Amanda Bynes has #broketheinternet with her recent interview in Paper magazine and I will be the first to say fair play to her!
When I was younger I was never really that big of a fan of her but I always ended up watching her films which to me is a sign of an actress who knows what she is doing.
She also brought Channing Tatum into our lives and for that, we are eternally grateful.
But when she had her rather public drug-induced meltdown she was right in what she said in her interview.
“It definitely isn’t fun when people diagnose you with what they think you are,” Bynes says, in reference to countless headlines over the years that attempted to put a psychological label to her behaviour. “That was always really bothersome to me. If you deny anything and tell them what it actually is, they don’t believe you. Truly, for me, [my behaviour] was drug-induced, and whenever I got off of [drugs], I was always back to normal.”
I know that for some people, mental health issues mean they are more likely to turn to substance abuse, whether that be drink or drugs, but people with no mental health issues also use those substances.
I can honestly say that there have been occasions where I have had too much to drink and acted completely out of character but I don’t think it needs diagnosing as a mental health issue.
During those times, I have reflected on what I have done, apologised to anyone affected and made the conscious decision to not get that drunk again.
And in all honestly, days, weeks, months down the line sometimes I do get that drunk again.
Now before anyone twists my words there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a mental illness and I think it is brilliant how much more open we are with talking about them but I think with that openness comes a crowd of people who love labelling and analysing symptoms that really aren’t there.
Sometimes it is more harmful to continually tell someone that they have a psychological problem then them actually having a psychological problem. I think a few people nowadays feel there has to be a reason for every unusual or strange act but sometimes you can just have a bad day.
In her interview, Amanda apologised for the tweets that she sent out to a range of celebrities and wishes she could go back in time but she can’t and I think we could all take a leaf out of her book.
Sometimes we do act out of character. Sometimes we do drink too much and get into petty fights or great big fights. Sometimes it has nothing to do with drink and you can severely misjudge a situation, or act irrationally, but in those moments, if it’s possible, apologise and move on.
I think Amanda showed a lot of courage owning up to her shortcomings and apologising for them and it’s really made me more determined than ever to do that myself (or hopefully just not act out of character for the foreseeable future).
rochellehughescom.wordpress.com 