Did Heath Ledger's commitment to his craft come back to haunt him?

The release of "The Dark Knight" - and the critical raves regarding Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker - brings to mind a comment made by Jack Nicholson, who originally played the role in the 1989 movie version of "Batman."

The New York Daily News reported that Ledger thought that landing the demanding role was a dream come true, but Nicholson allegedly warned him that the role could take a dangerous toll.

Indeed, Nicholson - and who was furious he wasn't consulted about the role - offered a cryptic comment when told Ledger was dead, the newspaper reported.

"Well," he said, "I warned him."

Nicholson may be flashy, brash and outspoken, but his credibility is rarely called into question. Indeed, the comment may point to the physical and mental expense actors suffer when they assume a role that plays to the dark side of their soul.

For method actors, especially, assuming any role that requires using deep emotional energy can have an even larger impact. The acting style requires the person to wrap themselves in a character's personality - sometimes to the point of strangling themselves.

Marlon Brando, in fact, pointed to that issue when he decided to no longer pursue demanding roles after "Last Tango in Paris." After that, he only took easy roles - his performance in the blockbuster "Superman," for instance - that did little to improve his stature but raked in a lot of cash.

Last year, Ledger told reporters he "slept an average of two hours a night" while playing "a psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy," the Daily News reported.

"I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going."

Prescription drugs didn't help, he said in the story. Later, they ended his life.

Drugs can only help - not hurt, doctors say

An Oregon doctor has taken issue with comments from a spokesperson for the MAD Pride movement who argued that new anti-psychotic drugs can be dangerous.

Chuck Areford, a long-time health worker in the Oregon area, made his comments in a July 10, 2008 blog post on Coping with Life.

Richard Staggenborg, a board certified psychiatrist working for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Oregon, said Areford makes some highly debatable, "if not flatly false," assertions about the risks vs. benefits of antipsychotic medications.

Staggenborg said he only perfunctorily acknowledges the risks of discontinuing these medications without medical supervision before going on to argue essentially that they should never be prescribed.

"His entire thesis undermines the credibility of the doctors under whose supervision he states patients should adjust their medication," he said. "The effect is to encourage them instead to make decisions to stop their medications on their own or on the advice of well-meaning but misinformed nonmedical experts such as himself."

He challenged Areford's assertion that “the life expectancy of those treated in mental health centers has plunged to an appalling 25 years less than average (since the introduction of atypical antipsychotics).”

Rispiridone, he said, the oldest antipsychotic in widespread use, was not introduced until 1993. "Clearly, this remarkable claim is based on extrapolation from highly questionable assumptions," he said.

Staggenborg said it is "indisputably true" that some of these medications have substantial risks of metabolic side effects, such as high cholesterol and increased risk of diabetes. But others have not been clearly linked to these problems, he said, despite the mandatory Food and Drug Administration class warnings.

"These risks have to be balanced against the devastating consequences of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the illnesses for which they are most clearly indicated," he said. "One of these risks is a substantially increased chance of suicide in untreated mania, bipolar depression or schizophrenia. Treatment of these conditions has been shown to reduce suicidality and therefore would be expected to increase life expectancy."

It's better to be "mad" than be medicated, some say

Now that "MAD Pride" seems to be gaining momentum, some leaders of the movement are trying to steer people away from anti-psychotic drugs.

Chuck Areford, described by the organization "Mind Freedom International"- an organization that opposes the heavy prescription of medication to treat mental illness - as someone who has worked in the public health system for years, says a new class of drugs, such as Clozaril, Zyprexa and Risperdal, have largely replaced older medications such as Thorazine, Haldol and Prolixin.

But research and advertising sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, he says, have led to the widespread belief that the newer medications were indisputably safer, more effective and well worth additional billions of dollars in taxpayer money.

"Since then, the life expectancy of those treated in community mental health centers has plunged to an appalling 25 years less than average," he said. "Life expectancy may have fallen by as much as 15 years since 1986. Indications are that the death rate continues to accelerate in what must be ranked as one of the worst public health disasters in U.S. history."

He said people who need mental health services already suffer from high rates of cigarette smoking, lack of exercise, substance abuse, poor nutrition, homelessness and poor access to health care. Adding medications "pours gasoline on a fire," he said, and the "lethal" combination is almost certainly driving the spiraling death rate.

