On the other hand my grandmother suffers severley from depression since a few deaths in the family occured and the final nail came when my grandfather died and after a few weeks she took an overdose, although she is learning slowly to cope with depression it has ruined the last 6 years of her life and at one stage she spent a full year in a psychiatric ward. There is times when she cant eat drink or sleep and it turns her life upside down.

 

Depression is a terrible illness and i genuinly feel for genuine sufferers but it annoys me when lazy people use depression as an excuse to claim tax payers hard earned money while they sit at home watching tv all day and earn more money than some people who work full time.

 

I think this is what I'm trying to say - but Pete you put it over so much better. Of course there are cases of depression that are truly serious ... two people closest to me suffered and both were hospitalised (at the time it'd probably have been called the 'madhouse') One of them was suicidal at the time ... some really, really bad stuff was going on around her ... really out of her control ... her depression as actually caused by another person's actions. BUT ... there are people who are just frigging lazy and I've known of cases where these people actually 'bully' their GPs into giving the 'sick notes'. I don't blame the GPs in these cases ... it wouldn't surprise me if they themselves were suffering from true depression!

 

At one time depression was seen as a 'taboo' subject and to admit it meant you were on the verge of madness. Lately however ... it has become a fashionable disguise for laziness. I don't think it helps when celebrities left, right and centre claim to have 'depression' and are 'bi-polar' ... suddenly its the 'in thing' to have.

 

Norma

Yes in recent years depression seems to be a new craze especially in the world of celebrities. For example if a marriage breaks down it is a low point in peoples lives, and in some cases it may trigger depression, but for many the lwo does lift and like in normal walks of like we all have times when we feel dont and less joyful than our usual days but that to me is not depression, that is whats called life. I did hear stories here in Ireland last year that the HSE were going re evaluate the whole depression and social welfare situation as they said in the last 5 years the amount of people claiing disability benefit for depression had risen rapidly and they were even questioning it so they are starting to realise that some people are definitly playing the system.

 

I think what truly annoys me is that people who genuinly suffer from depression struggle to get the help they need menatlly and financially, but the people who just play the depression card without truly suffering from disease seem to get absolutly everything going from full welfare payements, rent supplements etc, to me its a disgrace and something needs to be done, just like something needs to be done to further help the genuine sufferers of depression.

I think what truly annoys me is that people who genuinly suffer from depression struggle to get the help they need menatlly and financially, but the people who just play the depression card without truly suffering from disease seem to get absolutly everything going from full welfare payements, rent supplements etc, to me its a disgrace and something needs to be done, just like something needs to be done to further help the genuine sufferers of depression.

 

This is usually because those that do suffer from true, deep depression seldom admit it ... for some reason pride has something to do with it in addition to the fact that they probably have feelings that a 'stigma' is still attached to it.

 

Norma

Yes indeed pride has a huge part in depression for some people as its so hard to deal with and face up to, which is such a shame but understandable in some ways.

Robbie, Take That plans 'put on hold'

Wednesday, March 17 2010, 08:43 GMT

 

By Daniel Kilkelly, Entertainment Reporter

 

 

Rex Features

Robbie Williams's reunion to Take That has been postponed due to Mark Owen's current personal problems, a report claims.

 

Williams began working on songs with his former bandmates in January after they met up in Los Angeles.

 

According to The Mirror, the stars were due to continue their collaborations at a Wiltshire recording studio last weekend, but the plans were disrupted when Owen entered rehab for help to beat an alcohol problem.

 

Owen has come under fire in recent days after being forced to admit that he had cheated on wife Emma with around ten different women before their wedding last November.

 

Speaking of the impact on Take That's plans, a source said: "They were all heading down [to record], Robbie included, but the plan has been scrapped for now. All they care about is Mark at the moment and it wouldn't feel the same all of them practising for their comeback without him."

 

The insider added: "All excitement about the future is very much on hold because Mark's got to get better first."

