatment keeps individuals and families from seeking the help they deserve,” she says.
For people who are aware they may need help but are anxious, Dr. Barnes encourages them to speak to their family physician, who can refer them to a mental health professional for treatment.
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About the Author
Jacqueline Hughes is a former manager, media relations at Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care. Previously, she was the public affairs and marketing manager at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL. She earned her BA in psychology at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. Jackie has 10 plus years experience working in television and media and most recently worked at NBC 5 in Chicago. In her free time, she enjoys swimming, going to the movies and spending time with her family.
Unfortunately, something new that I have been experiencing in the medical field is discriminatory. Because of my PTSD diagnosis, along with depression due to chronic pain. I do not get the same medical care as someone who doesn’t have mental health issues.
I have 3 recent examples:
1. 14 visits to Mayo, they just said my pain was in my head. A couple of years later in my hometown after breaking down and begging a local pain doctor to please take me seriously and help me, he discovered that I had a pain disease CRPS. He implanted a spinal cord stimulator and I’m no longer in a wheelchair and hospital bed. Ironically, Mayo has one of the largest CRPS treatment facility in the states.
2. Broke my leg, went to local ER. They took an x-ray, but quickly said nothing was broken, wrapped my knee in an ace bandage and sent me on my way. A few weeks later, my general dr looked at the x-rays and read the report. He turned to me with disbelief that I didn’t tell him I broke my leg. I told him that the ER told ne I didn’t brake anything.
3. I was brought by ambulance to hospital, code grey; active stroke. The ER doctor said it was all in my head and was getting ready to release me. My neurologist and general dr arrived. After a short work over, they rushed me to ICU and told the ER dr to back away.
I spent a week in ICU, the went to therapy. I can’t perform math of any kind or tell time. I also have some speech issues and memory problems. My right side still droops and am very weak.
My husband and I can tell as soon as they’ve seen my file and see that I have PTSD.