Sukhovirs’ka Ivanna
Dragomanov
National Pedagogical University
The
Institute of Corrective Pedagogy and Psychology, student
Pet’ko Lyudmila
Ph.D., Associate Professor,
Dragomanov
National Pedagogical University (Ukraine,
Kyiv)
Social
Anxiety Disorder. Kim Basinger
Even celebrities
and people who seem to have everything – money, fame, power – struggle with
anxiety and depression at some point in their lives. Social anxiety disorder
(SAD) is one of the most common types of mental disorders. Thirteen percent of
the general population experience symptoms of SAD at some point in their lives.
However with proper diagnosis and treatment, the symptoms of SAD can be
controlled and the quality of life can vastly improve. People who suffer from
social anxiety disorder tend to have an irrational fear of being constantly watched, judged or evaluated and they greatly fear
humiliating or embarrassing themselves or finding themselves in embarrassing
situations. Their anxiety and level of discomfort becomes so grave that it
interferes with how they function on a daily basis [3].
Over 40 million
Americans suffer from some type of anxiety disorder. It can be very
difficult for an average person that suffers from anxiety to live a normal and
happy life. Now, imagine someone who suffers from anxiety and, on top of that,
is a famous celebrity. Celebrities do not live like normal people. Everywhere they go, they are the center of attention. When they are
working — whether it’s on a movie set, a concert stage, or a sports field – all eyes are on them. When they go to the store or drop their
kids off at school, all eyes are on them. They are under constant watch, and
everything they do is usually caught on camera [10].
Kim Basinger
(8.12.1953, Athens, Georgia) is one of the many celebrities who battled with
social anxiety. Born in Athens, Georgia on December 8, 1953, Basinger won the
Georgia Junior Miss Pageant at the age of 16 and moved on to the National
competition in New York. After a brief stint as a successful model Basinger
decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of being an actress. Kim
Basinger won Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars in 1998 for her film L.A. Confidential [5; 6; 1].
But her anxiety
dates back to her childhood and has followed her through her successful career
as a model and actress. She eventually found relief through therapy Kim's
parents had her tested as a child for autism and/or other psychiatric disorders
due to her being so withdrawn. The test results were inconclusive. Kim's worst
fear while growing up was reading aloud in class that it reached a point when
her teachers thought she was experiencing a nervous breakdown. When she
accepted her award at the Oscars, she couldn't even speak even when she
practiced her acceptance speech days beforehand [9; 3].
Nata Lee poits
out that Kim Basinger’s acting style is shy. Though classically beautiful, the
model-turned-actress is more approachable than many of her runway/celluloid
colleagues, possibly because the fear of rejection is writ large throughout her
perfection. This chasm between an emotional fragility and a physical loftiness
is present in virtually all of her better performances [6].
In documentary «Panic: A Film About
Coping» Kim Basinger said that after her first panic attack in
the grocery store, she went home and did not leave her house for six months. Kim said, «Fear has been something
I’ve lived with my entire life, the fear of being in public places, which led
to anxiety or panic attacks. I stayed in my house and literally cried every day» [8].
A person's experience of their first panic attack, or first few panic attacks, tends to play
out differently from the ones that come after. The first time someone has a
panic attack it often catches them completely off guard. It's not uncommon for
people to interpret their symptoms as a sign they're having a heart attack,
seriously ill some other way, or that they're going crazy. It's also not that
rare for a person to go to the hospital because of it.
In this excellent
video-lecture the author says, that Kim Basinger has suffered from anxiety,
panic attacks, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. The discusses the things that
people can learn from a documentary that the author watched concerning Kim
Basinger and her struggles with anxiety, panic attacks, panic disorder, and
agoraphobia. The students can learn from this video concerning Kim Basinger and
we really hope that the author will convey a helpful and information for
somebody’s anxiety, panic attacks, and agoraphobia [4].
Panic attacks are bouts of intense anxiety. They come on quickly,
sometimes seemingly out of nowhere, but at other times in response to a
stressful event or the thought that something unavoidable and bad is going to
happen in the future. There's an understandable urge to flee from the scene.
They usually don't last more than half an hour, but the person who just had one
may feel drained and jittery for hours afterward. The main psychological
symptoms are intense fear, and feelings that something terrible is going to
happen, or that you're going to die, faint, lose control, or go crazy [10].
To conclude,
contrary to popular opinion, the life of a celebrity is far from perfect.
Celebrities face the constant pressure of being in the spotlight, while still
dealing with all of the imperfections that come with being human. Many
celebrities realize that it is futile to try and hide their disorder, and so
they are very open about it. They are Barbara Streisand, Michael Jackson, Nichole Kidman, Leann Rimes, Fred Durst,
David Beckham, Adele, Emma Stone, Kate Moss, Howie Mandel, Woody Allen, Johnny
Depp, Oliva Munn, Marilyn Monroe, Charlize Theron, Jonathan Knight, Rosanne
Barr, Jessica Alba [10; 7].
Bibliography
1.
Ñåêðåòû Ëîñ Àíäæåëåñà (L.A. Confidential) (õóäîæåñòâåííûé ôèëüì, ðåæ. ʸðòèñ Õýíñîí, ÑØÀ, 1997), [Web site]. – Access
mode: https://my-hit.org/film/587/
3. Goodvin Gloria. Kim Basinger's
Battle With Social Anxiety [Web site]. – Access
mode:
http://www.beyondanxietyanddepression.com/celebrities-anxiety/kim-basingers-battle-social-anxiety
4. Kim Basinger. Agoraphobia (video-lecture) [Web site]. – Access mode: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2xL8JAMokk
5.
L.A. Confidential (movie, 1997) Stars: Russell Crowe,
Kim Basinger
Director: Curtis Hanson [Web site]. – Access
mode: http://www.tubeplus.me/player/295828/L.A._Confidential/
6. Lee Nata. The Kim Basinger Review [Web site]. – Access
mode: http://www.movieactors.com/acting-reviews/kim-basinger-review.htm
9. Social Anxiety – Celebrities with Social Anxiety Disorder (video) [Web site]. – Access mode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZgnTNDliPs
pools and sharks.