Here are issues 4 and 5 of the Top 20 issues of being a celebrity. For the previous article – celebrity psychological issues 1, 2 & 3 Click here
4. “I can’t trust anyone” – The fake world of fame
The inability to trust is an issue facing every celebrity – even if you were a highly trusting person prior to becoming famous. As mentioned above in Parasites & Enablers, everyone is a ‘yes man’ and you soon wake up to realize everyone ‘loves’ you for a reason – the huge benefits they derive from you. I refer to this as ‘Hello. What can you do for me?’ It’s unspoken but definitely communicated as soon as someone realizes who you are and how you can help them. You constantly feel people are using you and taking advantage of you.
Further, you will never receive an honest opinion or appraisal from the people around you because they are always dependent on you for their subsistence or the many ways you benefit and profit them. There is a powerful story of Mick Jagger working with a new recruit for his tours. On the second day, the new employee approached Mick and asked for his autograph stating that he is a big fan of Mick’s.
Mick kindly obliged, and on the third day, he fired the employee.
Mick Jagger was astute enough to recognize that a fan can never, and would never, give him an honest critique of his work and performances.
5. “I have no friends; I am all alone” – Isolation & loneliness
Isolation is one of the greatest problems and issues for every celebrity. As you become aware of the fakeness of fame, you wake up and start thinking “Everyone just wants me for my money, power or fame.”
You question whether they like you for who you really are or just what you do. At the same time, you quickly see that even your old friends (the real ones) begin to desert you. They were close to you but the more you hang out with them, particularly in public, the more they feel left out. Also, some of them simply can’t handle the overwhelming amount of attention you are getting when you are together. They also feel you have changed. They stop calling. You feel isolated, you begin isolating yourself, and worse, you turn to substances to escape the pain.
It truly can be lonely at the top.
“When “Help!” came out in ’65, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it’s just a fast rock-‘n’-roll song. I didn’t realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. But later, I knew I really was crying out for help. It was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: He – I – is very fat, very insecure, and he’s completely lost himself. And I am singing about when I was so much younger and all the rest, looking back at how easy it was. Now I may be very positive – yes, yes – but I also go through deep depressions where I would like to jump out the window, you know. It becomes easier to deal with as I get older; I don’t know whether you learn control or, when you grow up, you calm down a little. Anyway, I was fat and depressed and I was crying out for help.” – John Lennon – interview with Playboy magazine, January 1981 https://www.recmusicbeatles.com/public/files/bbs/jl_yo.playboy/lennon4.html
For issues 6 & 7 of the top 20 celebrity issues, click here
Anointed “The Woman Expert” by WGN Chicago, Patrick Wanis PhD is a renowned Celebrity Life Coach, Human Behavior & Relationship Expert who developed SRTT therapy (Subconscious Rapid Transformation Technique) and is teaching it to other practitioners. Wanis’ clientele ranges from celebrities and CEOs to housewives and teenagers. CNN, BBC, FOX News, MSNBC & major news outlets worldwide consult Wanis for his expert insights and analysis on sexuality, human behavior and women’s issues. Wanis is the first person ever to do hypnotherapy on national TV – on the Montel Williams show.