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Is Maia Campbell Struggling With Mental Illness?
On Thursday, Actress Maia Campbell became a top trending topic on Twitter after video of her cursing and ranting (almost incoherently) surfaced on the internet.
Numerous blogs (including this one) posted the video, suggesting her behavior may have been drug induced.
What few blogs talked about was that Maia is believed to be suffering from bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia.
HListed showed Dr. De Thigpen, an L.A. based psychologist, the Maia Campbell video.
Dr. De, who has not treated Campbell, says that if Maia has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, her behavior on the video is consistent with that diagnosis, “During the video, Maia displayed symptoms of disorganized schizophrenia. The way she moved and spoke showed that she really didn’t seem to be in complete control of her faculties. She also made up words and had trouble organizing her thoughts to make logical connections. Many people associate those behaviors with drug abuse, but mental illness can also look similar.”
For that reason, Dr. De doesn’t rule out drug abuse as a possible cause, “People that use drugs can be mistaken for people with schizophrenia and people with schizophrenia can be mistaken for people who use drugs. This confusion occurs frequently.”
According to Dr. De, there is another connection between schizophrenia and illicit drug abuse, “Schizophrenics are more likely to use illegal drugs than not. Those schizophrenics who use illegal drugs often don’t follow their treatment plan which can make their symptoms worse.”
Maia isn’t the only celebrity whose unseemly behavior has brought speculation of drug abuse and mental illness. After Britney Spears displayed erratic and unpredictable behavior that landed her on the cover of tabloid magazines for months on end, many people surmised that she may have been suffering from an untreated mental illness like bipolar disorder. While no mental illness was ever confirmed publicly, ultimately, Britney’s father intervened and is given credit for helping to get the singer back on track.
If Maia is suffering from schizophrenia, Dr. De says it might be hard for her to seek out help, “Oftentimes, people with schizophrenia who are not taking their medication do not recognize that their behavior is problematic so they don’t feel the need to seek treatment.”
And what if they don’t get help? “If they don’t get help they continue to suffer. Some of them commit suicide because of their delusions and hallucinations. At the very least, it’s very difficult for them to maintain meaningful relationships and be fully functional in the world.”
18 Responses to “Is Maia Campbell Struggling With Mental Illness?”
Trackbacks for this post
- Twitted by hlisted
- Maia Campbell & The Curious Case of Social Blogging « The Life and Times of a Blogger
- WHAT IS GOING ON EITH MAIA CAMPBELL? « "WandaPhull World"
- Maia Campbell Now In Treatment | HListed.com
- Maia Campbell’s Family Releases A Statement | HListed.com
- Is Maia Campbell Struggling With Mental Illness? | HListed.com : Schizophrenia Page
- (Video) Another Maia Campbell Video Surfaces, Psychologist Weighs In | HListed.com
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I think something needs to be done to help her. Is there any way that someone can track her down? Where is her family? I know her mother died in 2006, but does she have relatives anywhere else? Seeing her like that really disturbed me, and I wish I were in a position to do more…
Finally! Some real discourse here. I’m very happy to see Dr. De Thigpen address the Maia situation. I think this conversation needs to continue, especially since there are probably many more women of color suffering as a result of an anxiety disorder.
Keep ‘em coming, Nicole!
This is a good piece and I commend the site for actually doing some work. Hopefully this will lead to people that care about her reaching out.
Great post Nicole! The doctor is right on the money. When I saw her my heart actually bled because she did seem to be very disorganized in her head mixed with a lot of fear. I really send her love and light. Yesterday I wished ill on the guy who made that video but maybe it was for the best. Maybe her loved ones will reach out
Yes, we debated whether or not to post this video here on HListed and actually, at one point yesterday we took it off the site completely.
Ultimately, after seeing all of the erroneous (and damaging) comments about her all over the internet, (ranging from folks calling her a “8itch on meth” to a “crack whore”) we chose to put it back up but to do so in a way that would paint a more complete picture of what people were seeing.
We also felt a responsibility to, in some way, stand up for what we’ve heard is her truth (mental illness). We hope that people walk away from our article a little bit more informed, much more compassionate and less likely to make fun of what is a very serious medical condition that any number of us could possibly encounter in our own lives.
Thank you to everyone for your comments. We hope you keep them coming.
Nicole
Yet another tragedy. And, we are all implicated by our voracious appetite for negative, destructive information about deeply flawed (and gravely ill) human beings. This is much better than the rest of the stuff that is being posted about her, at least raising the issue of mental illness…but even if she doesn’t have a formal diagnosis (and I think she does), addiction itself is an illness…I just hope that all of the attention gets her some help and perhaps calls attention to the role of mental illness often plays in substance abuse. I am praying for her as well as for all those folk spewing vitriolic words about her.
This is trully sad! I, too, was upset with the person video taping/ harrassing her, but realization hit me; this could be what she needed! Hopefully someone will try to reaach out to her…especially before it’s too late.
The most revolutionary thing we can do is to love, uplift and encourage one another by sharing ourselves– and our stories with one another. We,as a community ,are dying because we haven’t named our pain-we don’t know what it looks like, sounds like and feels like. Yet it is literally everywhere we turn..in our families, the workplace and the violence we witness daily in our streets. Depression..pain is not a crime..it’s an illness. THERE IS HELP. Too many r needlessly and silently suffering because we think we are the only ones who are suffering –when in fact, we all wear the mask. I encourage people who care and have been awakened by Maia’s pain to pick up “Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting” Promise u will see yourself and everyone u know.. we have to learn to sit with and deal with our pain..and take the time to recognize that there are things that are going on inside u that need to be released, felt, lived or grieved. with no place to go, we self medicate–food, drugs, alcohol, shopping when we have no money, promiscuous/unprotected sex, gambling, working 24/7 etc. What i have learned is that God will get u thru the fire and back –so that, standing strong, u can tell your story to someone who needs to know. I speak from experience. http://www.youtube.com/user/studio9pro for testimonials.
THANK YOU! THIS MY PROOF. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS TO PEOPLE AND THEY STILL CONSIDER HER A CRACKHEAD. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
My heart truly goes out to Miss Campbell. It’s unfortunate that this has taken place in this young woman’s life. I pray for a covering over her mind and body and that she receives the help that is needed to recover. Hopefully with professional insight, such as Dr. De and others, that help is on the way. Lets just keep her encouraged regardless if its drug abuse or mental illness.
Maia campbell behavior on the video hit home for me I have a younger brother who I helped raise and was once close too who was diagnosed in 1998 with schizophrenia he refuses treatment or medication instead turning to drugs and alcohol which made his problems get much worse and brought out the worst in him making him violent angry and hurting people who were good to him (including me which destroyed our relationship I haven’t spoken to my brother in years) when a close family member is ill it puts stress on the entire family.some people suffering from mental illness end up chronic homeless,in and out the jail system or mental health facilities or some end up in self destructive mode unable to control there lives. We as a people need to stop being in denial about mental illness and encourage the people we see suffering from it to seek professional help