"Advances in brain imaging techniques show that antipsychotic medications cause brain damage," he says. "Animal and human studies link the drugs to shrinkage of the cerebral cortex, home to the higher functions."

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.

Anti-medication groups combine forces to fight "forced drugging"

Promising to fight what they call "pervasive and harmful violations of mental health clients" who receive drugs and electric shock treatment in the United States, The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights and the MindFreedom Shield Campaign announced today a joint Task Force on Mental Health Legal Advocacy & Activism.

Task Force organizers say the combination of PsychRights' expertise for strategic litigation and the "people power" of MindFreedom activists around the country will bring a synergy and geographic reach to their demands for people’s "legal and human rights" regarding medication use.

The new partnership of law and nonviolent activists has an initial focus in the states of California, Massachusetts and New York, organizers say.

"People's rights in forced drugging proceedings are ignored as a matter of course, resulting in great harm to them and decreased public safety," PsychRights' President Jim Gottstein said.

David Oaks, director of MindFreedom International, said violence committed by individuals labeled "mentally ill" has led to a backlash calling for a "massive increase in forced psychiatric drugging."

"Contrary to public perception, forcing people to take psychiatric drugs can often increase violence, rather than decrease it," said Gottstein. "If people were warned that both taking and withdrawing from these drugs can at times contribute to committing terrible acts, they and their loved ones can be alert to the possibility and tragedies averted."

Going off your meds could have serious consequences

Only 4 percent of Americans with mental illness kill. But many of those cases involve people who didn't pay enough attention to their condition.

The Campus Police at Northern Illinois University say Stephen Kazmierczak, the man responsible for killing five people and himself, had stopped taking his medication before the shootings, according to news reports.

The medications the Northern Illinois shooter were not identified. But the incident speaks to the potential consequences of deciding to not take any prescribed medications.

Once on their medications, physicians say, patients feel fine and feel they do not need their medicine. But any psychological disorder should be treated like any other disease.

"If you have diabetes or a different health concern, you can be stable on your medications and feeling really good, but things would go really bad if you went off that medication and it's the same thing with any psychiatric medications," said Elisabeth Kinghorn, an Idaho medical professional who spoke to western news outlets.

Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose

Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs that included painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, the New York City medical examiner says.

"Mr. Heath Ledger died as the result of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine," medical examiner's spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a news release that was reported by The Associated Press.

The medical examiner's office only provided generic names, so it is unknown whether he took generic or brand-name drugs, according to The Associated Press. Police had said they found six types of prescription drugs, including sleeping pills and anti-anxiety medication, in Ledger's apartment.

Oxycodone is a painkiller marketed as OxyContin and used in other painkillers such as Percodan and Percocet; hydrocodone is used in a number of painkillers, including Vicodin. Diazepam and alprazolam are the generic names for the anti-anxiety drugs Valium and Xanax, and the other two drugs are sleep aids commonly sold under the brands Restoril and Unisom, according to The Associated Press.

Heath Ledger's autopsy results could be revealed; what will the public learn?

The answer to why Heath Ledger died could be revealed as early as today, according to the Melbourne Daily Sun.

But a public that has been clamoring for information regarding the late actor may not get all their questions answered - not right away, at least.

The New York Chief Medical Examiner's Office, responsible for Ledger's autopsy and deciphering tests undertaken on his blood and tissue, confirmed today it was close to announcing the cause of the 28-year-old Australian actor's death, the paper reported.

"We're expecting something in the next two days,'' Ellen Borakove, director of public affairs at the New York Chief Medical Examiner's office, said.

But other questions, such as the official estimated time Ledger died, will not be made public, according to the Sun.

The Sun reported there has been speculation since Ledger's body was discovered in the bedroom of his rented Manhattan apartment on Jan. 22 that the actor may have been saved if medical help was called earlier.

New York police have said masseuse Diana Wolozin, who found Ledger's lifeless body, called Hollywood actress Mary-Kate Olsen several times before alerting paramedics.

NYPD investigators who inspected Ledger's apartment, however, said there were no signs of foul play or evidence to suggest he committed suicide, according to the Sun. They also dismissed reports illegal drugs were found.

