Charlie Sheen and Mental Illness: Can We Laugh?

I don't wish mental illness or drug addiction on anyone. But, boy, Charlie... you'd better not be faking this.

I admit it - I've been keeping up with the Charlie Sheen saga. It's hard not to when it's everywhere you turn. I'm torn as to how I should react. No, I'm really  torn. It's entertaining and if that were not the case, nobody would be paying attention. No doubt Charlie is in a bad place. Seriously? You know you're in a bad place when witches think you've lost it.

Everyone is trying to figure out what his major malfunction is. Is he mentally ill? On drugs? Both? I have even wondered if he was pulling a Joaquin Phoenix for publicity. But as my friend pointed out yesterday, pulling a Joaquin certainly cost him a lot, if that's the case. He got fired, his coworkers were in jeopardy of losing their jobs (still might), and the general public thinks you're the village idiot.

So if he's mentally ill, and I'm mentally ill, and I write about mental illness... am I terrible person for laughing at some of his antics? If he's mentally ill, I feel for him. I can't imagine having a breakdown in front of millions of people. I feel even worse for him that he obviously doesn't have any real friends or an effective support system in his life. True friends would not try to gain fame and profit from his mental state. True friends would demand that he get treatment.

In a perfect world, everyone would be insisting that Charlie seek help - regardless of what kind he needs - instead of egging him on, as many seem to be doing. We definitely should not be encouraging him to act more out-of-control, and yet if you look at his Twitter page or his little online "TV show" (which I won't post a link to), it's obvious that there are A LOT of sick people in this world who would genuinely LOVE to see Charlie Sheen crash and burn in a big public way.

OK, fine. But can we laugh? Is it OK to admit that some of the stuff that has come out of his mouth recently is humorous? Some of it is disgusting, ridiculous, and downright vulgar, but I'm sorry - BUT I'M SORRY - hearing him say that he credits his "grand wizard master" with his thoughts makes me laugh. You know, the witches and warlocks got mad, but I don't think Charlie even meant it literally. I think Charlie's definition of his "grand wizard master" is the the genius that he considers his own brain... if you can imagine such a thing.

I feel like I should be speaking out against anyone who pokes fun at his behavior because, after all, I said some strange things before I was treated. (Though nothing quite as extreme as old Chuck here.) I can now laugh at some of my own antics because, face it, it's weird. I don't feel that I'm doing anything wrong or being politically incorrect by laughing at my antics. I think it's a serious thing that requires laughter because without laughter, it would almost be too serious to handle.

There is also a line between poking fun and encouraging. It does infuriate me that there are people out there telling Charlie Sheen to keep going because they could very well be pushing him towards a drug overdose, suicide, or a true nervous breakdown. It's wrong and even though it's wrong, Americans love to watch celebrities screw up, so nothing I say or do is going to stop people.

But having a laugh while hoping and praying the man finds real friends and real help? To me, it would seem almost worse NOT to laugh. If we really want to "normalize" mental illness, then I believe nothing is worse than refusing to have a sense of humor and treating it like the big scary elephant in the room. If comedians can get onstage and make fun of their own cancer then why are we so terrible for thinking that some of the stuff Charlie says is kind of funny?

I may be setting myself up here for a virtual "smack-down" but this is how I see the Sheen situation, my own life, and mental illness in general. Let's all have a laugh because if we all gather in a corner to tremble together, we're only making it seem weirder.

That's just me.

But there are other issues to consider. This is where I'm torn. On the one hand, some of this is funny and I think it's OK to laugh. On the other hand, a grown man pretending to be mentally ill for press is like an 8th-grader pretending to commit suicide so her parents will un-ground her. It's stupid and dangerous. Like I said, part of me wonders if he's pulling a Joaquin, and I'm not the only one. If that's the case, then Charlie Sheen is one selfish jerk. He's got young children who will grow up having to cope with their father's bizarre and offensive behavior. And - oh yeah - if this is all an act, he's making people who do have legitimate mental health issues look really bad. Yes, folks, this what the public thinks of right now when you say "bipolar disorder." Forget the fact that there are people like me in the world who have mental illness and yet manage to have a happy marriage and successful self-employment. They picture a haggard-looking, middle-age man chain-smoking and pontificating into a web cam about everything from tiger blood to "The Wind Beneath My Wings" being a little flat on "American Idol." Really, if Charlie is faking this, then somebody ought to consider smacking Charlie & Joaquin's heads together.

Gilda Radner made fun of her cancer. That was cool. We got it.
If any celebrity PRETENDED to have cancer to get attention and got CAUGHT, we would DEVOUR them. It would be THE END of them. We would not stand for it. We would be disgusted to the point of vomiting.

If Charlie Sheen is on drugs, I pray he goes to rehab.
If Charlie Sheen is mentally ill, I pray he gets treatment.
If Charlie Sheen is pretending, I pray that everyone reacts to him with the horror and disgust that his little game truly deserves. Because it's not genius, or "poetry at his fingertips." It's filth. It's wrong. It's a slap in the face to all of us who legitimately struggle with mental illness.

If that is the case, then this publicity should be the LAST publicity he ever gets. Pin It