SNL Star Pete Davidson's Powerful Message About Mental Illness
Pete Davidson, Getty Images
SNL Cast Member Pete Davidson is defending everyone who struggles with mental illness, including himself. And he's doing it on Instagram.
Davidson, now 24, revealed his borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis to the world last year, and is passionately following up with a serious statement meant to de-stigmatize mental health issues.
"Normally I wouldn't comment on something like this cause like fuck you," the SNL star wrote. "But I've been hearing a lot of 'people with BDP can't be in relationships' talk. I just wanna let you know that's not true. Just because someone has a mental illness does not mean they can't be happy and in a relationship. It also doesn't mean that person makes the relationship toxic."
"I just think it's fucked up to stigmatize people as crazy and say that they are unable to do stuff that anyone can do."
"It's not their fault and it's the wrong way for people to look at things. I may be crazy but at least I'm aware of it and not afraid to be honest about it and I'm not hiding behind a Twitter or Instagram account."
He explains, "I'm simply writing this because I want everyone out there who has an illness to know that it's not true and that anyone who says that is ill and full of shit. Mental illness is not a joke it's a real thing. There's kids out there killing themselves. And it's fucking horrific. For all those struggling I want you to know that I love you and I understand you and it is going to be okay. That's all. Love to everyone else."
And to give you some hope? These days, Davidson is dating pop star Ariana Grande.
But last year?
In an interview on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Davidson revealed that he had been a pothead for a very long time. "Around October [or] September last year, I started having mental breakdowns where I would, like, freak out and then not remember what happened after," said Davidson. "Blind rage. I never really did any other drugs, so I was like, 'I'm gonna try to go to rehab. Maybe that'll be helpful.'"
At the rehab facility, professionals guessed there was a deeper issue at play.
"The [doctors] told me there, they're like, 'You might be bipolar,' and I was like, 'OK,'" he recalled. "So they're like, 'We're gonna try you on these meds.' And then I got out [of rehab], and then I started smoking weed again – and I'm on meds."
Shorty afterward, the comedian said he had a "really bad mental breakdown" and that he would be going undergoing treatment again—this time, to get sober.
Three months into sobriety, Davidson still felt uneasy, and was finally diagnosed by a psychiatrist with BPD, for which he began taking medication.
"It is working, slowly but surely," he said to Maron. "I've been having a lot of problems. This whole year has been a fucking nightmare. This has been the worst year of my life, getting diagnosed with this and trying to figure out how to learn with this and live with this."