But it seems that Fall Out Boy rocker Pete Wentz has joined the ranks of Russell Brand, Liam Gallegher, Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse now he has admitted to popping Xanax pills to avoid freaking out whenever he is in public.
It's hard for us mere-mortals to imagine a high profile celeb (whose career hinges on constant media glare) suffering from anxiety stemming from attention.
But it seems the confidence and charisma that Mr Ashlee Simpson displays on stage may be a farce, or the side effects of anti-anxiety medication Xanax, that he must take to help him sleep and cope in airports and concerts where he is recognized.
Talking to Playboy magazine, Petesy says "(I'm anxious) anytime attention is on me but I'm not in control of the situation. If I'm at someone else's concert, that freaks me out really bad. If I have to meet a group of people, if I'm at a party, if I'm at an airport." Xanax is prescribed to help control attention deficit disorder, depression and anxiety; all of which Pete has suffered from for a considerable length of time.
So much so, his long-term dependence on the manic imbalance medication means he has to pop a lot of pills: "You wouldn't want to know what my Xanax tolerance is. It's very, very high."
By all accounts, it seems the seemingly smiley and relaxed rocker is one strung out puppy. In fact, reports have come to light that the bassist was once so strung up about terrorism he would try and befriend 'suspicious' passengers on plane flights to make sure they weren't planning to take him hostage or blow up the aircraft.
Reportedly, the airport anxiety started occurring after an accidental overdose of powerful anxiolytic Avitan in 2005, that reportedly left the anxiety- ridden star near death.
The flying phobia was such that his father had to chaperon him on flights in an effort to calm his nerves, and he eventually sought therapy to save the band and his mental well being.
He explains, "There was a time where I couldn't fly. I wouldn't get on a plane. If I saw a plane crash on the news, it meant my flight would crash the next day... If I was on the same flight as the rest of the band, it meant the plane would crash.
"If I saw people who were flying without a lot of luggage, I would decide they were terrorists... I'd walk over and say, 'Hey, did we go to school together?' to try to get them to tell me what they were doing." He adds, "Anxiety generalises really fast, and soon after that I couldn't ride in the tour bus, couldn't go on elevators. It was heading towards agoraphobia."
We'd love to hear what Daddy Simpson really thinks of this self confessed 'Drugstore Cowboy' who's married to his holier than thou pop princess daughter. Let's just hope fatherhood doesn't prove as stressful for Pete as performing!
Copyright : MTV Australia
