Kirsten Dunst: Dealing With Depression

When you’re a beautiful, successful, and talented Hollywood actress, it may seem from the outside that your life is perfect. Ten years ago, however, that was not the case for Kirsten Dunst. The Fargo actress went through a difficult time in her late twenties and sought help at the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Utah.

Although the facility has provided drug and alcohol treatment for many actors, Dunst checked into the clinic because she was struggling with depression. In an interview with The Sunday Times, she explained further. "I feel like most people around 27, the s--t hits the fan," she stated. "Whatever is working in your brain, you can't live like that any more mentally. I feel like I was angry. You don't know that you are repressing all this anger, it wasn't a conscious thing."

Dunst, who rose to prominence in 1994 after her role as child vampire Claudia in Neil Jordan’s Interview With the Vampire, appeared in 30 films over the next two decades. The grueling schedule seemed to have taken an emotional toll on the young actress and by her late twenties she was exhausted. “I think most people in their twenties go through some sort of depression,” she told New York magazine in 2010. “If you’re successful at a young age, no matter the profession, there has to come a time when you reevaluate everything, what it means to you. Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?”

For Dunst, this meant addressing her depression instead of continuing to ignore it. “You grow up in a business where there’s a lot of people-pleasing,” Dunst explained. “It’s hard to be firm in your own ground and not be afraid to rock the boat. I was swallowing a lot of stuff … In my relationships and personal life I absorbed things from other people, and then because of what I do for a living, I had to keep giving. It can dissolve you.”

Fortunately, Dunst had the ability to seek treatment as well as the support of her family. "It's hard to talk about such a personal thing, but it is important to share too," Dunst says. "All I'll say is that medication is a great thing and can really help you come out of something. I was afraid to take something and so I sat in it for too long. I would recommend getting help when you need it."

Mental Health and Disability Benefits

Mental health issues can affect anyone, even those who are wealthy or famous. It can be enormously helpful when they come forward about their depression, bipolar disorders, or PTSD, because it can help raise awareness and normalize those issues for the world at large. Reducing the stigma associated with mental health can encourage more people to seek treatment instead of suffering in silence.

There may come a time when you need to stop working in order to address your mental health issues and that’s when applying for long term disability benefits can be enormously helpful. Unfortunately, many insurance companies may be reticent to acknowledge a disability claim in the absence of more obvious physical symptoms. Denied disability claims by insurance companies are extremely common, and they shouldn’t make you afraid to seek the advice and help of an experienced disability lawyer.

Share Lawyers has helped many clients get the disability benefits they deserve, even after their insurance companies have denied their disability benefits claims, including clients with invisible illnesses like mental illness. Disability law is always evolving and now covers more conditions than ever before and legal precedent suggests that disability can and should be interpreted in broad terms.

An invisible disability is a valid basis for a long term disability benefits claim, so don’t hesitate to reach out to one of the experienced disability lawyers at Share Lawyers if a medical issue is making it difficult to keep up with the demands at work or you have been wrongly denied long term disability benefits. Remember, we offer a free consultation so you can explore your options. We have 35 years of experience as a disability law firm and we are here to help.

If you have had your claim for long-term disability denied, contact the long-term disability insurance lawyers at Share Lawyers. Our experienced team of long-term disability (LTD) lawyers can help. We have recently settled cases against Canada Life, Desjardins, Manulife, RBC Insurance, Sun Life, and many more. We offer free consultations and there are no fees unless we win your case. Find out if you have a disability case.

Denied your long term disability claim?

Contact Share Lawyers today and put our experience to work for you. Our 35+ years of experience can help you win your case against Canada Life, Desjardins, Manulife, RBC Insurance, Sun Life, and other insurance companies. We offer free consultations and there are no fees unless you win your case. Join us on Facebook and become a Top Fan for a chance to win each month.

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A note from our long term disability lawyers

Taking a medical leave from work is not an easy decision to make. Concerns about providing for yourself and your family and keeping your job may cause you to want to push through your pain, but this won’t make your problems go away. Stopping work is often the smartest decision for your long term health and well-being, and your disability benefits are there to provide you with financial support until you can return to work.

If you have made the tough decision to stop working and apply for your short term disability or long term disability benefits, you may feel overwhelmed by the process and have questions that your employer and your insurance company are not able or willing to answer. Share is There to see you through and answer your questions.

Our Disability law firm knows what you have been going through

We understand that things have not been easy for you over the last little while. Your health has been suffering, you are unable to work, and now your insurance company, who was supposed to be there in your time of need, has decided they will not pay your disability benefits or respect your disability claim. These benefits exist to provide you with the financial support you need so that you can focus on your health and rebuilding your life. It is unfortunate that your insurance company has not lived up to its promise. If your disability claim has been denied, we will fight to get you the benefits you are entitled to. Our disability lawyers have helped thousands of Canadians get their long term disability benefits over the past 35 years, and we can help you too.

Our experienced disability lawyers can fight back on your behalf

Share Lawyers believes that every client who is dealing with a disability claim deserves superior personal service. To achieve that goal, we have developed our team of experienced, compassionate, and caring long term disability lawyers, law clerks, and administrative staff to meet all of your needs. Our team of experienced long term disability, life insurance, employment, and critical illness insurance lawyers have made successful claims against many insurance companies, third-party administrators and employers.

If you are unable to work, your disability benefits should be there to provide you with the financial support you need. While your insurance company may be focused on finding ways to avoid paying your claim, our focus is on what is in your best interest. When Share Lawyers gets involved, you have an entire team of lawyers that are there to support you and to fight for what is yours.

Our disability claim lawyers fight for your disability insurance claim by relying on our many years of experience to apply the best strategic planning and approach in each case, using the latest technology available. Experience matters, and with Share Lawyers, you are in the best hands with 35 years of success on your side.

In this video, we explain the role of a long term disability lawyer and how we can support you when you have been denied your long term disability benefits.