Downfall of being a Celeb Like Britney

We revere our celebs, fantasizing that they are immune from all the real life problems that we face, but they aren’t. In fact, depressing life events like Britney’s divorce and battles with her ex and her parents are even more stressful for them. It’s one thing to suffer these experiences in private and quite another to have it happen in front of millions of curious onlookers.

Celebs, just like us, are susceptible to the stresses of everyday life, except more so. The public likes to focus on the bright side of celebrity: fame, fortune, fans, and red carpets galas. But there’s a dark side to celebrity: when they go home at night and really look at themselves in the mirror, all they feel is fear: fear of failure in front of millions of people, fear of aging, fear of being alone. Then there’s the constant lying: pretending to be okay in public, even when their heart is breaking or they’re paralyzed with fear or hating how that extra ten or twenty pounds looks.

Britney Spear’s Sunday night lackluster performance on the MTV Video Music Awards is really guaranteed to give her weak self-esteem another blow, and my heart goes out to her. The criticism has been incredibly cruel. Britney’s problems with drugs and alcohol are likely linked to depression, which is linked to self-esteem issues. This latest experience certainly won’t help. Compare Owen Wilson, whose sense of self was so jeopardized, even though he was garnering nothing but positive feedback, that he evidently turned back to drugs.

The more any of us lies to ourselves, celeb or not, the more we split from our truth. Pretty soon, we don’t have a clue about how we really feel about anything, and our lives start to disintegrate. If only Anna-Nicole Smith could have gotten in touch with her real feelings about herself, instead of masking them, she might still be with us. The key is awareness.

To avoid depression that can lead us to drugs and alcohol—talk, talk, talk! Talk to your family and friends; find a therapist or 12-step program that fits, and stick with it. Our fear can really run away with us when we clam up.