Entertainer Jeong Hyeong-don suffers from anxiety disorder

Entertainer Jeong Hyeong-don suffers from anxiety disorder. November. 14, 2015 07:59. mskoh119@donga.com.

Pianist Glenn Gould praised singer Barbra Streisand saying, "Her voice is one of the wonders of this era and a gift from the nature." However, even someone like Streisand with such a blessed voice could not stand on a stage for 30 years. The cause of the phobia goes back to her 1967 concert when she forgot the lyrics during her performance. Such a mistake could have been easily overcome in time by normal people, however, it became the cause of the stage fright since she suffered from an anxiety disorder.

Entertainer Jeong Hyeong-don has stopped all of his activities. He has suffered from an anxiety disorder for a long time and the symptoms recently became serious to such an extent that he could not participate in a TV show. The audience was surprised because they only remembered Jeong`s jolly nature. An anxiety disorder is a kind of mental disease that tenses the nervous system for seemingly no reason. Those who suffer from the disease experience extreme anxiety and physical symptoms such as insomnia and dyspnoea, which makes everyday life difficult. Included in the same disease category are panic disorder, which celebrity Lee Kyung-gyu and singer Kim Jang-hun used to suffer from, as well as obsessive compulsive disorder which the protagonist of the movie `As Good As It Gets` had.

Jeong used to be a salary man before he changed his career to become a comedian. In 2009, he perfectly portrayed a modern normal man`s life in `Discovering Man and Woman`, a TV program that dealt with the psychological differences of men and women in every aspect. After years of being unknown, he finally became a star MC in many programs including `Infinite Challenge`. When the sunshine is blindingly bright, the shadow becomes pitch black. Three years ago in `Healing Camp`, he revealed his condition stating, "I have been lucky to be this successful. Now I am extremely nervous about the future, fearing that I might have nothing else to show to the audience."

In the U.S., 18 percent of adults suffer from some type of anxiety disorder. The number of patients of the disease has drastically increased in Korea from 398 thousand in 2008 to 522 thousand in 2013. Unfortunately, trend prediction books for the next year include `anxiety` as one of the key words. In this jungle-like world, people are filled with anxiety about their survival. Anxiety springs up when you want to be perfect in everything. Listen to a word of advice from Barbara Streisand, once herself a perfectionist: "What matters is to believe that you are good enough and embrace yourself."