Jim Carrey says he knows how to heal people with depression - but does he?

It was interesting to learn that Jim Carrey was set to write a self-help book on depression since the comedian has experienced it himself - although Page Six in The New York Post is now saying that it was all a "joke."

Either way, can he be trusted based on these conflicting reports, as well as his opinion that medication may not be considered "an answer?" He also has a history of producing material that has drawn the ire of the mental health community.

Known for his slapstick performances in the "Ace Ventura" series, Carrey battled depression for a long time after he became famous and resorted to Prozac to cope, the sun.co.uk reports. However, he now believes that medicines are not the answer and wants people to deal more with the root causes, according to the report.

He said: "I dealt with depression for a while by medicating with Prozac and although it was good for dealing with the problem there and then, I wasn't getting to the bottom of my anger and frustration.

"I think we have a real problem these days in that everything is treated with a drug. I think there's a whole new way of healing depression that doesn't require drugs - and I'm writing a book about it."

Mental health activists, meanwhile, have long argued that Carrey's 2000 film, "Me, Myself and Irene," is ignorant, insensitive and filled with myths about schizophrenia, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

In the film, Carrey plays a cop with a mental illness. He's mild-mannered when he takes his medicine, but abusive and even violent when he doesn't.

Doctors say the film and its promotional campaign showing Carrey with a split personality and a tendency to be violent reinforce outdated stereotypes about schizophrenia, according to the CBC.

"Many people in the public have the wrong impression that schizophrenia is an illness that causes people to become dangerous...and that just isn't the case," psychiatrist Dr. Robert Zipursky told the CBC.

Ian Chovril struggled with schizophrenia for 10 years before he was treated, according to the CBC. He doesn't believe there's anything funny about Carrey's movie.

"This one really distorts the truth. This one is really using mental illness and schizophrenia in particular as a plot device, without any regard to the nature of the illness," he says.