'I am God and I'm taking everyone to heaven': Why Anne Heche's 2000 'episode' raised no red flags about mental health
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A rep for Anne Heche's family and friend officially announced the actress to be brain dead and said that she will be taken off the ventilator once the medical officials have checked which organ is viable for donation. The tragic news hit her fans like a locomotive and they instantly sharted sending prayers and love for the family. Heche was involved in a hideous accident that left with her severe burns. It was also revealed that the doctors found cocaine traces in her blood on the day of the accident.
The news did not come as a surprise because Anne Heche's struggle with substance abuse is something she has been vocal about. The actress' most volatile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres blew up the media back in 2000 when they ended their terms after 3 years of being together. The news was a shocker as, before this split, the duo was planning on buying a house and living in a civil union. The breakup left Heche in shambles and she lost control of herself. Then comes the infamous desert incident in the year 2000. After Heche and DeGeneres called it quits, Heche turned to substance abuse to cope with the loss.
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The desert incident in 2000
This included getting high on ecstasy and walking more than a mile away into the desert, knocking on a random person's house, and refusing to leave. Heche drove from LA all the way out to Cantua Creek outside Fresno, California, and ditched her SUV on a dusty roadside to walk almost 1.5 miles. Araceli Campiz, the resident, was beyond shocked after recognizing Heche who was just wearing a bra and a pair of shorts. Being a courteous host, Campiz entertained Heche until she showed no signs of leaving, forcing Campiz to call the cops on her.
When the law enforcement officials arrived, not only did the 'Volcano' actress accept that she was high on ecstasy, she said something very striking that many could not understand. Heche said she was "God, and was going to take everyone back to heaven…in a spaceship." While this sentence did not strike anyone, in particular, it did refer to the fantasy world that she had created for herself in order to cope with the sexual trauma she suffered at the hands of her father.
Why weren't there any red flags about Anne Heche's mental illness
People suffering from certain mental issues tend to create a different world for themselves where they feel safe and protected. Something similar happened to Heche who created a fantasy world for herself and named her other personality Celestia, which means "heavenly" or "of the sky" in Latin. Heche believed that she was from a different world. She told Barbara Walter of ABC News back in 2001, "I had a fantasy world that I escaped to. I called my other personality Celestia," she explains. "I believed I was from that world. I believed I was from another planet. I think I was insane."
Even though Heche came out strong and broadcasted her mental illness, nobody noticed the pattern of her substance abuse which probably never stopped due to the unresolved issues. The media reportedly ignored Anne Heche's red flags and the world managed to skip over the fact that she was going through certain hardships. While she did have a fairly successful career, her personal life was always more of an interest in the media.