Keanu Reeves
by Chris Stephens & Lainey Tackett
Stressors during Childhood
- Father left his family at three years old
- Had trouble during high school due to dyslexia
- Didn't graduate high school with a degree
Death/Sickness in his life
- Keanu's child was found to be stillborn in 1999.
- His girlfriend died only a year afterwards in a car crash.
- His sister is currently fighting against Leukemia.
- Lost his best friend, River Phoenix, in the early 1990s due to a drug overdose.
Acting Career
- Becoming an actor at a young age can cause a lot of stress for a teenager- he became an actor at 15 years old
- The media is constantly watching him due to his career successes- for example, he was simply eating a sandwich one time and a picture of it went viral
- People started noticing Keanu due to this, and it was stressful for him as he was a reserved person
- There have been impersonations of Keanu on the internet, such as a recent open letter meant to pose as his writings
How has he dealt with the stress?
Keanu has dealt with the stress of the losses he's suffered, his acting career, and his popularity through a few ways:
- He has let his passion for acting drive his movie career, not lust for money. He's allowed himself to do what he loves and reject greed in order to accomplish it.
- He uses his money to make the world around him a better place, donating it to charities, movie set employees who don't get paid, among others.
Being generous has a positive effect on reducing stress, as the act of giving to others releases endorphins in your brain which helps improve your mood.
Oxytocin is also released when you give things to others, it relaxes you and increases your empathy towards others.
78% of people who say they have been generous to others say that they have had their stress relieved.
Donating to charities has been shown to have a similar effect on happiness as doubling your annual income.
Oxytocin is also released when you give things to others, it relaxes you and increases your empathy towards others.
78% of people who say they have been generous to others say that they have had their stress relieved.
Donating to charities has been shown to have a similar effect on happiness as doubling your annual income.