A Difficult Life Transition
- Grammy-winning comedian and lung cancer survivor Kathy Griffin has candidly expressed the devastation she is feeling after news of her divorce broke following some difficult physical and mental health challenges in recent years.
- The details of their relationship unfolding are unclear, but it is unfortunately a highly common situation with the complexities that cancer can bring. After all, marriage can be tough enough on its own.
- Griffin was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021, but says she has suffered from debilitating symptoms as a result from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD since 2017.
- If you are experiencing symptoms of depression after a cancer diagnosis, treatment or another life challenge, it’s important you talk to your doctor. A patient navigator can also help connect you with a mental health professional who can offer important treatment. SurvivorNet has listed some mental resources HERE to help.
“Well…sh*t. This sucks,” Griffin wrote on X (formerly Twitter), addressing filing paperwork to end the four-year marriage to marketing executive Randy Bick.
Well…sh*t. This sucks.
Read More— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) December 29, 2023 The former couple wed on New Year’s Day in 2020, with the ceremony officiated by actress Lily Tomlin. Griffin and Bick had been dating since 2011. The Life on the D List star, a non-smoker, publicly went through a battle with lung cancer after getting diagnosed in 2021, and having half of her left lung removed soon after. As she recovered, she would consistently rave about Bick, 45, doting on her and cooking gourmet, healthy meals — overall being a great support system during tough times.
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The details of their relationship unfolding are unclear, but it is unfortunately a highly common situation with the complexities that cancer can bring. After all, marriage can be tough enough on its own. Sometimes it is no one’s fault, but circumstances beyond a couple’s control can greatly affect coping with day-to-day life together.
According to USA Today, Griffin cited “irreconcilable differences” in court documents, listing the official separation as Dec. 22 and requesting the court to “enforce premarital agreement dated 12/23/2019.
Not only was Griffin’s lung cancer fight extremely challenging both emotionally and physically, with many surgical setbacks affecting her voice, but she also announced early this year that she has severe post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, that surfaced in 2017. This was the same year she faced backlash after posting a photo of herself with a fake, severed head of then-president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Her lung cancer diagnosis four years later “did not help,” she said.
@kathygriffin Never talked about this publicly. I have lots of tools, but it is extremely intense. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. If you’re someone who also deals with this, I am sending you lots and lots of love. #PTSD#Depression#Anxiety#ComplexPTSD
“Never talk about this publicly,” Griffin captioned her TikTok share addressing PTSD. “I have lots of tools, but it is extremely intense. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. If you’re someone who also deals with this, I am sending you lots and lots of #love. #PTSD #Depression #Anxiety #ComplexPTSD.”
Grief After Cancer and Other Life Challenges
It’s normal to feel depressed and overwhelmed about changes in your life that might be brought on by a cancer diagnosis or other traumatic incidents. The severity varies from person to person and can understandably affect all of the relationships in your life.
“Grief comes in waves,” Dr. Scott Irwin, a psychiatrist and Director of Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center tells SurvivorNet. “They’re grieving the change in their life, the future they had imagined is now different.”
Some days can be tougher than others, but Dr. Irwin says talk therapy is helpful so it’s important to reach out to your doctor, to a therapist or to support groups in your community.
Relationships and Cancer
Any relationship goes through its ups and downs, especially when something unfortunate happens, like a cancer diagnosis or medical issue.
In this episode of SurvivorNetTV’s series, SN & You. Mental Health and Relationships, survivors share how they handle their mental health and relationships while undergoing cancer treatment.
How to Navigate Relationships When Depression Hits – A Survivor’s Guide
“My husband and I had actually been separated for two years and we had only recently reconciled,” says Mary Elizabeth Williams, in the film. “As painful and awful and crappy as it all was, we chose to be there for reach other.”
We all get depressed from time to time or we have a bad day “that’s part of normal human emotion,” Dr. Irwin adds. “And sometimes it gets to the point where that depression can be a little bit overwhelming and we help them through therapy.”
Learning About PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in general, is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. Complex PTSD, or CPTSD, according to the Cleveland Clinic, can result from experiencing chronic (long-term) trauma. CPTSD involves stress responses, such as:
- Anxiety
- Having flashbacks or nightmares
- Avoiding situations, places and other things related to the traumatic event
- Heightened emotional responses, such as impulsivity or aggressiveness
- Persistent difficulties in sustaining relationships
- Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is the main treatment for complex PTSD
If you feel you are experiencing any of these symptoms, such as after a cancer diagnosis or treatment, it’s important you talk to your doctor. A patient navigator can also help connect you with a mental health professional who can offer important treatment.
Griffin says that when she feels a panic attack coming on, she copes by taking a walk outside by the ocean to calm down. She also reassures herself that the attack will pass and “it won’t last forever.”
The actress, who is thankfully still in remission from lung cancer, appears to be fighting every day for her health, consistently posting activities she enjoys such as weight-lifting and boxing, which are good ways to release any negative energy and give your body and mind a boost as you cope through life challenges.
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