Catherine Zeta-Jones’s admission that she has bipolar disorder has been welcomed by mental health groups as helping fight the stigma attached to the disease, which afflicts a number of celebrities.

Doctors also emphasise that the Welsh actress, treated following the stress of husband Michael Douglas’s recent throat cancer, will likely never be free of it but will learn to live her high-profile life with the illness.

“This is a family of illnesses that very high functioning and high performing people can and do have,” said Martin Evers, associate director of behavioural health at Northern Westchester Hospital in New York state.

“I think it’s good to combat the stigma, and specifically in the case of bipolar to really reinforce the point that you can live an extremely productive life with bipolar disorder,” he said.

Ms Zeta-Jones’s publicist said on Wednesday that the actress had briefly checked into a mental health clinic to treat her bipolar II disorder, a less severe form of the disease also known as manic depression.

The 41-year-old, who stood by her husband’s side during his ultimately successful cancer battle, “is feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on her two upcoming films,” said the spokesman.

The actress’s forthcoming films include Gabriele Muccino’s Playing the Field and Lay the Favourite, directed by fellow Briton Stephen Frears.

Ms Zeta-Jones is a global star, who won a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance in Chicago (2002). Most of her career has been in Hollywood, with roles in films such as Traffic, Ocean’s Twelve and The Mask of Zorro.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) said the openness of such a high-profile figure about her condition helped other sufferers. “It helps to normalise the condition,” said its communications director Katrina Gay.

“Mental illnesses are often illnesses that people aren’t comfortable talking (about)... and so they’re sort of shrouded in a lot of mystery and sometimes even shame and stigma,” she said.

“So when people who are of high regard, including celebrities and other notables, can be very honest... it certainly goes a long way to bringing some information and awareness for people.”

While anyone can suffer from it, bipolar disorder has afflicted a long line of celebrities and other creative types, as well as well-known historic figures such as Sir Winston Churchill.

Other stars linked with the disorder include Carrie Fisher, Ben Stiller, Russell Brand, Mel Gibson, Britney Spears, Brian Wilson and Pete Wentz, according to the Hollywood Reporter industry daily. In Ms Zeta-Jones’s homeland, sufferers including broadcaster and writer Stephen Fry, while veteran comic Spike Milligan was a famous manic depressive.

British mental health charities Mind and Rethink also welcomed Ms Zeta-Jones’s admission.

“By being so frank about her diagnosis... Catherine will have helped to lift some of the burden of stigma which causes so much damage to so many lives,” said Sue Baker, head of an anti-stigma campaign run by the charities.

Back in Hollywood, one PR expert said Ms Zeta-Jones’s diagnosis should not harm her career provided it is managed well, and will doubtless draw people’s sympathy.

Her “decision to go public about suffering from bipolar disease makes her appear more human and allows other people who share the same disease to better connect with her,” said personal branding expert Dan Schawbel.

“When celebrities go public with their illnesses, people respect them more. It’s much better when a celebrity admits their disease because people will eventually find out about it anyways,” he said.

From a medical point of view, bipolar II does not require as intensive, constant medication as the more severe version.

“Bipolar I absolutely requires mood stabilisers, lifelong treatment to prevent the onset of an episode,” said Mr Evers.

“You do see more people with bipolar II who come in and out of treatment. But the depression tends to be a persistent lifelong occurrence,” he said, adding: “My expectation would be that there would be some form of long-term treatment.”

Factbox

• Previously known as manic depression, bipolar disorder describes mood swings that can range from very low (severe depression) to very high (severe mania). The swings may occur a few times a year or as often as several times a day.

• Between one and two per cent of the general population may be afflicted, with men and women in equal numbers.

• In the “up” phase, symptoms may include euphoria, restlessness, gabbled speech, extreme irritability, lack of concentration, aggressive or risky behaviour, substance abuse and increased sexual drive.

• In the “down” phase, symptoms may include a feeling of emptiness or hopelessness, lack of self-worth, poor appetite, chronic fatigue, forgetfulness and suicidal thoughts.

• The disorder is divided into several subtypes, depending on the severity and frequency of the mood:

Bipolar I: Characterised especially by severe manic episodes that can be dangerous and damage relationships or disrupt life at school or work.

Bipolar II: A milder form in which mood swings are not so severe, nor is the impact on daily life. Instead of full-blown mania, the patient goes through episodes of “hypomania,” which is not so extreme. Periods of depression typically last longer than spells of hypomania.

Cyclothymia: Milder still than Bipolar I and II. Episodes of hypomania and depression whose highs and lows are less severe and less disruptive.

• Suspected causes of bipolar disorder include an imbalance in hormones or in brain chemicals called neurotransmitters; traumatic events or stress that trigger a bipolar episode; and genetic inheritance (studies have shown that the disorder is more common among people with a bipolar blood relative).

• Diagnosis of bipolar disorders is complex and sometimes may take years to pin down. Treatment often involves taking mood-changing drugs, supported by longer-term counselling by psychologists, social workers or psychiatric nurses.

• Famous people who may have been bipolar include Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Vincent Van Gogh, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf and Charles Baudelaire.

Sources: Mayo Clinic (MayoClinic.com); British mental health charity Mind (mind.org.uk); www.troubles-bipolaires.com/