Junior Seau. January 19, 1969 - May 2, 2012

In light of the tragic suicide of former NFL linebacker and Hall of Famer Junior Seau, Dr. Teena Shetty and NFL All-Pro and nine-year veteran punter Greg Montgomery, Jr. spoke with Fox News last week about a possible depression epidemic in professional sports.

The two hot topics on the table?

Both the physical and the emotional impacts professional athletes endure.

Dr. Teena Shetty, a neurologist who also works with the New York Mets and the New York Giants, points out that without a clearly documented concussion history, we can’t make a real connection between any concussions Junior Seau had and the state of his mental health.

She does, however, point out that concussions to upset the chemical balance in the brain and that repeated disruptions “may lead to depression.”

Betcha can’t guess where I’m headed at this exact moment…

No?

I’m on my way to see The Black Keys!

2012 is going to be pretty good year for me, as far as concerts go, which is A Really Good Thing considering 2011 was just okay (actually, it pretty much sucked except for finally getting to see my three favorite country stars: Randy Travis, Reba, and good ol’ Bucky Convington) compared to my 2010 of The Avett Brothers, The Black Crowes, Steve Miller Band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Amos Lee, and of course Dave Matthews Band.

Which brings me to the real point of this post…

…music therapy.

If you caught The Today Show yesterday, you might’ve seen actor/comedian Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, 50/50) promoting his new event, Hilarity for Charity.

Hilarity for Charity is an awareness and fundraising event for the Alzheimer’s Association, a group Rogen has been working with for a few years now (who knew?).

During his Today Show appearance, Rogen cited his mother-in-law’s early-onset Alzheimer’s as one of the reasons he became involved in advocating awareness of and research for the disease – and, Hilarity for Charity is supposed to reach a younger audience and educate them about how, in one way or another, Alzheimer’s can affect us all.

Hilarity for Charity started as a message to my generation that it’s time to step up and realize that Alzheimer’s is not just an ‘old person’ disease, but something that will greatly affect all of us. Having a family member with Alzheimer’s disease has made me aware of the damage it does not only to the person who has been diagnosed, but to the caregivers, friends and family who surround the person. (Crowdrise/Hilarity for Charity)

The event is being held this Friday, January 13, 2012 and in addition to Rogen himself, will feature performances and appearances by Bruno Mars, Paul Rudd, DJ Pauly D, Tenacious D, Judd Apatow, and more.

Happy Fourth of July, American readers!

If you’re like me (a moderate-to-severe workaholic), you don’t take nearly as many breaks as you should. So, when something as concrete as a national holiday rolls around, you take advantage of the expected downtime and give your body and brain a rest.

(Or, you force yourself to take a break because you know the rest of the country will look at you weird if you don’t.)

This July 4th, I promise, I am not working.

As it turns out, taking a much-needed break every now and then no only keeps people from thinking you’re pathetic, but it also gives your creativity a boost.

(Wonder if that’s why all those actors and musicians take vacation after vacation after vacation…)

On Monday, we voted on our favorite celebrity mental health moments of 2010.

Today, I thought we’d take a look at some of the top celebrity mental health advocates of 2010.

Different from moments, these advocates are celebrities who’ve – for one reason or another – devoted their time, effort, money, and/or passion to:

• Help people better understand mental illness and other mental health issues.
• Help bust the stigma that surrounds mental illness.
• Help move mental health research forward.
• Help people.

As much as I would’ve liked to present these celebrity mental health advocates in some sort of order, as I was compiling the list I realized there’s no way I can do that. Each one of them has dedicated an important part of his or her time to mental health advocacy, and you can’t “rank” that.

After the jump, find my pick for the top six celebrity mental health advocates of 2010 in no particular order.

Just a few more days, folks, and 2010 will be officially behind us.

Many people relish this time because, to them, the start of a new year represents a new beginning. Another chance to do what they didn’t get around to doing the previous year, or accomplish goals they put off or didn’t quite reach the year before.

Before we break out the champagne and confetti, though, we should pause and look back at all the good that was accomplished in 2010.

For the purposes of this blog, specifically, all the mental health “good” we saw from celebrities.

After the jump, vote for your favorite celebrity mental health moment of 2010!

Sex addiction in celebrity news isn’t a new thing.

For example, you probably remember David Duchovny’s struggle with sex addiction, but did you know Michael Douglas is supposedly a self-proclaimed recovering sex addict as well?

Yet, big names like Tiger Woods and Jesse James have made talk about sex addiction (or the possibility of sex addiction, or, even “Can’t Keep It In Your Pants-itis,” a name many skeptics probably feel is more appropriate for most celebrity and non-celebrity cases) pretty prevalent over the past year.

And now, thanks to a team of Canadian researchers, all that talk isn’t just gossip or speculation.