 

 

I've been talking with some mates about this and we actually feel that this is quite probably the end of Take That. You have to face it that as well as the music (which has been quite excellent this time round) a huge contributary factor in their success is their 'niceness'. That niceness has definitely suffered a severe blow. I honestly don't know how they can face the world again with a big happy face saying 'everything's cool'. I do think that they should end it all now. A reunion / farewell album with Robbie and then 'thanks folks but this is it'. I'd be quite happy if I'm honest ... as long as the farewell songs are absolute killers. It would also help Robbie 'mop up' those Take That fans that had abandoned him due to his crassness towards them ... as popular as he is ... in the UK he is a little 'on the wain' and those old TT fans will surely come in handy. Plus ... Gary Barlow gives me the impression that he really is tired of the old 'boy band' thing.

 

Norma

Edited March 19, 201015 yr by Norma_Snockers

Its hard to know what will happen, yes it could spell the end for them or it may make them even bigger, mark has handled the press extremely well, the fans are not turning on them and amazingly the press is still on marks side. Take That have proved time and time again that they are never to be under estimated and that could well be the case here.

Its hard to know what will happen, yes it could spell the end for them or it may make them even bigger, mark has handled the press extremely well, the fans are not turning on them and amazingly the press is still on marks side. Take That have proved time and time again that they are never to be under estimated and that could well be the case here.

 

Even though the fans aren't 'turning on them' I do feel that they should end it now. I think that as a band they could come out of all of this with a whole new-found respectability. Although I did feel that this would 'blow over' in a short time ... with Take That it is different .... the 'wholesomeness' of them has now gone. They could afford a little 'tittle-tattle' from Howard or Jason ... but Mark (and ... god forbid ... Gary) disgressions could spell the end. Mark has ... in the words of a certain Boyzone member ... has truly 'f*cked it up'. They should announce their end right now ... and leave us with some happy memories.

 

Norma

Each to their own, but i think there is alot to be said to facing your demons and showing people you can over come this type of situations. I dont see why they should end the band unless they truly want to, as i have always said its about the music, are take that still creative? Yes, are they still sounding fresh? are the albums selling well, Yes, are the tours seliing well yes, why throw all that away unless they want to.

 

This whole affair business could possibly go 2 ways, they will remain as big as they have been or they will completly flop, that we wont know until they release new material and see what the music is like. I dont think Gary is in any way fed up with the whole boyband/manband thing as he has said he has enjoyed take that so much this time comparing to the first. As a band they have their own dreams and ambitions and i think they should continue as band if they feel they still have things to do.

Mark Owen 'in isolation in rehab'

Sunday, March 21 2010, 16:24 GMT

 

By Catriona Wightman, Entertainment Reporter

 

 

WENN

Mark Owen is reportedly being treated in isolation in rehab.

 

The Take That star checked into a clinic to be treated for alcohol addiction earlier this month after he admitted having had ten affairs.

 

The News of the World claims that he has been banned from contacting his family or following his daily routine.

 

A source said: "Doctors want to focus Mark's mind and shake up his normal routine and any emotional crutches - even coffee and sugar are banned. Everyone's treated the same, including celebrities."

 

However, Owen is reportedly not enrolled in a 28-day treatment programme and could leave the clinic next week.

 

 

Mark Owen 'in isolation in rehab'

Sunday, March 21 2010, 16:24 GMT

 

By Catriona Wightman, Entertainment Reporter

WENN

Mark Owen is reportedly being treated in isolation in rehab.

 

The Take That star checked into a clinic to be treated for alcohol addiction earlier this month after he admitted having had ten affairs.

 

The News of the World claims that he has been banned from contacting his family or following his daily routine.

 

A source said: "Doctors want to focus Mark's mind and shake up his normal routine and any emotional crutches - even coffee and sugar are banned. Everyone's treated the same, including celebrities."

 

However, Owen is reportedly not enrolled in a 28-day treatment programme and could leave the clinic next week.

