Thanks to my celebrity gossip addiction, I just learned that Catherine Zeta Jones briefly checked herself into a mental health care facility to treat her bipolar II disorder. I also learned that bipolar II disorder affects 6M Americans, or translates to a lifetime prevalence of 0.5-1% (thank you Wikipedia). First, I think that it is incredibly brave of Zeta-Jones and her family to publicly explain her need for treatment - an article like this can do more to demystify and destigmatize mental illness than countless studies, academic articles, et cetera. Catherine Zeta Jones is beautiful, poised, talented, successful... and bipolar? Stick that in your pipe. Secondly, any time someone seeks treatment voluntarily, they display courage and emotional integrity beyond words. Second, I was inspired by Zeta-Jones to evaluate my own need for some "treatment". When you have ample amounts of money and it's close confidante, time, you have the luxury of stopping your life, at a moment's notice, to take a break from reality (Charlie Sheen), become a fairly routine criminal (Lindsay Lohan), or take care of yourself. As a normal person, I don't get to shut my life down when I feel that my symptoms are getting the best of me, but it's no less important to recognize when my life needs to come second to a little break. This week was the third in a row that I felt I was running on empty and my symptoms were catching up, so I did something new and scary to me: I shut down the "non-critical" elements of my life. I focused on sleeping, working, and taking basic care of myself, and I spent the rest of my time doing nothing. And boy, did I need it. Maybe I have something in common with Catherine Zeta Jones... (other than our devasting good looks).