Police did find six different types of prescription drugs in the apartment, including pills to treat anxiety and insomnia.

That claim has inspired the media to do more than implicate that drugs contributed to his death (see New York Daily News cover, above) - despite the fact that much of the drug-death evidence is circumstantial.

The media frenzy has inspired many to do a Google search and ask questions that have led them to this blog. They've asked: Can anti-anxiety and anti-depressants be mixed? Was Heath Ledger a drug addict? How will Michelle Williams, his actress-girlfriend, cope?

Based on what's been said, we may never know.

Hey, Woodstock alumni: The "brown acid" actually may be good for you

Dude - psychedelic drugs are back. But not in the traditional drop-in, drop-out sense.

David Jay Brown wrote in the December issue of Scientific American that LSD and magic mushrooms and other drugs that "blew minds in the 1960s" may soon may be used to treat mental ailments.

Scientists say they have "therapeutic potential" because they could ease a variety of difficult-to-treat mental illnesses, such as chronic depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and drug or alcohol dependency, Brown wrote.

Clinical trials are underway - so start lining up, hippies. This time they are being explored in labs for their therapeutic applications rather than being used illegally, Brown wrote.

"The past 15 years have seen a quiet resurgence of psychedelic drug research as scientists have come to recognize the long-underappreciated potential of these drugs," Brown wrote. "In the past few years, a growing number of studies using human volunteers have begun to explore the possible therapeutic benefits of drugs such as LSD [and] psilocybin."

Much remains unclear, but scientists do believe they have somewhat similar psychoactive effects that make them potential "therapeutic tools," Brown wrote.

Though still in their preliminary stages, studies in humans suggest that the day when people can schedule a psychedelic session with their therapist to overcome a serious psychiatric problem may not be that far off.

Crosby Stills Nash & Young - Long Time Gone Lyrics

It's been a long time comin'
It's goin' to be a Long Time Gone.
And it appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long
Time, yes, a long, long, long ,long time before the dawn.

Turn, turn any corner.
Hear, you must hear what the people say.
You know there's something that's goin' on around here,
The surely, surely, surely won't stand the light of day.
And it appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long
Time, yes, a long, long, long ,long time before the dawn.

Speak out, you got to speak out against the madness,
You got to speak your mind,
If you dare.
But don't no don't now try to get yourself elected
If you do you had better cut your hair.
`Cause it appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long,
Time, such a long long long long time before the dawn.

It's been a long time comin'
It's goin' to be a long time gone.
But you know,
The darkest hour is always
Always just before the dawn.
And it appears to be a long, appears to be a long,
Appears to be a long
Time before the dawn.

Faced with loss, Michelle Williams can find hope

If Heath Ledger's ex-girlfriend, Michelle Williams, is looking for inspiration in the face of her loss, she can look no farther than Mary Jo Codey.

Williams (left), an actress, has been out of public view since "The Brokeback Mountain" star's death last week. But she is believed to be very distraught over the loss of the father of her 2-year-old daughter.

Codey, meanwhile, is the wife of Richard Codey, who served as New Jersey's acting governor from 2004 to 2006. But she is known mainly for her public disclosure that she suffered from postpartum depression.

The illness has dominated much of the last 25 years of Codey's life. But her story has inspired many - and now it's culminated with her winning the Eli Lilly Welcome Back Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ten years ago, Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical promotion company, says it launched the "Welcome Back Awards" to fight the stigma associated with depression and promote the understanding that depression is treatable.

Codey is "an amazing woman who has lent her life, public forum and passion to the cause of perinatal mental health," said Susan Dowd Stone, president of Postpartum Support International. "For years, Mary Jo has been a national spokesperson and crusader for maternal mental health, sharing her story to help other women reach out for help."

Knight-Ridder newspapers recently provided an in-depth and stirring account of how Codey recovered from the depths of postpartum depression to become a national symbol:

After giving birth to a son in 1984, Codey said she didn't feel the joy she saw on her husband's face. Her indifference became irritability, and then she began having thoughts that scared her -- urges to drown Kevin, or put him in the microwave.

Horrified by those images, Codey placed 6-week-old Kevin in her husband's arms and demanded to go to a mental institution.

