Mark Davies, from the charity Rethink Mental Illness, said: ’She deserves great credit. There is still a lot of stigma around mental health which often means that people stay silent and try to fight the illness on their own.
’When people such as Catherine Zeta-Jones speak out it makes a big difference to the millions of others facing mental illness. It shows them they are not alone and that mental illness can affect anyone.’
Zeta-Jones hinted at her depression last year when she said: ’I don’t just bring myself down, I bring everyone around me down. It’s like a dark cloud.’
Symptoms of the disorder can include depressive episodes punctuated by manic episodes.
However, it is believed to be under-diagnosed because hypo-manic behaviour often presents as incredibly high-functioning behaviour.
Catherine also showed signs that she was struggling to cope with her emotions when she broke down in public last September at the Ryder Cup Welcome To Wales concert at Cardiff Millennium Stadium.
Catherine had been booked months before her husband fell ill to speak at the event and had to go to the event solo as he was treated back in New York.
But the strain was too much for her and she broke down when talking about him in her native Wales in front of the 13,000 strong audience.
She also physically lashed out at cameramen in February this year on a trip to London.
Facility: The actress spent five days at the Silver Hill Hospital near New Canaan, Connecticut
Her publicist confirmed that she had received mental health treatment to help her cope with her traumatic personal life. ‘After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check into a mental health facility for a brief stay to treat her bipolar II disorder,’ she said.
‘She’s feeling great and looking forward to starting work this week on two upcoming films.’
Douglas, with whom she has two young children, last year battled stage four throat cancer, enduring both chemotherapy and radiation.
The 66-year-old, who was yesterday seen shopping for groceries in New York, announced in January that doctors had declared him free of cancer following six months of gruelling treatment.
The actor accompanied his ‘emotionally distraught’ wife as she checked into the hospital under the name Terrie Kirny, the National Enquirer magazine claimed.
A witness at the hospital told the magazine that the Welsh-born actress, who was made a CBE in February, appeared ‘happy’ during her stay.
She apparently joined fellow guests for meals, jogs around the grounds and even poker sessions before bed.
Difficult time: Douglas picked up supplies in New York City yesterday
Miss Zeta-Jones often appeared to be on edge in public during Douglas’s treatment for throat cancer.
She was close to tears at New York’s John F Kennedy airport after she reportedly cut short a visit to the UK when her husband’s conditioned worsened.
The Enquirer also quoted an observer who said she had ‘really put the red wine away’ during two recent visits with Douglas to a Manhattan restaurant.
Miss Zeta-Jones claimed in 2004 that a stalker’s threats against her left her so shaken that she feared she would have a nervous breakdown.
The Enquirer quotes a family source as saying: ‘It’s been the most difficult year of her life. She’s been through hell! The pressure has been almost unbearable.’
Claiming that the actress had suffered ‘more sleepless nights than you could possibly know’ worrying about her husband, the source added: ‘Catherine had a lot of trouble coping. She was chain-smoking and drinking.
‘It was tearing Catherine apart to see such a vital man as Michael in such a weakened state. I think she was crumbling.’
Emotional: The star, who won an Oscar for her role in Chicago, struggled to cope emotionally after Michael was diagnosed with cancer
Miss Zeta-Jones said as much in an interview last September in which she spoke of the pain of watching her husband dealing with cancer and her ‘fury’ that doctors did not spot it earlier.
The couple’s stress levels will not have been helped by moves this week by Douglas’s first wife, Diandra, to revive her court battle for a share of his Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps earnings.
Her camp pressed a judge to reconsider his view that the case belongs in California. The couple divorced there in 2000 after 23 years together.
His lawyer said her client’s ex ’should be ashamed of herself’ for seeking more when she had already received more than $51 million in their divorce settlement.
Douglas’ adult son Cameron, from his marriage to Diandra, was sentenced to prison last year on drug charges.
Zeta-Jones and Douglas are parents to son Dylan, 10, and daughter Carys, who turns eight on April 20.
The actress’ upcoming film projects include Playing the Field, a comedy starring Gerard Butler, Dennis Quaid, Jessica Biel, and Dali, a biopic with Antonio Banderas.
Family time: Catherine and Michael with their children Dylan and Carys at Disneyland in November