Grownups – Finding Happiness.

There have been a number of actors in recent years that have taken their lives simply because than cannot constantly cope with being under the public microscope.

 Read more from Kay here

I am sure most of us will have been saddened by the recent death of Charlotte Dawson.

A life of glamour, lived in the spotlight has to be hard. Some people can cope with it and clearly some cannot.

There have been a number of actors in recent years that have taken their lives simply because than cannot constantly cope with being under the public microscope.
Maybe it is the fault of each and every one of us for turning these people into our ‘heroes’, where we lift them to an almost ‘god-like’ status. We have seen now that the pressure of having celebrities treated this way can often lead to tragedy.
 
The pressure on celebrities must be immense, and often it occurs on a daily basis. Just imagine having to don sunglasses, big hats and coats every time you leave your home. You cannot ever feel free; you are constantly watched by paparazzi who take every opportunity to publish your photograph whether it shows you in a good light or not – knowing the pictures are often published with uncomplimentary headlines.
 
The reality is the tabloid media are harsh. All they want is a story and will go to ridiculous lengths to get that story. There seems to be no length they will not go to get that ‘scoop photo’.

Freedom of the press goes too far these days and is far too intrusive.  My own family have had their share of misrepresentation in women’s magazine articles.  These articles caused more harm than they did good. The content was completely misreported, which in turn made life difficult for our family.

The tabloid media thrive on sensationalism and often women’s magazines misrepresent the true story.  This is purely a way of selling the magazine, one of the reasons I hardly ever buy them.

Quite often you will read on the cover of a magazine that ‘Miss X’ has ‘a new love’ – which could very well turn out to be a dog. Reading the front cover you cannot assume what you see will actually be what the story is about. That’s just another ploy to get you to purchase the magazine.

The magazines seem to like making the most of some ones misfortune, which can only lead to heartache for the person they are writing about, unless the article is true to its facts. I think when stories are written that can have an effect on the person they are writing about they should be cleared for publication by that person. The onus is then on them as to if it should be printed.

Poor Charlotte had many demons as we have all heard over the last few days. None of us will know what caused her to give up on life. So many theories have been bandied around, which is sad in itself. It is sad she was not able to reach out to someone in her time of need. I hope she has found peace at last. She was a beautiful woman and I am sure many of us would have given anything to look like her.

A lesson we must all take from this is that beauty and money cannot make you happy. We all need inner peace; we need to accept ourselves and our family and friends for who we are. We need to stop competing with one another, we need to be grateful for the things we do have.

Getting back to old-fashioned values and caring more for one another would be far more rewarding not just for ourselves but also for the people we care about.
Living in a world of fantasy is only any good in our dreams. The real world is full of challenges, heartaches and joy. It’s how we deal with all those things that define us as a person. Taking the time to check on our family and friends is so important. It’s so easy to assume they are o.k. when maybe they are not. A hug, a phone call or a nice gesture is sometimes all it takes to make someone feel better. I love hearing from my family, it makes me realise how much they care and turns a bad day into a good one.

To the people who suffer from bullying and have nasty comments made at them, try not to let it get to you. People can be so mean-spirited at times. Generally others reactions to us are more to do with their own short-comings. I appreciate it’s not an excuse but the less they see they are getting to you the less ‘buzz’ they will get out of it and hopefully they will give up.
 
In the end, I am reminded that we need to take time to care for one another; we all have the right to be happy.