"I didn't realize that once you were depressed, you could get over it. I just thought I was crazy. I gave the baby to my husband, and I said, 'Find yourself a new wife, Richie, someone who will be good to the baby,'" Codey recounted. "Suicide looked good to me. If you're having thoughts about harming your baby, wouldn't you rather kill yourself?"

At the Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead, N.J., Codey's condition stabilized with antidepressants. She returned home, but hid her experience from her family and friends. "I was afraid that maybe God would think I was ungrateful for the baby, and I wasn't. I went to a fertility doctor for three years to have him."

She stopped taking the medication when she became pregnant with her second son, Christopher, in 1988. By her eighth month, she was severely depressed, and her doctor told her that electric-shock therapy was her only option. She had one 11-week treatment that resulted in some memory loss, but no pain.

"I felt like such a waste of a human being, because there I was, eight months pregnant with a gift, and I was going for shock therapy," she said. "I didn't understand depression was biological and not my fault."

After Christopher's birth, Codey went back on her medication, and this time there were no baby blues.

"I could do and feel the things other mothers did," she said.

She told Kevin, now 20 and a sophomore at Drew University, and Christopher, 16 and a junior at Montclair Academy, about her illness "almost as soon as they could understand English."

"I never wanted them to hear, 'When you were born, your mother was so depressed she went to a psychiatric hospital,"' Codey (right) said. "If I wasn't secure in my relationship with them, I'd be afraid to tell them."

But her battle with depression wasn't over.

Early in 2002, shortly after her husband became copresident of the state Senate, Codey's antidepressants stopped working. Her doctor changed her medicine, but the dosage was too high.
Codey said she recalled opening her refrigerator on St. Patrick's Day, asking Christopher what he wanted for lunch, and then collapsing.

At the hospital, the family was told that doctors had induced a coma to stop seizures caused by the new medication. But then they couldn't bring her out of the coma.

"What do you say to your two teenage sons who ask if Mom is going to live?" her husband said, recalling the days he spent at the hospital.

Codey emerged from the coma after seven days, but struggled without medication for her depression.

Two weeks later, a routine mammogram showed she had breast cancer, the disease that had killed her mother. "I was a mess anyway, so the news didn't frighten me," Codey said. "My family was upset, but I was already as low as I could go."

She had a double mastectomy, fighting the cancer with chemotherapy and the depression with more shock therapy. As her cancer entered remission, a doctor put her on new depression medication that she said had worked well.

Codey said she was struck by the contrast between the care and concern breast-cancer patients receive and the stigmas associated with people suffering from mental illness.

She formed a postpartum-depression group at her local hospital, St. Barnabas, and listened to new mothers recount the same sort of thoughts she'd had. Her husband said he had often come home to find a new mother crying to his wife on the couch.

After Jim McGreevey resigned as governor in November 2004 and her husband became the state's chief executive, Codey resolved to use the opportunity. She speaks to mental-illness and women's groups two or three times a week, she said.

"When we're out on the weekends, women will grab Mary Jo by the arm and say, 'Thank you,'" Richard Codey said. "It helps when you have a survivor who can make people reach out and feel what you're talking about.

Those who felt "maladjusted" can be creative, King said

Mindfreedom International says the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called for "creative maladjustment."

MLK said over and over that the world is in dire need for an "International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment."

Martin Luther King's dream was not, apparently, ever officially realized. Until last year.

MindFreedom International, which works for the human rights of people in the mental health system, intentionally and officially began an "IAACM" as part of its campaign to show "every human being's creative uniqueness and right to be nonviolently different."

"We are proud to be mad, to be vulnerable, to be human beings. We are proud to be maladjusted to a world which believes in war and division, a world which does not value uniqueness, creativity, love, insight and harmony," said Mary Maddock, co-founder of MindFreedom Ireland.

The mental health organization, which prides itself for pushing for mind improvement without medicine, asks people to consider what action they will take to show their "creative maladjustment" as MLK's 80th birthday approaches in 2009.

MLK repeated this theme more than a dozen times in essays and speeches stretching from the 1950s to a keynote speech in front of the American Psychological Association in 1967:

1. MLK said psychologists had a favorite word, "maladjusted."

2. MLK said he was proud to be psychologically maladjusted, that we all ought to be maladjusted to oppression, poverty, war.

3. MLK said the "salvation of the world" lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.