12 Famous People with Neurological and Mental Illnesses

The actor suffers from a neurological disorder called prosopagnosia, as he acknowledged in 2013 during a press conference with “Esquire.” This illness, also known as face blindness or facial agnosia, is a neurological disorder that manifests as the inability to recognize faces, in some cases even one’s own.

Ángel Martín was hospitalized for a psychotic break in June 2017.

A psychotic break, as its definition says, is a “temporary break from reality.” This episode occurs abruptly and interferes with the daily life of the person affected by it.

The presenter aims to normalize mental illnesses thanks to his book ‘Por si las voces vuelven’ in which he talks about the psychotic break he suffered and which led him to be hospitalized for 14 days in a hospital.

When he was a child, especially at school, his classmates used to tease him about this problem. Despite that, Bruce on stage transformed into someone else and his stutter disappeared.

Stuttering is a speech disorder that can be permanent or appear only in certain circumstances. Repetitions when pronouncing words and interruptions, as well as prolonging some, are just some characteristics of this disorder.

She has been the most recent well-known Spanish figure to speak about her mental health problems.

She did so on March 23, 2022 on the program ‘Las Tres Puertas’ hosted by María Casado. Milá has confessed that she has been suffering from depression for years, with three intense episodes: “The first depression was due to a heartbreak and the second, third and those that came after, due to excessive stress,” shared the Catalan who, despite everything, wanted to encourage people not to “give up.”

Another celebrity with mental disorders is Jennifer Lawrence; specifically, the actress was diagnosed with ADHD in childhood, and she says her relatives nicknamed her “Nitro” for being as explosive as nitroglycerin.

The ADHD is a chronic disorder that lasts a lifetime, but is treatable; in adulthood the more hyperactive symptoms usually subside (which does not occur as easily with attention deficit).

The disease of Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia. The onset of this dementia is slow, affecting first the parts of the brain responsible for memory, thinking and language.

Over time, these symptoms worsen to the point that people with Alzheimer’s disease stop recognizing their closest relatives and show problems with activities of daily living such as dressing or bathing.

Reagan is not the only president who forgot he had been one. In Spain the Prime Minister during the Transition, Adolfo Suárez also suffered from this neurodegenerative disease. Likewise the one who was president of the Generalitat and mayor of Barcelona, Pasqual Maragall, who declared in 2007 that he had this disease. A year later the Fundación Pasqual Maragall was created for Alzheimer’s research.

Spanish footballer and world champion Andrés Iniesta had depression. He himself stated this last November on the program ‘Salvados’.  According to the World Health Organization depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by the presence of sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, sleep or appetite disturbances, a feeling of tiredness and lack of concentration. “When you suffer from depression, you are not yourself. When you are so vulnerable it is difficult to control moments of life”, the midfielder explained.

The bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by fluctuations in mood, with mania at one extreme and depression at the other. Catherine Zeta Jones suffers from this illness.

“This is a disorder that affects millions of people and I am one of them. If the revelation of having bipolar II disorder has encouraged someone to seek help, then it is worth it. There is no need to suffer in silence and there is no shame in asking for help,” the actress declared.

The cyclist, Paralympic medalist and winner of a stage in the Tour de France in 2000, Javier Otxoa, saw his life cut short in 2011 when he suffered a road accident while training with his twin brother Ricardo, who died at the scene.

Another example is Asier de la Iglesia who debuted last May in the ACB at 35  years old, becoming the first player with multiple sclerosis to debut in the top tier of Spanish basketball.

Former Economy Minister Miguel Boyer suffered a stroke in 2012 that left him with serious aftereffects. Among other things, he spoke with great difficulty and could not write.

A stroke, also known as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), embolism or thrombosis, is a cerebrovascular disease that originates when a blood vessel that carries blood to the brain ruptures or is blocked by a clot or other particle.

Blood does not reach the brain in the necessary amount and, as a consequence, nerve cells do not receive oxygen, stopping functioning. A stroke is the equivalent of a heart attack, but in the brain.

The former socialist minister died two years later from a pulmonary embolism.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali had the most difficult battle away from the rings. Ali fought Parkinson’s for 32 years. A disease that consists of the progressive death of neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra and more specifically, in a portion of this nucleus called the compact part.