Wil Wheaton - Actor, Depression, Anxiety
Wil Wheaton in an American Actor and writer probably best known for playing Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation and a fictionalised version of himself on The Big Bang Theory. Wil Wheaton also suffers from Generalised Anxiety Disorder and chronic depression. Wil Wheaton has shared his experiences online through a website called Project UROK to try and attempt to raise awareness about mental health issues. Wil also uses his own blog to raise awareness of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a condition that often presents itself with long periods of anxiety, often with no obvious cause. These periods of being effected by anxiety can last for periods ranging from hours, to day or even months at a time. Generalised Anxiety Disorder is relatively common among Australians, with up to 6% of the Australian population experiencing Generalised Anxiety Disorder at some point in their lives. Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) differs from ‘normal’ anxiety in a number of different ways, but the most obvious difference is the scope and the severity of the symptoms. While most of the time anxiety can crop up for a person around a specific event or location, people who suffer from GAD can become severely anxious over anything at all often without the sufferer realising what it causing the anxiety.
Wil Wheaton is a part of Project UROK, whose goal is to raise awareness for mental health issues. Aa a part of project UROK, Wil shared his story about how he came to grips with his mental health issues and his journey to overcome this illness. He spoke about his struggles in day to day life, and how long his mental illness had been effecting him. He lived with almost constant anxiety and depression for approximately 15-20 years before realising that it was a symptom of his mental illness.
After a particularly stressful incident at a particularly busy airport, Will’s wife suggested that he seek help, and Wil started seeing a psychologist. After he began working with his psychologist, Wil started seeing an improvement in his mental health. One day, while walking with his wife, he realised that he was feeling well within himself for the first time in a long time. “I realised that I wasn’t just existing anymore, I was actually living my life.”
Wheaton uses both his work on Project UROK and his personal blog to try to encourage people who are suffering with depression and anxiety to seek help. "Live life with depression, rather than live life through depression," he says.
"You are not the only person in the world who has anxiety. You are not the only person in the world who has depression. And you are not the only person who has had thoughts of self-harm. But there are people who want to help you."