Mischa, Mischa, Mischa. What is going on with you? You've had quite a rocky start to 2017, and frankly I'm worried about you.
Like many celebrities who were thrust into the spotlight at a young and formidable age, you have been through hell and back. You've been too wild, too reclusive. Too thin, too curvy. It's been too much, and at 31, you deserve a break from all the intense public scrutiny you often fall victim to. On The O.C., you portrayed a poor, little rich girl trope; a party animal with too much access to wealth, to boys, to booze, to trouble. As Marissa Cooper you overdosed, you abused yourself, and then you... died.
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It's all very scary and I can't help but trace the similarities between your fictionalized self, Marissa, and the real you, Mischa.
In the last decade, the tentpole moments of your life have been worrisome. And the warning signs are starting to reappear again, one after another.
There was the suicide attempt in 2009, brought on by a combination of Xanax and alcohol that caused you to blackout and try to harm yourself. You described the moment as a "Girl Interrupted" moment that is the "story of my life." That's terrifying. And what's even more upsetting is the similarity between that story and the one that unfolded just two days after your 31st birthday. The police were called and you were taken to a hospital where you claimed that you had been drugged while out, citing GHB as the reason for your erraticism.
In addition to the drug and alcohol-related incidents, there are also the accidents behind the wheel. Just a week after being hospitalized for your behavior at your home in West Hollywood, you were driving a U-Haul and crashed into the side of an apartment complex. According to those at the scene, you voiced that everything you owned was in that U-Haul. Everything? What happened to all of your stuff? Why are you moving, alone, just weeks after a major mental breakdown? You were clearly stressed, but apparently not under the influence. But this immediately calls up your pre-existing record of driving-related arrests. In 2007 you were pulled over for a DUI in Hollywood and ended up with three years probation. (You were also later charged with possession of marijuana which was later dropped.) Of that time in your life, you said you didn't recognize yourself, and that you were essentially a product of your environment. And now, ten years later and surrounded by much calmer circumstances, it's tough to see you struggling so deeply again especially because you seemed so okay recently seemed so okay, despite your risky, yet subsequently embarrassing, stint on Dancing With The Stars. Your okay-ness was seemingly solidified by an insightful interview to The Ringer in December, when you allowed a journalist to follow you around on a few errands in your day. It turns out that you love cars, art, and being a low-key girl, despite all the drama of your previous years. You also spoke about new projects, and maybe even moving to New York. You were weeks away from turning 31 and you sounded... kind of great! But then... all of this happened.
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We're all Team Mischa, but in the end it's up to you (and the company you keep). Being an incredibly famous teen TV star is hard, but being a former teen TV star is hell. But you can make it through it. You've already been seen back at the local hot spots, but maybe you're ripe for some Mischa-time. As you said before, "This world rocks. You just make that happen. sometimes I truly feel there's nothing you want badly enough you can't get." So get the help you need, and make the world your damn oyster again.
If you are experiencing depression and need support, please call the National Depressive/Manic-Depressive Association Hotline at 1-800-826-3632 or the Crisis Call Center’s 24-hour hotline at 1-775-784-8090.