Heigl Gets Candid about Mental Health Treatment
- Actress Katherine Heigl, 43, is opening up about mental health struggles and the medication used to treat her mental health.
- Speak with a psychologist or therapist to help you navigate your mental health journey.
- It’s as important to take care of your mental health as it is your physical health.
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Heigl’s Mental Health Journey
Heigl, who starred in blockbuster hits like 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth, has struggled openly with mental health and expressed in an interview with Yahoo! how she was prescribed selective serotonin repute inhibitors (SSRIs). She says that the SSRIs “saved” her life.
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This medication is used for the treatment of depression. It works to elevate serotonin levels in the brain. Heigl says the isolation of fame contributed to her struggles.
"Being suddenly kind of defined by public opinion was very new. And it was very positive at first, so it felt really good…and then it turned. I did feel very isolated in it, I really got in my head,” she says.
Going to therapy and speaking with a therapist or psychologist is one of the best things you can do to care for and maintain good mental health.
Mental Health & Coping with Emotions
Taking Care of Your Mental Health
We love Heigl’s candor around getting support for her mental health. It's so important to take care of your mind with the same attention you would your body. This is especially true if you or a loved one are going through a physical health challenge as well.
In an earlier interview, Dr. Scott Irwin, Director, Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, speaks about depression in people battling cancer. He says, "Depression is a really interesting topic, because a lot of people assume that, oh, they have cancer. "They must be depressed. That's actually not true. 85% of patients do not get what would be considered a clinical depression. 15% do."
Dr. Irwin continues, "For prescribing medications for depression in the context of cancer, I often try to choose medications with the lowest side effect profile."
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