 

This bit did make me stifle a giggle though Pete! I read it as ... if he feels like a drink after 10 days ... he's off! I'm sorry to sound so trifling about this ... but Mark really has tee'd me off. As that bloke from Boyzone said ... what a fr*gging idiot!

 

Norma

 

Hwas an idiot for doing it thats for sure, but what im totally surprsied by is how quick the storn died down, the papers barly mentioned it all last week, which shows how lucky he is the press hasnt turned on him, im sure though the press will be dying to get pics of him as he leaves rehab.

I feel really sorry fo Marks wife. and for Mark too. I hope this wont break up the family :-( "Feel_the_fever" i agree about Gary being a family man. I just cant see him ever being unfaithful...

Its a tough time for them all especially Emma, and i hope they can reccover from all this as a family and more importantly i hope mark never acts as such an idiot again or hurts them again in this way.

Mark's ready to leave rehab early! Maybe he just fancies a pint!

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...ehab-month.html

 

If I seem rather trifling ... it is merely because it is a trifling matter! God forbid ... if everyone (man or woman) who cheats needed rehab .... the mind boggles. But maybe cheating + celebrities = rehab is only for the rich and famous! Others just have to work at it!

 

Norma

Ah give me a break Norma.<You seems to know very well why is he there and to know him so well to know when he must go out and what he has to do. He is in a private clinic so he is not eating your money. He is there for drinking and not for cheating. He is very obviously an easier case, as he could "control" when he drinks: he was never at a gig or at a promotion or with his children drunken. But perhaps you are a better doc to know when he has to be out and what he has to do to get better.

 

First: if he is in rehab, no one would tell when he comes out. He would be isolated -so no communication with outside - and also his docs are not allowed to comment in public such things. So i think is everything made up from the media.

 

I don't understand why you have to be so hateful always with those who are not the saint Gary. Yeah, sorry that he is not an angel, but you have bought the CD and the gig ticket and not the right to say how he has to live his life. He have given 100% for what you have payed and what he does in his bed should be the problem of his family and not yours to be judged. If you have bought the tickets just because he is a family man, well, that was for a wrong reason. But you cannot say now that he was not nice with the fans or with other public. How he is with his family and the mistakes he done, is his problem.

 

Nice that you can understand only the case of depressions and drunkness in your circle of friends of family and that all the other are to be dismissed as cheater and fakers and lazy, especially if they have the luck to be a celebrity (we all know how light and easy is to be in the spotlight, so how they dare to have problems or to be depressed? How they dare to have secrets of their own and deceive us as if they are happy? how they dare to look for a place of peace instead of getting pics and drama-stories about them in every papers for months? how they dare to not be so perfect as we imagine it?) but that he has bad sides doesn't mean that you have to hate him now and be so mean. He is a human being after all, not better not worse. Should i remember you all the good things he have done also on his life?

 

You should be the first i expected to know that 80% from what is in media is not true and that you shoudn't mixture a public image with the real life of a person. seeing how are your messages, i can understand Mark completely that he needs now his inner peace far away from some people judging him without knowing him. There are a lot of things between him and Emma you really don't know, keep that also in mind. Nice from you to be so harsh with someone you know only from the Sun and who done nothing to you. Ah, just because you have known so many celebrities who are also gone in rehab , you should now hate whatever Mark does and know why he did the bad things he did, naturally...It would have been why better for him to be haunted from paparazzi, you would have liked better to see his depressed face in every papers, perhaps that would have been make you feel like there is God after all and he is punished, as if you and the public has any right to punish him. Perhaps mark disappointed you , but your reaction here has disappointed me. Deeply.

 

So, this was really my last message here. I need my peace too and i have no time for so much hate like here.

 

I hope you get what you want and that after the next album they will split and you will get your Gary albums with Gary music and with your Gary promotion with your Gary perfect image and be happy.

Very good post IrisAlbastru and well written, i do agree with alot of what you said, we dont know the whole story or whats 100% true or not, but i think ultimatly as family they are the people who have to make the decisions, im sure they will do what they feel is best for them, again i really feel for emma and i think this is harder for her than anyone, and her decision is her decision.

