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Entertainment
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Entertainment
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On Wednesday, Catherine Zeta-Jones revealed through her reps that she had been receiving medical treatment for bipolar disorder. Zeta-Jones -- who's not only a movie star, but a Tony-winning Broadway actress and a mother of two -- has never before discussed her bipolar II diagnosis with the press. And of course, the press has been consumed with news of her husband Michael Douglas' cancer diagnosis and recovery. Is her revelation as sudden as it seems -- or did we fail to notice clues that the actress was struggling with her mental health?
The UK Daily Mail quotes an interview that Zeta-Jones give last year, in which she admits that she has moments of depression.
"I'm lucky. But that's not to say I don't get down on myself. I try and stay positive, being negative isn't good for my personality," says the actress. "I don't just bring myself down, I bring everyone around me down. It's like a dark cloud: 'Uh oh, here we go,' and have to snap out of it."
The newspaper also cites several moments of erratic behavior in public -- including her strange and hyper speech at the Tony Awards -- that could be chalked up to the manic episodes of bipolar disorder. Of course, she was also dealing with her husband's severely ailing health for most of last year, so it's not surprising that she occasionally lost her composure.
Zeta-Jones was admitted last Wednesday to the Silver Hill psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, Conn., where she stayed in the $1300-a-night detox center with 10-15 other patients. She checked out after five days.
Mental health experts say that Zeta-Jones' bipolar disorder could have started at any time and was probably triggered by the stress of Douglas' cancer treatment. However, it's something she'll have to manage for the rest of her life.
"It is not curable, but it is treatable with medications and psychotherapy," specialist Igor Galynker tells ABC News. "People with bipolar illness can have productive lives like anybody else, once they're in treatment and compliant with treatment."
Zeta-Jones has reportedly been feeling much better since her stay at Silver Hill. She's rumored to have started work on two new films: the sexy soccer-mom comedy Playing the Field with Gerard Butler, and the gambling dramedy Lay the Favorite with Bruce Willis. But she's also finding time to take it easy: On Wednesday, she joined hubby Douglas for a lunch date at a Connecticut pizza parlor. Sounds like maybe the stressed actress is finally starting to find some balance.
