Tom Cruise appeared on NBC's Today Show this morning because he was in the neighborhood and has a movie coming out and is in love and stuff. He got into it a bit with host Matt Lauer - especially heated was their exchange regarding Cruise's recent criticism of that tall, depressive woman Brooke Shields and her use of psychiatry.…
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76 - mona
Casz, I agree with what your saying. The media has premeditated objectives, and Tom is entitled to his "feelings/beliefs" just as Lauer is. Both of them are given a podium to speak as a result of success in their occupation. But you cannot say only your way is RIGHT for everyone, which if you read the transcript Tom is. Everycase should be analyzed individually as a seperate case. For some Ritalin might be the answer. For others perhaps vitamins and exercise. Thats why I say let tom doing the acting, doctors do the diagnosing, and a patient/person pick their own treatment, and if wise not rely on a belief as a replacement for knowledge but instead on facts derived from documented medical research. By the way Tom says he's done his research but he keeps on falsely misusing the word antipsychotic drugs when he should be referring to them as psychotropic drugs.
77 - Lilyblue
Tom Cruise is not doing real scientific research. He is just repeating scientology indoctrination lines. Like Anderson Cooper in CNN 360 said, they are "bumper sticker slogans"...
Doesn't even know the difference between psychotropic and antipsychotic drugs like Mona says.
Last night there was a scientologist on Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) that says he treats Skizofrenia with vitamins...
Scientologists believe that 75 million years ago we were implanted with false memory implants by aliens and we have dead aliens living inside our heads. How do we get rid of that problem? The ONLY solution is to go to their sessions that run about $1,500 per hour and buy their vitamins...
Need I say more...?
78 - Shawn
Yes, there is quite a bit of controversy about the recent appearance of Tom Cruise on the Today Show, but what surprises me is that no one mentioned the interview he gave on May 26th 2005 to Access Hollywood which was called "Man on a Mission". The entire interview, all 60 agonizing minutes of it, dealt with these issues or what I refer to as the "Tom Bomb".
I sent an email to the Today Show the following day along with one to Access Hollywood and the Bill Maher Show (for kicks) expressing many of the same concerns as some of you have mentioned. There are a couple of things however that no one has discussed, one of which was how Mr. Cruise stated that as a child, he had been diagnosed with dyslexia and it was suggested that he be placed on medication. While I'm no doctor, I do know that dyslexia is a language disabilty that is characterized by difficulties with word recognition, spelling and decoding and I have yet to hear of a medication that would help with this disorder. It seems to me that he hasn't entirely licked the problem since he still has a difficult time completing an intelligent sentence, but I digress. I would like Mr. Cruise inform the public as to what medication was suggested. He also stated that had he been placed on meds, he wouldn't be where he is today (now wouldn't that be just be the end of our world as we know it??) since it would have dulled his "passion". As I mentioned, I don't know what type of meds Mr. Cruise was referring to, but being an adult who was diagnosed with post tramatic shock disorder, depression and ADHD more than five years ago and being placed on meds, I can assure you that I do not feel dulled in any way. If anything, this fuels my passion to inform people of getting the correct information out and not letting the ugly stigma of the treatment of mental illness rear its head again.
What Mr. Cruise has done by this convoluted cruisade he's embarked upon is irresponsible and potentially very dangerous.
I'm not going to criticize Mr. Cruise's religion but come on people...Scientology was founded and based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard who had NO medical, scientific or theological background what so ever. It should also be stated their religious doctrines cite "psychiatry and psychology are responsible for giving Germany a Hitler and Russia a Stalin". Now there's a statement that should scare the hell out of everyone and not because it's based on fact as Mr. Cruise would like you to believe, but because it has no foundation at all. There are plenty of Scientologist within the entertainment industry who may concur (somewhat) with Mr. Cruises' beliefs but you aren't seeing them running in droves to rally around him and why not??? Could it possibly be because they don't feel the need to bring religion into this matter??? What I am getting at it if Mr. Cruise feels there are too many people on "mind altering" drugs, then let him stand on his own two feet and say it for himself instead of using his church as his personal soapbox. Either that or give up acting and become a televangalist
Everyone needs something to believe in, but Mr. Cruise is abusing his standing in the entertainment industry to voice an opinion that he really has little or no knowlege about, other than what L. Ron Hubbard has stated. When it comes to medication, let the doctors do their job and parents/patients do their research. If ritilan is now a street drug which I know it is, how do you think it got there??? I doubt doctors were prescribing it to junkies. I think it's more like some parents/patients (the ones that don't do their research or just don't give a damn) knowing its street demand/worth and instead of applying the treatment as prescribed, parents are failing to treat their children or adult patients are abusing their prescriptions and instead treating their own financial "habits". Lets not just bash the doctors. Of course a great deal of medications are prescribed, many of which have little to no side effects in addition to the alternate drugs to ritilan which are stimulant free and it is done with the intent to help, not hinder!!! If we choose to be informed, there is no abuse and we don't need Mr. Cruise to try to save us all as if we were sheep headed off to slaughter by the big bad doctors and their free swinging meds.
