Celebrities’ mental health challenges are often caused by a troubled relationship with their parents, according to a psychotherapist who has a number of A-list clients.
The condition they all have in common is known as attachment trauma, according to Dr Sarah Boss, a psychotherapist who runs luxury rehab retreats.
This trauma—which is caused by an unhealthy relationship with a parent—can then lead to substance abuse, isolation and trust issues.
Speaking to the MailOnline Dr Boss said: ‘Attachment trauma is definitely something that we see over represented in celebrity clients.
‘This is because they often come from highly successful families, so they are being looked after by people on payroll rather than their parents—it’s not a good start in life.
‘For first generation celebrities, they often have histories of harsh parenting, but this is not necessarily a healthy relationship.
‘Out of this hardship can often breed creativity but it also presents challenges with forming long term relationships.
‘To live a balanced life you need to be able to self regulate emotions but this can be hard with underlying attachment trauma—patients with this issue often feel pressured or abused by those around them and constantly question who their real friends are.’
She explains that while ‘normal’ people often suffer from this it is heightened by the celebrity lifestyle.
Dr Sarah Boss treats a number of A list patients in her rehab retreat The Balance
‘Life as a celebrity requires more self regulation than what working in an office will require,’ says Dr Boss.
‘It lacks structure and higher highs, like being on stage, but also the lows of isolation while touring for example.’
The psychotherapist also says that her celebrity clients often struggle to form enduring relationships.
‘For friends and partners of celebrities, it is hard to be part of someone’s life when everything you do with them is photographed or written about,’ says Dr Boss.
‘For the celebrity, this leads to a reliance on superficial friends—over time this leads to a feeling of being used and mistrust of others.
‘Part of the problem is that they have often lost their fundamental development years rising to fame, so they have not been able to build strong relationships that they are able to keep.’
The combination of attachment trauma, pressure and isolation means that Dr Boss sees a number of celebrity clients who suffer from substance abuse.
‘Substance abuse is a real issue for our clients, who are readily exposed to it, and are trying to self medicate the problems they are dealing with,’ says Dr Boss.
Dr Boss says that a number of her celebrity patients develop substance abuse issues
‘For younger clients we are seeing more now who are abusing drugs like ketamine, while for adult patients it is often an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.’
The psychotherapist explains that she treated a 46-year-old Hollywood actor who had multiple mental health issues which led to serious substance abuse.
She said: ‘He had severe alcoholism and was abusing cocaine and sleep medication. He used to drink several bottles of wine a day.
‘He would use cocaine to wake up, and sleep sedatives to go to bed. He was completely reliant on substances for survival. They were a coping strategy for underlying emotional issues.’
The actor’s substance abuse began to impact his work as an actor, said Dr Boss.
‘He had terrible anxiety on film sets, and very bad social anxiety at big Hollywood parties. He was struggling with the constant judgment over social media and online,’ she revealed.
‘The pressure was too much. He started withdrawing more and more from the public world, and his social network.
‘His wife left him, and his children eventually were the ones who insisted on treatment.’
The pyschotherpist runs The Balance rehab clinics in in Mallorca, Marbella, Zurich, and London
The American star was then treated at Dr Boss’s luxury treatment clinic The Balance.
‘He had unaddressed childhood trauma, and needed to learn how to regulate his nervous system without substances.
‘After his detox, he had intensive psychotherapy, somatic experiencing, and engaged with mindfulness activities like yoga.
‘He joined a relapse prevention group, he made amends with his loved ones, and gained closure so he could move forward with his life. He was in after-care for several months, and remains sober to this day.’
She explains that broadly her celebrity clients suffer from the same issues no matter what sector they are in, however a couple face different challenges.
‘For sports stars we often see that they have lost the ability to intuitively eat, which can lead to eating disorders or an unhealthy relationship with food,’ says Dr Boss.
‘While we often see young musicians and actors who struggle who feel they have lost a part of themselves with the fame that has come, this leads to frustration and other mental health challenges.’
While the psychotherapist also revealed that she is now seeing stars as young as 13, with social media to blame according to Dr Boss.
She is calling on people to be kinder online to celebrities.
‘There is a real lack of empathy towards celebrities, and social media has given everyone a voice to contribute,’ says Dr Boss.
