Tuesday night, actor Charlie Sheen spoke with ABC about his battle with substance abuse, alcohol, and CBS canceling his show "Two and a Half Men" for the remainder of the season. Some have called Sheen's behavior manic and a media-blitz meltdown.
After his Monday interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Sheen signed up for a Twitter account. Tuesday, @charliesheen has joined Twitter an has accumulated nearly 200,000 followers. Some of his tweets include "I am on a drug, it's called Charlie Sheen" and "I have a 10,000 year old brain and the boogers of a seven-year-old."
Addition expert Tore Gintoli is the Director of Assessment, Referral and Admissions/Information Technology Support at Lighthouse Care Center in Conway. Lighthouse treated 187 patients for more than 2,000 days of therapy last month.
Gintoli says Sheen's behavior is anything but entertainment. "He very well could be bipolar, manic. That could be part. It could be a myriad of undiagnosed illnesses."
Some experts have come out saying they think Sheen is bipolar or manic. Gintoli says that could be a result of so much drug abuse.
"It is possible to fry your brain," he says.
Gintoli also adds there are substance induced mood disorders, but also instances where people who have bipolar and have depression use substances.
"They try to modulate that. It's a chicken or the egg thing," he says.
One thing is for sure Gintoli says. If he was in a situation to advise Sheen, who has claimed he's sober and brought drug test results to interviews, Gintoli would recommend some sort of therapy assessment.
"It's really easy to just look at someone's really superficial behavior and make that assessment," he says. "True assessment goes a lot deeper than that."
Gintoli says if there is a silver lining to this entire Sheen story, he says it's that hopefully it will bring some attention to those who need help.
If you or someone you know might be suffering from addiction, Lighthouse Care Center of Conway offers scheduled face to face assessments to individuals if it is deemed clinically appropriate. You can call (843) 347-8871 to speak to an Assessment and Referral Counselor for more information on obtaining an assessment for yourself or a loved one.
