Broken Ledger "was ill"

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001 and I am now reading the biography. My consultant psychiatrist said to me last week that he believes that only 50% of celebrities who supposedly have bipolar disorder actually do. Heath made a lot of movies back to back and put himself under an enormous amount of pressure. I agree, it is very easy to examine people's behaviour with hindsight.
Given that every single one of the films Heath made had a nurse and a doctor available to the cast and crew, why weren't problems picked up? Let's celebrate his life on 22 January and here's to a posthumous Oscar for little Matilda.

By Pippa.. Posted January 18 2009 at 1:29 PM.

Hey! Loved the article. I was just wondering who wrote it so I could cite the article for a school project. Thanks

By George.. Posted November 10 2008 at 10:46 PM.

It's nothing to be ashamed of and, I think his uncle speaks out because if you save person by getting out the facts so people will stop shoving away symtoms and get help than Im sure his uncle and Heath himself would applaud. A chemical imbalance is a very hard thing for a person to live with and, it's very hard when your afraid to get help and stay in therapy because of people being afraid. With the right doctor and medicine it can be completely controlled and a person can live their life. People there are many things that can control how people act a Diabetic doesn't have to feel ashame, someone with very bad thyroid disease doesn't. No One ask for these problems and, no one wants them there facts and, if people would stop getting so freak out about these things and learn more and just try to help their fellow man maybe we would hear of so many people getting into drugs and drinking we wouldn't have so many overdoses that sometimes are caused by people having a chemical embalance and trying to hide it not understanding it and afraid of speaking!

By roto4.. Posted November 2 2008 at 2:05 PM.

There is a disease out there and its called mental illness and if untreated because of the stigma attachment well then shame on you. But if you get help it does not have to be terminal. But in a lot of case's it is and they die of something we all know as suicide. Its such a shame and waste. Its takes as much effort to push someone away as it does to pull them close to you.

By KPK.. Posted October 30 2008 at 7:11 PM.

Why can't we just herald Heath's successes. Yes, he lived a very short life due to a mishap with drugs. Yes, he could have had a long and successful life with his daughter and the people who loved him. Yes, he was talented and yes, he could have had demons that plagued him.

The true facts are, he lived, he loved, he rose to great heights during his short time here. Let's not try to fix him now. It is a little too late. It was a shame he died so young, just like it is for many other young people. Did he have bipolar? It is possible, just as I believe most people today may be a bit bipolar, especially given what life is like these days. Let his daughter grow up knowing that daddy was smart, talented, handsome and very much her biggest fan. After all, doesn't every little girl want to know her daddy loved her?

By NNN.. Posted October 30 2008 at 1:46 AM.

JoAnn, I agree that it is pretty disgusting and distasteful that people start all these senseless rumors of serious mental problems (bipolar) w/o any decent evidence. So dumb.

What a lot of this comes down to is that Heath was hardly any different than any of us with the usual problems and tribulations of life. Most of us have very dark moments but dig ourselves out. Seems that he just had crappy company + he did not dig himself out fast enough. Those of us that have made it through rough times are very very blessed. what happ. to him could have happ. to any of us.

By Lana.. Posted October 29 2008 at 1:37 AM.

It's disgusting how people especially an uncle has something to say about his nephew whom isn't around to speak the truth. Everyone wants a bit of the public eye. First, he speaks of the inheritance and how his brother Kim will exclude little Matilda from it. Since that fell through, it's about a mental illness that runs in the family. Let's face it, there isn't a person on this universe that doesn't have something wrong with them. The cause: Life; trials and tribulations! We all experience it.... some better than most. The majority of our population consists of drug addicts, alcoholics or people who accept that they have a problem only to see a pyschotherapist, psychologist, etc. Then they find themselves taking the drug prescribed to alleviate the pain of the harsch realities of this world. Even if that has nothing to do with it, its some cause of behavior that is learned and passed down from generation to generation meaning abuse, lack of confidence, lack of ability to move ahead and tackle your fears, it's endless. As far as I'm concerned, Heath was a great actor who lived, had a beautiful little girl with a beautiful young lady. Unfortunately, his time in this world was short lived because of a mistake on his part regarding the trust of a good friend who gave him a drug with her name on the prescription bottle which had side effects with his own medication therefore, taking his life.

By JoAnn.. Posted October 28 2008 at 5:54 PM.

He was such a great actor becoming even greater.
Some friends did know of his taking pills but it is hard to make the person stop. You cannot lock them up. You sit and listen to them talk but don't know who to call for help. It seems some people at the end did know when he died that day and only helped him get more pills. SADDDDDD!!

By Janet.. Posted October 28 2008 at 5:13 PM.

It's all lies. He was just run down, tired from travelling and working so hard on his film. Maybe he was sad at not seeing Matilda, but he was very happy in Australia and very happy with Gemma Ward, his new girlfriend. Please stop all this lies about Heath.

By John.. Posted October 27 2008 at 4:27 PM.

I kind of agree...but at the same time, many people who are in troubles (emotional trouble) resist anyone trying to help them and also deny even to themselves that they need help.
Perhaps he thought taking prescription pills like ambien would just take the edge off his anxieties...instead of trying to solve them at the core. Lord, I just wish he had had more time to reach them at the core...that's the part that makes me so sad. I'm sure he would have eventually figured out a healthier lifestyle...like so many young ambitious people do. DAMMIT. ::sigh:: still miss him so much.

By Lana.. Posted October 27 2008 at 6:07 AM.

So many 'fears', yet no-one actually reached out a helping hand in those times of despair. Hypocrites.

By Sally.. Posted October 27 2008 at 2:43 AM.