Sadly, this is one of the greatest examples I’ve seen in recent yrs, of how we’re getting MH all wrong.
If you look at the media’s portrayal of Aaron’s passing here’s what comes up: possible – addiction, overdose, substance abuse, “huffing,” overuse of Rx drugs.
Whether it’s in the title of the article, or is the main focus of it like the 30+ I’ve read (bc YOU’ve sent them to me), the focus is always the labels & the simplicity of “what did the crash look like.” What simplistic way can we explain why this new father, ended up naked/dead in his bathtub.
Then, off those articles, you read the awful things written abt him on HIS pages on SM: “crackhead, crack baby, withering away, has been.” All things that piggy back on the oversimplified “druggy/addict” labels that’ve been thrown his way.
Some bkgrnd on Aaron:
He rose to fame at 9 yrs old. His older brother Nick was in the Back Street Boys & he’d perform w them, & even Britney Spears. He’d been on Broadway, & even became a fan favorite on Dancing w the Stars. Friends say he had one of the biggest hearts they’d seen.
Here’s just SOME of the trauma story you don’t hear in articles. Just snippets bc I’m limited in space: His parents filed for divorced & he found out an hr before going on MTV Cribs asked to show off his house & toys & pretend everything was great. He lost his sister in 2012 (a woman he’d accused of sexually abusing him btwn the ages of 10 & 13). He came out as bisexual in 2017 – something he said he had to keep a secret for yrs bc of his fam/not being accepted. His father suddenly died in 2017. He’s had a tumultuous relationship w his mother. In 2020 his girlfriend was arrested for domestic violence w a knife being pulled on him. Recently Aaron lost custody of his young son.
But what our media does is want a simple answer w celebs – first the diagnosis: suffered w bipolar, anxiety, depression…then what happened w the death – addict, overdose, suicide, abuser, druggie.
See how they confuse us & make us think these ppl are just these labels – & throw out diff ones each time? We are our stories & our pain (& hopefully overcoming). We are NOT labels.
