Kevork Djansezian, Getty Images
Glenn Close has won Emmys, Golden Globes and Tony awards for her roles, but her most recent role as mental illness advocate may be the one that hits closest to home. On Good Morning America, Close revealed that she has carried a secret of mental illness in her own family. She and her sister, Jessie, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder nine years ago, talked to GMA about their new public service announcement designed to increase awareness and hopefully education about mental illness and help remove the stigma.
The sisters say Jessie likely suffered from bipolar disorder, which can create severe shifts in mood and energy, all her life. While Jessie was known among her three siblings as the “wild child,” no one ever suspected she was the victim of mental illness. Glenn Close says it was both a matter of being uneducated and the fact that people just didn’t talk about mental illness -- especially during the time the sisters were growing up.
Click on the video below to see Glenn and her sister Jessie talk about their new PSA. Story continues below the video.
Jessie Close wasn’t formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder until after her own son received a diagnosis for schizo-affective disorder. Both Jessie and her son are receiving treatment for their illnesses -- treatment that for 56-year-old Jessie should have come years ago. In the hopes that other families won’t suffer from either lack of education or fear of being stigmatized, the Closes have established a non-profit organization, Bring Change 2 Mind, which is dedicated to both educating the public about common mental illnesses and providing resources that can help. Users can also upload videos and share their personal diagnosis stories. The sisters also hope their new PSA will go a long way toward helping the public open up about mental illness and realize that psychological disorders are as common and as real as something like diabetes or heart disease.
In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in four American adults is likely suffering from a mental disorder. The National Mental Health Information Center says that the stigma associated with mental illness is a real problem, often preventing people from seeking treatment and often resulting in discrimination against those who do seek treatment.