If someone was in 'rehab' ... which these problems usually have fixed time-scales (I do know people who work in them). If you sign for a three month one ... you stay for three months. If you sign for two months ... you stay for two. And so on and so on. It shows that you are serious. If you've had a problem with drink for ten years ... you don't sign up to a fixed program but then after two weeks think 'hey ... I'm cured'. Get real! I was just as harsh/jokey on Robbie when he left his rehab in 2007 early ... I'm not going to stop making fun (or getting to the truth) just because its Mark! I'd be the same with Gary.

 

And as to image ... yes ... believe it or not ... Take That's nice guy image has a hell of a lot to do with their success this time round ... it has at least nearly always had the media on their side because people have remembered 'what nice guys' they were the first time. Shane Lynch was spot-on ... Owen has been a complete idiot and has f*cked up brilliantly. But hey! Who knows? Maybe he's trying to establish a 'bad boy' image all of his own so he can jump-start a solo career ... maybe its deliberate.

 

I think it is you Iris who is way too wrapped up in Mark than I am in Gary. They're only pop stars Iris ... no need to defend them like they're family.

 

I must say though ... that all these celebrities 'doing rehab' is doing wonders for all these private 'rehab' clinics ... just look at all the links to websites of these clinics at the bottom of all the Ashley, Mark, Tiger, Charlie stories. And they're all 'competitively priced'.

 

Norma

Edited March 25, 201015 yr by Norma_Snockers

 

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a21...in-the-air.html

Not so long ago you were criticising Mark because the AA wasn't good enough for him.

 

As others have said, Mark's drinking problem did not result in him being drunk the whole time. Based on very limited insight, I'd guess his problem was more of a psychological dependency than a physical one, so the idea that he needs to be institutionalised for a certain amount of time to dry out doesn't stack up. That doesn't mean that it's not a serious problem, but the approach to tackling it is different. He also has to deal with the fact that for his adult life he's perhaps not been fully in touch with reality, so needed to sort out what was important in his life.

 

Two weeks in rehab might not be enough to do all of that, but it might be enough to get him clear as to what he wants to do next, which is to start sorting himself out in the real world. He's got children and a wife and whatever their future as a family is, hiding away from them isn't fair. Leaving rehab doesn't mean you are cured, and doesn't exclude going back to see councillors or taking part in therapy.

 

The press have been quiet, and presumably that's in part because Mark hasn't given them any more, nor has the rest of the band or anyone close to Mark. They got to band about half of a quote from someone in Boyzone saying he'd been an idiot, hiding the bit about how he hopes he sorts himself out and has a fresh start. Being in rehab where medical ethics prevents a certain amount of gossip and reporting will have helped too.

 

The reality is that although a lot of the general public are suprised and disappointed in Mark, they do wish him well and that he'll sort himself out. He is being seen to be trying to sort himself out and make amends. His image might be tarnished, but so long as he keeps his head down, they won't turn on him.

 

I don't see why it should stop the band from going on. They might want to carefully think through their next round of promotion, but there isn't any rush to do that. Even if 25% of their fans stop buying their albums and concert tickets, they are still going to be massively popular. Throw in the Robbie collaboration and people will want to support the project.

 

I'd already wondered what they could do to top The Circus tour, and wondered if they should try. I think stadia are too big anyway, so I'd be happy for them to return to an arena tour, which would also allow them to take their full tour to Germany etc.

 

What I'm more worried about is for Mark personally. If he's been too reliant on drink over the years then perhaps it won't just be a case of whether or not Emma wants him back. Will he realise that he's just not the same person when he's fully sober and so they just aren't right for each other anyway. He could end up reappraising his whole life and what is important to him. He might decide that he and his family need a bit of time out, away from people who know all of their problems. It might be his turn to live in LA for a bit. A couple of months might be enough then back to reality. I think it would be best for him to get back into work etc, but I can see that it might be tempting for him to hide away from it.