Now as for his new movie...No, I think I'm going to pass even after giving great consideration to the other talented people in the movie, and of course Mr. Spielberg, who don't deserve the negativity Mr. Cruise has drawn to this film. The only thing I can say about that is perhaps should this movie not do as projected, other Hollywood celebs and insiders might decide to give a wide berth to Mr. Cruise and by doing so, bring him back to a resonable reality. Well, at least we can hope!
In closing, a response to foz: Until you know what you are talking about, I highly suggest you take a backseat with your buddy Tom and just keep quiet!!
79 - HW Saxton
Tom is another in the long line of "The
Secret Swordfighters Of Hollywood". Is
that some sort of code for he is just a
closted homosexual? Not being snarky,I
just honestly have never heard this term
used before outside of this post.
80 - Nick Jones
"The ONLY solution is to go to their sessions that run about $1,500 per hour and buy their vitamins..."
Couldn't we just get by with reading Dianetics and using a good multivitamin? Just asking.
81 - Nick Jones
Brooke Shields' rejoinder to Cruise's comments, from the July 1 New York Times Op-Ed page. (Free registration requuired; see it before it's archived, which will require a fee.)
82 - Tristan
anyone that does any reading whatsoever KNOWS that Tom (aka Up The Poop-Chute) Cruise is a not-so-secret closeted gay....... and that Nicole Kidman dumped him when he tried to bring home one of his boyfriends ........
Does Scientology REQUIRE that you be Gay to achieve the highter levels, such as the ones Cruise and Travolta are among ...???
83 - Glynne
Okay, this idiot Tom Cruise said he's "studied" the history of psychiatry, has HE EVER studied the history of L. Ron Hubbard??? Come on, he was a total whacko SCIENCE FICTION WRITER, not a doctor, theologian or even a nutritionist! He was in PRISON when he wrote Dyanetics!!! It's time for Tom Cruise to shut his yap or admit that Scientology may have more than a FEW skeletons in it's own closet! I think it would be very wise (so he'd never do it) to be sure you have nothing to be ashamed of or want to hide BEFORE you cast your first stone.
I have yet to hear of someone making a televised personal attack on him for his "religion". He went WAY TOO FAR! He doesn't give a hoot about Brooke or others who have been help by medicine & psychiatry, of which I am one. Hey, Tom, are you going to take care of me when I'm so far deep in my dark depression that I feel like stepping in front of a bus?? By the way, I'm healthy except for the depression that runs rampant in my family.
Tom, you're not a doctor. You don't have a degree (of sense). You are an actor & a really bad one at that. You haven't done anything good since "The Firm". Hope Katie smartens up, cause any man who would publicly attack someone like you did can't be trusted or believed in!!!
~Glynne~
84 - mona
I would like to thank everyone who is couragous enough to share their personal experiences with mental illness on this post. However, you'd be mistaken if you think that this is all about scientology and beliefs. I'm one that doesn't believe in coincidences. Think of how many magazine covers and other various press coverage Tom has gotten recently. Compare that with his past movie releases. Whether its from Katie, to scientology, to getting squirted with water we've seen a little too much of the guy don't you think. Why you ask? Well, Tom is scheduled to recieve 20% of the profits in War of the Worlds. His highest percentage taking in all of his career. Put it together people. Tom doesn't care about what he says and who he hurts along the way. As long as its going to be controversial and interesting enought to get us to pay attention they've succeeded. You pay 10.00 to watch his movie and he gets $2.00 of that. Thats all that its about folks. Its all about the MONEY. Wisen up and teach these celebrities that this formula wont work on us. They are not the sheep herders and were not the sheep.
85 - Lilyblue
It would be cool if someone had evidence and took Tom "out of the closet", considering that Scientology does not approve of homosexuality and claims to cure it with vitamins and exercise.
