Herschel Walker Reveals Personality Disorder

1. Mental illness is a very serious issue in the black community and one that needs to be addressed more.We stand back and make jokes of those who are suffering being that what we see several black celebrites go through we make jokes and most of the time at church people are hurting and we need to wake up to this issue.I'm proud of the courage it took mr Walker to come forth i hope others will also and take the shame off of this in our community.

africa at 5:51PM on Apr 15th 2008

2. Mental and emotional illness, from chronic depression to schizophrenia in a real issue in the black community, but our strength in overcoming and pulling ourselves up by our worn bootstraps has become our weakness. Mental and emotional illnesses are diseases, just like diabetes and cannot be considered as something bad or something we did wrong. But the stigma attached to it by our culture, and sometimes our respective religion, keeps knowledge of how to spot and treat these diseases in the closet. One can't just "snap out of it." Medication, therapy, diagnosis, finding out if one disease is being brought on by another is key. And getting help when you need it isn't weak or shameful, it's the smart thing to do. Kudos to anyone who has the courage to find out what's wrong and how to fix it.

E. Joyce Moore at 1:38PM on Apr 16th 2008

3. Mental and emotional illness, from chronic depression to schizophrenia is a real issue in the black community, but our strength in overcoming and pulling ourselves up by our worn bootstraps has become our weakness. Mental and emotional illnesses are diseases, just like diabetes and hypertension; they cannot be considered as something bad or something we did wrong. But the stigma attached to it by our culture, and sometimes our respective religions, keeps knowledge of how to spot and treat these diseases in the closet. One can't just "snap out of it." Medication, therapy, diagnosis, finding out if one disease is being brought on by another is key. And getting help when you need it isn't weak or shameful, it's the smart thing to do. Kudos to anyone who has the courage to find out what's wrong and how to fix it.

E. Joyce Moore at 1:42PM on Apr 16th 2008

4. MR. WALKER HAS COURAGE, OFF THE FIELD AS MUCH AS ON THE FIELD. IT TOOK A GREAT DEAL OF COURAGE FOR HIM TO SEEK TREATMENT (TALK THERAPY), ESPECIALLY BEING AN AFRICAN AMERICAN AND MALE. THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY NEEDS TO CHANGE THEIR WAY OF THINKING WHEN IT COMES TO MENTAL ILLNESS AS WELL THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH. THE CHURCH MAKES COMMENTS THAT "IF YOU PUT YOUR FAITH IN GOD YOU CAN KEEP ALL THAT MONEY AND SUPORT THE CHURCH. BUT MENTAL ILLNESS IS REAL, ITS A ILLNESS NOT A COP-OUT. I PERSONALLY UNDERSTAND MR. WALKER'S JOURNEY. I HAVE A MENTAL HEALTH JOURNEY OF MY OWN. I PRAY THAT GOD WILL CONTINUE TO HELP HIM TO SEEK OUT ANSWERS TO HIS HEALTH. Luv the dutchess

Patricia Jenkins at 6:06PM on Apr 16th 2008

5. I am sorry to hear this, but Mr. Walker has a lot of courage to confess to this. I admire him greatly. He is a survival and he will get through this. God bless him!

Althea J. Williams at 10:21PM on Apr 16th 2008

6. I wonder how much the pressure of being married to "Cindy" had to do with his problems.

maggie at 3:23AM on Apr 17th 2008

7. I ALWAYS THOUGHT HERSCHEL WAS DEEPLY RELIGIOUS.
AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT HE ALWAYS PROFFESSEDTO BE. PLEASE DON'T PLAY WITH GOD, HE DOESN'T LIKE THAT. THE GUILTY WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED.

Everret at 5:26PM on Apr 21st 2008

8. I have a new friend who i feel is very sick with some type of mental illness and i don't know how to find help
for her. she is a very caring person but or friendship is going to end if i can't find her some help. she is driving me crazy the way she acts. I need advice.

James Christopher at 6:26PM on Apr 21st 2008

9. Reading about all the celibrity atheletes who have had their illnesses diagnose makes me think of the people who never knew they had a problem, self medicating with street drugs and alcohol what a waste. Until mental health treatment becomes available to everyone society will continue to suffer.

chas jr at 7:06PM on Apr 21st 2008

10. I respect the man, I myself have been dealing with mental illness, and I have sat in the church and was told if I just have faith all is well, well that is not true, I needed to find help and it has been a struggle, because no one likes the word mental illness, so once again I take my hat off to him and hope he continues to press on.

Terretta at 7:47PM on Apr 21st 2008

11. I commend Mr. Walker for his honesty and bravery. Mental Illness in the African American community is a critical problem. We often tend to try to overlook the problems mental illness causes in our families and our communities. I am a parent of a daughter (now 28 yrs. old) who has bipolar disorder. She was diagnosed at age 16 my me. I wanted to know what was wrong with my child and I started reading articles and looking up information at the library. I came across and article in Essence Magazine on bipolar disorder. I read this article to my very depressed daughter and it was then that she cried out in agony and said,"Mommy that is what I feel inside my head. I then scheduled an appointment with a psychiatrist who formally diagnosed her. It is a daily struggle living with a mental illness, and caring for a loved one with a mental illness. I know a lot more people have mental illness than are coming forth. I am from New Jersey, if anyone would like to email me I would like to talk. Maybe we can give each other encouragement. My daughter is on her meds and she works full time. One other common denominator is that she is super intelligent.

Connie at 10:13PM on Apr 21st 2008

12. I think one of the biggest taboos in the black community is mental disorders. And it's sad to say that the black church has played a huge role in keeping this widely common medical condition a taboo topic to discuss. I once suffered from an anxiety disorder and went to a family memeber to discuss my problem. She felt all I needed was a little prayer and I would be healed. I do believe in the power of prayer, but if I had a broken arm...I would do more than just pray over it. Depression, anxiety and other mental disorders are a serious medical condition that at times may require medication along with counseling. Im sure we have all had someone in our family that has suffered from an undiagnosed mental condition. We are very quick to label them as being plain "crazy" of just "a little off". It's almost become a "dont ask..don't tell" epedimic in the black community. Lets wake up people and begin to address the many health conditions that are negatively affecting us.

AllThatJazz4u at 11:25PM on Apr 21st 2008

13. I agree with the comment left by africa at 5:51PM on Apr 15th 2008. The black community does not address these issues as often as we should. And given our history in America, if anyone needs to talk about these issues, it would be us. I started an anonymous blog about my anxiety partly because I want to speak out but its anonymous b/c of the stigma.

http://diaryofashyblackwoman.blogspot.com/

Diary of a shy black woman on blogger at 8:39AM on Aug 17th 2008

14. I think, It was about how Walker's mind works and how it has dealt with dissociative identity disorder.

Bipolar Disorder Support Group

davidhudson01 at 4:43AM on Nov 27th 2008