Pete Davidson, one of SNL’s youngest cast members, has recently been making headlines in the news, after revealing he has a rare mental illness. Last year, the twenty-three-year-old actor made an appearance at Muhlenberg College and performed a stand-up comedy routine. During the show, he revealed personal information about his life including his close relationship with his sister, losing his father during 9/11, and his excessive use of marijuana. During a podcast called WTF With Marc Maron, Mr. Davidson opened up about his his substance abuse with pot. “I have been a pothead forever”, he said during the podcast. “Around October [or] September last year, I started having these mental breakdowns where I would, like freak out and then not remember what happened after.” It was later revealed, however, by one of his psychiatrists that pot was not the reason behind his mental breakdowns. (http://www.refinery29.com/2017/09/173874/pete-davidson-borderline-personality-disorder.)
Pete Davidson learned that he might have Bipolar Disorder. However, a doctor revealed he was not Bipolar, and he was diagnosed with a severe mental illness called Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). According to Psychology Today, BPD affects over one to two percents of adults. Those who have BPD are susceptible to intense mood swings, drug/alcohol abuse, depression, as well as thoughts of suicide. While there is no official cure, doctors recommend for those who have the illness to see a psychotherapy, attend support groups, and take certain kinds of medication. (https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/borderline-personality-disorder.)
For Pete Davidson, he’s learning how to manage his newly diagnosed illness one day at a time, even though there are days that get the better of him. “[My medication] is working slowly but surely” he discussed during the WTF podcast. Although he’s still struggling to control his BPD, he’s since gone cold turkey with his marijuana use, and is currently taking medication for his illness. (https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/pete-davidson-discusses-marijuana-usage-and-borderline-personality-disoder/ )
Most importantly, by talking openly, he’s demonstrated that mental illness is NOTHING to be ashamed of, and never ever to give up on hope.