86 - Shay
If I had an opinion of Tom before it was probably more of a favorable one, and I tend to agree that dealing with things naturally is the way to go. I also agree that drugs are highly wrongly prescribed, abused and often unnecessary, but I'm not from the stone age and realize that drugs CAN be of benefit and are sometimes absolutely necessary.
I too had post partum depression and sufferred through it naturally, but only because I didn't know what was happening or what to do or who to talk to. All I knew was that I was going insane and that if I didn't make it no one would know what happened to me! So I commend Brooke for bringing it to the publics attention. She possibly saved many lives and definately improved many, whereas Tom certainly endangered many. We will never know the amount of people he may have harmed, even fatally, because of his reckless statements.
With my second child I did not have post partum (thank God!) but believe me, it was a huge relief to know that there was such a disorder and that there was treatment for it.
By the way, before I had post partum my IQ was 127 and had majored in psychology in college, yet didn't know how to deal with it when it was happening to me. I understand Brooke is also very intelligent, graduating with honors from Princeton University. I'm sure she wouldn't take any type of drug carelessly or without researching it. Where did Tom get his information or education?
I guess you don't have to ask what my opinion of Tom is now. I think he WAS on something to begin with.
Finally, Brandon, comment 18: I appreciate GREATLY you fighting to protect my freedom. I thank you as I'm sure everyone here does. But calling us wimps for exercising the rights you yourself are fighting for us for seems a little hypocritical. My opinion of Tom being an idiot is not hate inspired. Also you seem to be harboring an awful lot of hate yourself as you label us as haters because we're excercising our right to free speech.
87 - noname
I'm a little late in this conversation, and I haven't read the whole thing so I'll comment bit by bit as I read the earlier posts.
First off, I just have something to say about all you who are going to not pay any money to see Tom's movies from now on: whom are you kidding? You really think those few dollars are going to hurt him that much? I also wouldn't be surprised if you just ended up buying his DVD's used or downloading them off the internet for free (which is illegal by the way).
Someone said they wouldn't pay any money to see Tom's movies just because they didn't want to see any of it go to the Church of Scientology. Well, if you're going to boycott all movies if there's Scientologists involved I hope you do your research, because you're going to have to make sure that no one involved in the movie production is a Scientologist. But what makes it even more complicated is the fact that the Scientologist(s) in the movie may not be an actor, but could be a producer, an editor, a composer, etc., so you'll have to be very careful about your movie selections from now on. Good luck with that.
This guy Joshua claims that Scientology masks itself as a science. I find that hard to believe since it's a religion. But what's worse is he says therapy is natural. Well, I'm not sure how Scientology's not natural and therapy is, since they were both developed by people. Very odd.
But allow me to make a point before I make references to individual comments. Have any of you really done research on this subject? Because it looks like a lot of you haven't. But here's a better question: did any of you actually understand Tom's message? He never said there wasn't mental problems with people, that people weren't messed up. He merely said these mental maladies weren't caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. That means you could have someone mentally ill but they are mentally ill because of something other than a chemical imbalance in the brain.
Also, it's very interesting how in all those anti-depressant (is that with or without a hyphen?) commercials they tell you there is no known cause of depression but it is thought that it MIGHT be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. If depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain then why do they say it might be and that the cause of it is not known? Something interesting for you to mull over.
Tom "LITTLE MAN" Cruise is nothing more than that--a little man. This guy obviously has nothing to really contribute to this blog, or probably even society in general, except juvenile insults, which include but are not limited to slams for someone's height (5'7" isn't that short and snice when can someone help how tall they are) and unfounded gay bashing.
I have to say, what is wrong with a man being 5'7"? I've met plenty of guys who are shorter than the average height (which is 5'9") and there's nothing wrong with them. You can't really help it if you're short and when you make fun of someone for being short you're technically making fun of ANYONE being short (even though Tom isn't THAT short). It's kinda low, don't you think? Would you really say those kinds of things to someone who was a bit on the short side? I'd like to see you do that.
And this azstephany chick, talk about full of crap! She makes it sound like it's a bad thing that John Travolta and Kelly Preston don't allow their kid to be exposed to the media. What mean parents! And she says they don't believe in chemical imbalances in the brain when their kid is autistic. Well, I don't know if autism is considered a mental illness (could be) and to tell you the truth I'm not sure exactly what they believe the causes are for it. But let's say it is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. I don't think saying autism is caused by a brain chemical imbalance is the same as depression is caused by that very thing. Autism is something you're born with (I don't know if you can develop it later in life from an illness or some sort of trauma) and it's totally different from depression. It's like comparing apples to oranges. Another asinine remark. And she says the Travoltas are crazy....
Well, that's all I feel like doing for now. I'll be back later.
88 - Nikki
Birt, we can obviously tell you're a TC fan & you too, seem to need psychiatric help. Tom's mental state started spinning out of control when he decided to divorce NK (knowing that she was 3 months pregnant w/his child). And he started a fling w/PC while still married to NK. What a bastard! W.this current interview w/ Matt Lauer, TC has shown what an asshole & an idiot he really is. Here's a high school drop out, whom is not a licensed doctor nor is does he have any knowledge on mental health lecturing people on the subject. I guarantee, after this interview, his fame will fade, directors will shy away from him, & his career will go down the drain.
I think TC's people should, come high hell & water, admit him into a psychiatric ward or @ the very least, force him to see a psychiatrist, whether he believe in them or not! TC needs some serious help!
A note to TC, shape up (mentally) or get out of acting! I don't think there's one person out there,@the present time, wants to see your face on the screen nor do they want to pay to see your movies anymore. I don't even think they want to hear your idiotic voice anymore. Anyone who jumps on couches to express their love to the public, are not only idiots, but they're a real embarrasment. TC, you really have emabarrassed your fans! Grow up!
And Kate Holmes, if you know what is good for your career & your friendship w/your fellow actors, walk away from TC while you still can. You're a smart girl, can't you see there's something seriously wrong w/your so-called beau? If you truly love him, please get him some psychiatric help. And please open your eyes. If he can cheat on Mimi Rogers & Nicole Kidman, he can cheat on you too. And please do NOT get involved in Scientology (as you can already see that it has destroyed TC & all of his crdibility).
89 - hiproductionsdotcom
Aside from MSNBC is there another source for viewing this interview?
Andrew Hamilton
Las Vegas Videographers
Hamilton International Productions
90 - Anomymous
I hope Katie's pregnancy goes well and her delivery does too and the baby is fine--but I do hope beyond belief that she suffers major post partum depression. Let Tom cure it.
91 - KYS
Maybe he'll call Brooke Shields for advice. Wouldn't it be loverly?
92 - KYS
Maybe he'll call Brooke Shields for advice. Wouldn't it be loverly?
93 - Clayton Lively
I have bipolar disorder. I take drugs every day, and probably will for the rest of my life. Psychiatry is by no means an exact science. I was hospitalized for over two months, and had been on every drug there was for stabalizing mood. Electro-convulsive therapy was our last option. I had to undergo twelve treatments. Following the "shock" therapy, the drugs began to work. I am definately a different person on the drugs, but I am a functioning person. Personally, I don't care if all the drugs are doing is "masking" the problem, I'm not bouncing off the wall, or hearing voices, or staying up all night, or feeling so depressed that I could kill myself. Tom Cruise can go (expletive) is uncle for all I care, he doesn't know crap about mental illness.
94 - KYS
Clayton,
It should comfort you to know that only people who have never experienced bi-polar disorder bash the medical treatment that helps so many people. Don't let anybody tell you what you need in a crisis. You deserve treatment, and I hope you have a strong support network to help you.
Tom is a dolt who clearly has never had to face such issues. Ideas like his perpetuate stigma and ignorance.
Do you have a DBSA (Depression and Bi-Polar Support Alliance) in your area? There you will find a group of individuals who know what you are going through.
Good luck!!
95 - Eric Olsen
I agree: whatever works works and best wishes to all in finding wht works. I am astonished by the arrogance of someone -- an actor no less! -- who tells people that his way is the only way
96 - Debbie
Tom Cruise's Celebrity has gone to his head and blown out his brain cells! It would be interesting to see his Post Partum Depression after he delivers a few Box Office Duds!
97 - GTH
Five years ago I slit my wrists but was found by a family member. After I was hosipitalized I was found to have an extreme chemical imbalance known as major depression. I was medicated and the combination of that, and a lot of therapy and support from family and friends, kept me doing well today. I've been taking medication for depression for 5 years and I am doing great. Without the treatment I got I would probably have tried to kill myself again and again until I succeeded. F*** you Tom Cruise. It works for me and I could have died without it.
