Katy Perry, Depression, and our woke society.
If you think Katy Perry is woke, you need to woke the hell up. Thanks.
Anyone who follows Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and the like know that Katy Perry recently aired a 96-hour live stream. Yes, four days of Katy Perry.... She has a new album out and that is a great way to promote herself in the digital age of social media. So what is the biggest issue I find in all of this? The part of her live stream in which she had a therapy session in order to show her fans (and the world) her battle with depression and suicidal thoughts.
I have been diagnosed with 'major depression' and anxiety. Similar to Perry I would say I am open and honest about my struggles with depression (being lethargic, suicidal thoughts, etc.) and the panic attacks from my anxiety that are exhausting and debilitating. However, what goes on in my therapy sessions are between me and my doctor. There are patient/doctor confidentiality laws for a reason and I think any therapist worth a shit wouldn't agree to a live streamed session with his or her patient. By airing this usually very private interaction Katy took something sacred away from what therapy sessions are all about. These sessions are a safe place for a person to feel protected from the judgement of the rest of the world and Perry just invites the whole world for a look inside.
In no way am I saying Katy Perry does not have depression that she battles everyday. But what I am implying is that she ruined what little privacy she did have and ruin the safe space she created for herself to work on depression and thoughts of suicide. I am completely disappointed in her, and I am even more upset with those who say she is a warrior for putting herself out there and making mental illness non-taboo.
How can anyone actually say she is making the world a less judgmental place for people with mental illness? To those people I say, wake the fuck up! Her new album, Witness was released last Thursday and so she decides to open her world up this past weekend to the rest of us because she wants to empower us? No, she wants us to buy her bandwagon third wave feminist lack luster album.
I am a disappointed fan to say the least.
Do you think Perry is exploiting her depression for record sales? Let me know in the comments and we can have a thoughtful discussion.
I love my Steemit community and I am forever grateful for everyone on here. Much Love.
Cheers,
Simkat
It trivializes the issue of why people go to therapy. How long does it take people to get to the point of realizing they need it? A long time in my opinion.
Well the new album has one decent song going for it.
I do think that anyone shallow enough to whore around Hollywood wouldn't think twice about sharing that experience!
It is upsetting to me because she is this huge celebrity and could make such a genuine impact on the lives of her fans and others if she actually wanted too.
Yes, but she's a slave to rhythm as well my dear. L'oreal might have something to say if she wanted to save the animals from testing for example.
Peace
She is a representative for Covergirl which tests on animals! No one seems to actually care about that! Good point!
Covergirl that's the one, sorry L'oreal lol!
Really great post.
Thanks! Don't drink the kool-aide my friend!
I hate kool-aid and the kool kids that are into Katy Perry.
She is like a plastic bag, drifting through the wind.....
I think stars exploit everything they can to maintain their celebrity status. They feed on it. Meanwhile, unfortunately for many the same celebrities then set the bar for "wokeness" in our society. Idolizing celebrities is one of the worst things we can teach our kids.
I completely agree. It's hard being a person who stands on the outside looking in at all the sheeple who call themselves "woke".
lol, right you are. Woke signifies that it is a destination, when being awake is constant evolution and growing understanding.
That was beautiful. Yes, yes, yes.
Thanks. Check out some of my poetry if you get a chance.
I've been dealing with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks for most of my life.
It does seem like she is exploiting her depression for record sales.
I hear you!
When I first saw that she live streamed this therapy session I was a little conflicted because on the one hand I love that people with mental Illnesses are starting to speak up more but on the other hand I feel like she is doing all of us (with depression) a disservice and using it for personal gain.
Exactly. It's one thing to be open about it and provide awareness. It's quite another to live stream an actual therapy session!
This is why I love Steemit. People such as yourself who understand where I am coming from!
Sometimes my depression causes me to feel isolated so I'm always happy to find someone I can relate to.
Following :-)
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I know many celebrities feel that they need to use their platform for something constructive but agree that the situation could / should have been handled better. There are other ways to advocate for therapy and everyone seems to feel that the timing is less than favorable. On one hand, I'm down for anything that brings dialogue. I've lost two close members of my family to suicide and can't help but ask what would have happened if things were different for them, if the social stigma was gone, if they had help readily available that they could afford. On the other hand, I think of the young people watching the live stream that think that this is what therapy can be, that their privacy could be violated, and that people can set up cameras and come in and watch rather than it being about health and personal growth.
It begs the question, how far is too far?
I have also lost family members to suicide and it makes me wonder if help was more affordable and there wasn't such a stigma around mental illness and also having suicidal thoughts, would these people still be around? Who really knows.
I do agree with you that even though I don't like how she live-streamed her therapy session, it probably did get people talking about mental illness which is something people should be talking about and not pretending like it doesn't exist.
Much respect for putting your opinion out there! As a person who also struggles with anxiety as well as ocd, I can understand your concern with Katy airing her therapy session to the public. On the flip side however, I believe it is Katy's right to wave doctor/patient confidentiality here. It is not the therapist's wrong doing to allow this. The therapist is required to keep confidentiality unless the patient waves this, which obviously Perry did. Also, I do think it was a brave thing to do to share her struggles with the world. The timing coinciding with her album release isn't surprising. In today's digital world artists have to think outside to box to promote their work. You can't blame her for promoting her most recent album, it's her work and her creation that she wants to share with the world, regardless of whether or not you enjoy it. She could have easily gone down a much less classy road with promotion like so many do (think "accidentally" released sex tapes or "hacked" nude photos etc.). All in all I think Katy Perry is brave, beautiful and an inspiration to all.
Peace,
Jill :)
Getting dialogue started I think is a positive thing to come out of her live streamed session. I also agree that it is also her right to disclose whatever she wants about her life. However, promoting her album by exploiting her mental illness is not something I get behind. It crossed a line with me and I don't think it was brave. I think it was disappointing she chose that avenue.
I see your point, it's totally valid. I can understand why youre disappointed.