Most perceptions by fans of celebrities comes from the Social Media.  There are many different perceptions of celebrities such as, party people, scandalous, drug addicts, or even people who struggle with depression. The connection between child development, depression, and suicide relating with celebrities is close. Celebrities, such as Robin Williams and Owen Wilson can connect their stories of depression to their childhood and there development. Child development is important because the impact from improper child development it could put an impact on the brain. Without proper child development a child could seriously affect their actions as adults and their brain development. For example Ashley Judd and Michel Jackson both went through questionable child development, thus affecting their adult life.

Child development is a hard concept to grasp. Trauma and abuse that happens when a person is young affects their lives as an adult. Experiencing any form of childhood trauma or abuse can influence an adult's quality of life in major ways. It can make day to day activities, such as eating, sleeping, and working hard for them. Trauma and abuse in childhood can also affect their mental health, physical health, and how they are able to relate to other people. Childhood trauma and abuse does not just affect the mind, but the body as well. Kids who feel in danger while growing up tend to have higher stress and anxiety therefore, increasing their emotional instability, making it difficult to sleep, lowering immune function, and increasing the risk of physical illnesses over time. Adults who went through a trauma or abuse are more likely to have an increased risk of having serious illnesses, like diabetes, arthritis, headaches, and depression; they are also more likely to smoke and drink.

Childhood trauma and abuse does not only affect people by their physical health, but also their social aspects; often people see these adults are socially awkward. It is common with people who have been through this usually find it difficult to trust others. As children they might have been let down by the adults who were supposed to nurture and protect them. Thus causing, them to find it difficult to form and withstand a relationships. When children are abused they come to believe the messages their abusers deliver, such as; they are worthless and they have no value in my life. Although, these messages are not true children accept and internalize them as what they see. These messages become imbedded in them so that, when a child who has been abused or traumatized grows up to be an adult they will often experience feelings of low self- esteem or poor self-confidence. Rebuilding self-esteem is a gradual process, but an essential one. These type of adults are often out of touch with their feelings, they are confused by emotions or reactions they cannot explain. They have lived in a place where if they were upset or uncomfortable were punished or ignored. They may have been taught to express and show the negative emotions that are connected with their childhood trauma and abuse, for instance begin mad at themselves or downing themselves.  This confusion often continues into adult life, and can result in amplified experiences of, anxiety, grief, sadness, shaming themselves, self-blame, guilt, pushing themselves away from people, and powerlessness. Like everyone else in the world, people who have gone through childhood abuse and trauma have a right to feel like they belong in the world, but instead they often live with distress and pain. These emotions are so much a part of their day to day lives that they do not realize that there are other courses of action. Unable to eagerly control their emotions they may try to find a coping mechanism, through alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling or other obsessive behaviors. They also harm themselves out of a sense of anguish. All of these coping strategies make sense in the background of childhood trauma and abuse. Knowledge about emotions and what they are, where they come from, and how to react to them is an important part of finding a track to recovery. There are new effective ways they can learn to adjust the intensity of their feelings, so that they do not need to use alcohol, drugs, or cut themselves to express their emotions. Learning about the mental impacts of their trauma or abuse helps them to understand why they have struggled for so long with their unstable emotions, and how they can move forward. Admitting these feelings are real, and understanding where they come from and why they are so intense is an important part of any of their journeys. These factors can all affect health and wellbeing in later life.

As an actress, it was easy for Ashley Judd to hide her depression from the world, but she could not hide it from everyone. Her sister was in a hospital for an eating disorder. While her sister was there the staff began to realize that something was wrong with Ashley. They watched her obsessive need to tidy the room where her sister was staying, and soon they were treating Ashley Judd for depression. Judd would seem to have had a dream life, her mother and sister consist of “The Judd’s” country music duet. She married the race car driver Dario Franchitti, with whom she shared two beautiful homes, and she has excelled in her own right, receiving a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard and starring in such films as, “High Crimes,” and “Ruby in Paradise.” But her childhood was dysfunctional and somewhat isolated, as she was moved between her mother, father and grandparents house and attended 13 different schools. All of the moving from school to school, never gave her the time to adjust to her new surroundings. Having a place you can call home is important for children that safe spot, Ashely never had. Many years later she decided she wanted to make her life an act of giving and helping the community by doing humanitarian work. Since then, she has traveled with Youth AIDS prevention program to Kenya, Rwanda, Cambodia and other countries. She has talked to many different huge organizations around the world. She says, “I didn’t realize it would change my own life,” She goes places in the world no one else goes to, and she absorbs how their everyday lives have been so greatly impacted by war and violence. She has become an amazing advocate for women’s and children’s issues. She does all of these things to help getting over depression. She is so happy she got help, she thought she was crazy. It all started with her childhood, never really having a home always moving was her biggest issue, and that is why she decided to do all of this humanitarian work so that other children will not go through her childhood.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958.  Joseph, Michael’s father, believed his sons had talent, thus he shaped them into a musical group. Michael joined his siblings when he was 5 years old, and he was the group's lead vocalist. He showed such amazing talent for such a young performer, impressing people with his ability to take difficult emotions and sing them. People believed that he was able to do this because of his dad. Joseph was so hard on them, they practiced non-stop. He was also supposedly known to become violent when they would mess up, but that did not stop Michael from branching off and becoming his own person. At the age of 13 he began his solo career. Michael went on to become one of the most famous award winning solo pop artist worldwide to this date. In June, Jackson suffered cardiac arrest in his home. He was then rushed to the hospital; he died later in that day; he was 50 years old. Jackson's death stirred an argument and was ultimately ruled a homicide. Although Michael did not drink as a kid he used drinking and taking medicine as a way to “chill out” when he was feeling stressed out from work (fame). News of Jackson's death caused an outburst of public grief and sympathy. Memorials to Jackson were created around the world, including one at the stadium where he was supposed to perform and another at his childhood home. Michael Jackson would never get to experience the expected success of his comeback tour which he was preparing. All because of depression from fame. He had everything he could imagine, but he still was not happy. Pressure of fame starts at the beginning when people expect so much of you; for example if a person starts a career at a young age like Jackson then it might cause developmental issues; such as You will then start drinking or doing drugs to cope for you problems and stress.
Depression is another common illness that many celebrities struggle with. It is an emotional state of sadness which varies in duration, depth, and intensity. It is a serious disease that millions of people have to deal with, and is seen commonly seen in celebrities because of the intense stress they undergo. It causes people to be tense, worried, and always tired and sad; it does not just change their emotions but it also affect their brain and body. Within the brain depression can cause of memory loss and loss of concentration. Depression has increased levels of cortisol; Excess cortisol has been connected to damaging the hippocampal neurons, which is in the area where the brain is forms important memories. Depression can also affect the functions of the body, for example, a person may begin to gain weight, feel really tired, to lack interested in intercourse, and not being able to sleep. Finally, depression is a can cause suicide. Suicidal thoughts is one of the main signs that is seen through depression. Many of these cases are also linked to childhood development. The development of children is crucial to the later years as adults. The way children are treated follows them through their adult life. Twenty percent of depression victims never truly recover. Suicide takes about forty thousand lives a year in America.

Robin Williams is an example of a depressed man. Robin Williams, was an actor and comedian who struggled with depression. The more successful he became, the stronger he became depressed and anxious. As a kid, Robin dealt with being bullied because he was overweight.  During his career of 30 years, he received over 40 awards, including an Oscar. In 1982, just two years after being in Hollywood Robin began doing drugs and alcohol, mainly cocaine.  However, his wife stated, “Robin’s sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson’s disease.” Unfortunately, on August 11, 2014, Robin Williams committed suicide.  Many suggested that it was Parkinson’s that led to the suicide because Parkinson has been linked to depression. His wife and family believed that he had been struggling with depression before he knew about Parkinson’s. Some people have asked, why would he kill himself at his age? Perhaps he killed himself because he was suffering from depression and anxiety from the pressures of being famous. Working as a celebrity can be very stressful. 

Another example, Owen Wilson, a friend of Robin Williams, struggled with depression due to his high profile career.  As a kid, Owen was a trouble maker, he was expelled his tenth grade year for stealing a teacher’s textbook. He was just a trouble maker. During his success years he tried to take his life by overdosing on pills while at the same time cutting his wrists. His brother Luke found him after the attempted suicide, and he and his family were shocked at his actions. His neighbors say that he did not throw lavish parties, but he did have a substance abuse problem. Owen as a child did all these things to get attention, he felt alone, and when he got older he did the same thing. It is believed that he had been depressed all his life he just did not know. Both actors went through different childhoods, but they both led them to depressions. Their problems caused them to cope like this. Williams, a kid bullied about his weight, as he got older and famous he used depression and sadness. Wilson, as a kid was an attention seeker, he never got the attention he wanted even though he was famous, thus making him depressed.

As you can see these adults become depressed for many different reasons. Child abuse and trauma affected them and also depression and suicide. The fact that many celebrities go through depression, does not really mean that fame is the cause; it is because of their childhoods. Many people daily get diagnosed for depression, but also many of them are not famous. They are just regular people who happen to have either an affect as a kid or maybe in their young adult life. Although, the connection between child development, depression, and suicide relating with celebrities is close, it does not justify the celebrities to blame it on fame.  Many times it is not their fault; the media portrays superstars in the way that they want them to be seen. Thus causing this image, and with this image celebrities can lean on this and say that becoming a celebrity caused the depression, but really it started when they were little.

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