98 - boyed
Boycott mission 3 dont support the fool bot y cott all cruise movies
99 - matt
I am someone who benefits from an amphetamine medication (Dexedrine, the one with a far more notorius reputation than ritalin or adderall) due to ADHD and i do not regret my decision as an adult to take this medicine. Medicine not "speed". I have taken it for years and I hate abuse and stigmas attached to both the medication i take or my choice to use it. The proof is in my behavior and the fact that my mind slows down so i can function, focus and live like people who unlike Mr. Cruise (an undiagnosed manic-depressive who has met the diagnostic criteria for a "manic episode" for months now) are either in denial or fit into the spectrum of "stable, or normal". There is proof to support both Tom's opinion and The American Psychiatric Association's opinion on medication and Psychiatry. And he only voiced his OPINION not FACT so i let it roll off...
100 - K. Rickhards
My comment is this, it's real funny your waste time buying in to some shit like youthful Essences, wheen you can wait on somethign new and it never coms! ha! that's like Jessica Simpson and her journey back for childhood,sacraficial. "
101 - michele Perez
Amidst a hundred comments I'm not sure why you'll find mine worth reading since it really doesn't impart anything new under the sun:
In response to someone's earlier comment about Tom's freedom of speech and our subsequent "bashing" while also addressing the implication that natural is the superior to artificial:
We DO enjoy freedom of speech but that doesn't mean I have to agree or that I can't exercise my free speech by criticizing someone else's - only that I do not censor it.
Because something is natural doesn't make it superior/desirable. It's natural to be eaten by predators, weather winter blizzards, thirst during droughts and develop cancer from the sun's radiation. There are many naturally occuring poisons in plants and animal; diseases that cause disability or death; abberations which can lead to your demise (think near-sightedness). Intelligence (and it's spin-off, artificial manipulation of the environment) is our evolutionary advantage and our use of it in a sense is natural though what we create with it is, well, man-made. It isn't man-made vs. natural but good vs. bad - it is a category mistake to use them interchangeably.
In response to Tom's claims:
I find it very concerning that anyone in this modern age where more people than ever have access to both education and information that neurochemistry can be called a sham. How anyone who's spent anytime reading basic neurophysiology can even so much as hint that neurotransmitters do not have an effect on brain function and the person in which that brain is housed is simply unsupported. That this exists and dogmatically is worrisome, it's like saying heart attacks are caused by evil spirits and physicians and scientists have it all wrong. The implications if this were taken seriously en masse would be devastating.
I want some hard facts about the psychoses that have responded to vitamins and exercise to which Mr. Cruise refers. Where are these case studies? Why isn't everyone abuzz about this new panacea Scientology claims to offer? There are so many homeless people with schizophrenia living a natural, medication-free life on the streets, it would be the humane thing to do to bring them in, give them shelter and offer them a cure pro bono;. Isn't it an ethical obligation to share this treatment and its evidence with the rest of the world free of charge?
I work in the field of psychiatry and I am thankful everyday that I do not battle in such terrible wars over which I would have little to no control. There are patients who would be entirely swallowed in delusions, hallucinations and thought disorder if it were not for psychiatrists and medicine while others would have committed suicide, become alchoholics or drug-abusers, or simply settled for an unfulfilling existence. It is not just an insult to doctors and scientists but also to those afflicted and someone should speak up.
102 - michele Perez
Oh, and as an aside, to clear up something: doctors do not get paid money to push certain medications. I had worked closely with a cardiologist as a rounding nurse for years and never ever did he or I get any sort of money for preferring one drug over another. There are companies that spend ridiculous amounts of money on presentation dinners, pens, calendars and other doo-dads that are immaterial in actually picking one drug over another. Doctors make a ton of money simply through being doctors and these little trinkets don't mean anything to them. A lot of the time the "why" involved when a physician chooses a drug depends on familiarity, patient cost, side effects, the MDs experience with its efficacy through patient and clinical reports and patient population. Medicine is indeed a business, pharmaceutical companies do want to make money, they are not a charity, but at the same time there are a lot of regulations in place on our drugs in the US which at times can be a hindrance but overall is a way to protect the public and ensures, to the best of its ability, that a drug contains the active ingredient, has been shown to do what it claims to do and that it is relatively safe (some drugs obviously have major side-effects, such as chemo, but their benefits outweigh the alternative). It is bad news at the least to have a drug that is dangerous and pharmaceutical companies would prefer not to market something unsafe just on the basis of bad business both in lawsuits and association. Perpetuating a myth is irresponsible and can influence people's decisions in a negative way. It's good to be thoughtful and skeptical (I am a strong skeptic myself) but consider sources, other possible variables/contributing factors, sample sizes and alternatives carefully.
103 - Wow wee
Far out, perhaps if Mr. Tom Cruise took his psyco medicine, he would have a proper opinion ;-)