Miller’s death highlights struggle with celebrities’ health

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Ian Iott

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By Giuliana Calix, Arts & Culture Editor

The tragic death of Mac Miller on Sept. 7 has sparked a much-needed conversation about how our culture deals with addiction and mental health. This conversation has already been talked about following Demi Lovato’s overdose in July.

Towards the end of July, Lovato was found in her Hollywood Hills home passed out. Once the news got out that she reportedly overdosed, millions of her fans stepped up to support the young artist and her current situation.

“I have been a fan of Demi ever since I was little and to see her come so far to just fall apart is heartbreaking,” junior Cameron Kinsella said. “Mental health is serious and it must be hard for celebrities it deal with it because it’s all being reported.”

Lovato had been sober for about six years before her overdose. Thousand of fans showed support for Lovato on social media and has shared stories about how her openness has helped them over the years.  During this time she focused on sobriety and inspiring addicts to make a change. After this tragic event, it triggered people to want to speak up about mental health.

When teens grow up they are all steered away from drug use because a majority can become easily addicted. While drug use often shows up in lyrics of rap and hip-hop music, young stars often try to fight the issues of addiction in silence.

Miller was known to be an addict while he was dating ex-girlfriend Ariana Grande. Grande spoke to Hollywood Life after he passed and said she was always trying to help him quit.

One of the most misunderstood ideas surrounding addiction and suicide is that a person is “selfish” for dying from an overdose or intentionally taking their own life, but in Millers case, research has shown that his overdose  was just an accident.

“Mac Miller’s death was an eye opener to all of his fans to make sure that if they’re struggling with something themselves, that they should try and get help,” sophomore Alexa Magliaro said.

Mental health is a big part of teens today because unfortunately too many teens  are dealing with stress, anxiety and depression. Celebrities play a major role in society and many are role models for adolescents. Seeing celebrities struggle or unfortunately pass away from their addiction is hard for many teens to comprehend at such a young age.