Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that is triggered by a traumatic event that replays in a person’s mind.
Symptoms of PTSD include, but are not limited to:
- Intrusive memories
- Avoiding thoughts, places, activities, or people that reminds the person of the traumatic event
- Negative changes in mood and thinking
- Changes in emotional and physical reactions
In recent years, celebrities have brought their personal experiences with PTSD to the forefront of media attention. When celebrities share their personal struggles with mental health, it can shape public opinion about what it’s like to live with mental illness, creating a safer space for those who struggle.
Did you know these three celebrities have lived with PTSD?
Content Warning: Please note that the following information and linked articles reference physical and sexual abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, and acts of terrorism.
Lady Gaga
In 2016, Lady Gaga wrote a blog post highlighting her experiences and takeaways from PTSD and its symptoms. In this blog, she discusses triggers from her memories, her personal reactions, her dissociation, and more.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf has been on top of the acting world since he was a child star playing the character of Louis Stevens in Disney Channel’s hit sitcom Even Stevens & the role of Stanley Yelnats in Disney’s movie adaptation of Holes. In an October 2019 interview on The Hollywood’s Awards Chatter podcast, Shia opened up about how his unique childhood experiences had affected him on the road to his PTSD diagnosis.
Ariana Grande
On May 22, 2017 pop-star Ariana Grande was performing a concert at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England when a suicide bomber murdered 22 concertgoers while injuring a total of 116 more people. The tragedy was devastating and even inspired a star-studded benefit concert for the victims and their families. In April of 2019, Ariana took to Instagram to share with her followers the physical damage and toll the traumatic event has taken on her brain.
If you or someone you know are living with PTSD, clinical research may be able to help. Learn more about a PTSD clinical trial currently recruiting patients in Little Rock, Arkansas by signing up below:
