Of all the celebrities I would have pegged with some kind of mental health disorder, Ms. Zeta-Jones would have never made the list. After supporting her husband Michael Douglas through his cancer treatment, she remained quiet about herself only outspoken on issues pertaining to how upbeat and positive the couple was on Douglas’s treatment.
But clearly, being a bedrock for her husband has taken its toll on her. Last week, she checked into a mental health facility seeking treatment for her bipolar II disorder. Bipolar II is characterized by frequent depressive episodes rather than a constant swing of manic-depressive ones. While only Ms. Zeta-Jones knows what’s been going on inside her mind and her heart, I can only imagine that she’s been suffering with some depression for a while but quietly put it aside as her husband struggled to become healthy again.
In the past, I’ve used the Celebrity Sensitivity feature of this blog to mock celebrities who seem to be diagnosed with nearly any mental illness fad that goes around (normally, depression), but this time my heart goes out to Ms. Zeta-Jones who decided to seek treatment for herself instead of putting on a face like everything’s okay and toughing it out.
depression introspection 
Good posting. Great insight and compassion. I appreciate your addressing the difference between bi-polar and manic-depressive. I thought the terms were interchangable, but see they are not.
Bipolar and manic depression are interchangeable terms (manic depression has somewhat phased out a bit) but when speaking of manic depression that is more of a reference to bipolar I disorder (frequent manic and depressive mood swings) rather than bipolar type II which is characterized by moments of hypomania and mostly depressive episodes.
I’m more along the bipolar type II spectrum as I suffer from depressive episodes.
I’m so happy to find your blog.
Depression has been a lifelong companion of mine but I never really knew I was suffering from a mental illness called depression until about 10 years ago. Depression is so, so tricky. Meds are triky too but help. I am learning not to be judgemental of myself or shamed, or guilty.