Monday, July 12, 2010

Abuser, Alcoholic or Mentally Ill?

I've been watching Mel Gibson for years. He was always entertaining in the Lethal Weapon movies with the slightly crazy cop persona he portrayed. Later, he didn't age well, alcohol likely played a role in that. He got busted, there were the alleged racist comments. His marriage dissolved. That could make anybody angry, crazy, turn to self-medication,etc. More recently he had a child with a Russian woman and now that relationship has fallen apart and there are tapes allegedly with Gibson's voice spewing more racial slurs. But which came first, the malady or the self-medicating cure?

Has he always been crazy and it's only in his older years that it's harder for him to keep a handle on it?

Has he always been abusive or an alcoholic? Mel and Robyn were married for 28 years and what, 7 kids? You never heard any mention of him abusing her. He's never been caught on tape saying abusive things to her. But now, get a listen on the last tape at the bottom of this post and Mel's rant against his now former Russian girlfriend is so hateful and controlling!

It's evident that he has been a long-time drinker. He's said as much in older interviews. Has that just now, in later years gotten out of control? Is he self-medicating anger, depression, some other mental illness?

I know it would be very easy to hate the man. Say all sorts of awful things about him, but his decline in recent years has been marked. His lack of control of his drinking, and even his words, sober or drunk has been noticeable. Is he at the early stages of some sort of dementia or Alzheimers?

Some of the early signs of dementia are: personality change, poor or decreased judgment, changes in mood or behavior. Early signs of Alzheimer's can also include changes in mood and personality.

Look at the following interviews with Mel over the years. He starts out okay, but usually half-way through, he gets animated or agitated. He says odd things, and some things you suspect he actually believes.

I don't know. I'm not quite ready to believe he's just an abusive alcoholic. I get the impression there's something else going on here. What do you think?







=====

Update: But wait, there's more:

WORLD EXCLUSIVE AUDIO: Mel Gibson's Explosive Racist Rant -- Listen To It Here | RadarOnline.com

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mel is Bipolar and self medicating with alcohol. It is most likely his drinking and mental illness that ended his first marriage.

VV said...

Hi. Who are you? So, bipolar is his mental illness? Do you think there's anything else? I agree, I think he's bi-polar, and probably has been his whole life, but why is he so much more crazy in public now? Did his wife help him control his worse nature? Now that she's out of the picture, is there no voice of reason? That might be it, but I'm still leaning toward something more being wrong with him.

Larena said...

I have always liked his acting, I was sorry to see him split up with his first wife and family, but bipolar would explain some of it and if he is why is he still drinking? bipolar meds and alcohol are not good to mix.
wish I had the sound fixed on my computer I would have loved listening to the interviews... will be getting a bunch of pictures ready for you in August send me a list of wants and desires and I will do my best to fullfill them ! Love Hugs & Prayers !

jim said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
OldLady Of The Hills said...

I have never been a big Mel Gibson fan as an actor or as a man. His 2006 remarks when he was stopped for drunk driving in Malibu, are not "alleged". He said the things he did about The Jews. His father is a known Holacaust denier, and Mel G. has alluded to these things himself. I have no idea if something else is going on with him but I believe it is pretty well documented that he abuses Alcohol, and has been drinking heavly for years...These things do get worse as time goes on and the behavior gets more and more abusive--verbally and physically--more and more out of control. I think he needs help. A lot of help. But whether he will get it or not is up to him, I think...If indeed there is more going on here than alcohol, then I believe that would be descerned IF he got the help he needs.

VV said...

OL, I remember hearing about his father, his anti-Semitic rant, and even his "unusual" views on Christianity. He's an odd character all round and I believe alcohol over time can damage the brain. But when I look back to even his early interviews, he's just a little off, his language, his movements, his comments. I wonder if he's had a mental illness all along and the alcohol has so damaged his brain over the years, that he can no longer disguise his psychosis.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Just read this in the Sunday New York Times by Frank Rich. Very Interesting. And Gibson's father is an out and out Abti-Semite and a VERY outspoken Holacaust denier. He is more than an just an 'odd duck'...He is a dangerous man, in every way---Pretty Crazy, in fact.

Here is the link to Fraank Rich' Editorial:
nytimes.com/2010/07/18/opinion/18rich.html?th&emc=th

VV said...

OL, thanks, I'll go look at that.

CK, here’s the tattoo

  From sketch to transfer to tattoo