Charlie Sheen, Brittany Spears, are we seeing any similarities?

With the entertainment world sitting in a front row seat, watching Charlie Sheen’s self-destruction, isn’t anyone reminded of something similar happening to Brittany Spears not all that long ago?

At first, Sheen’s behaviour looked like typical spoiled brat behaviour – just as Spears’ behaviour did. But as Sheen is spinning further and further out of control, it’s like watching Spears all over again.

While we don’t have an official diagnosis on Spears and nobody has diagnosed Sheen, it seems pretty obvious to the average person that there is much more going on than just bad behaviour.

According to the National Institute of Health, one in four American adults have a mental disorder. The Canadian Mental Health Association says that 20% of Canadians will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives.

While some mental illnesses are depression and anxiety (which can be life threatening), they include other types, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, among many others.

Mental illness is not anything to laugh about. If it turns out that Sheen is just being a jerk, then well, that’s what he is. But it doesn’t seem that way and rather than laughing at him and giving him all this attention, maybe we should walk away and hope that he gets the help it looks like he needs.