Many celebrities suffered from bipolar disorder, or are now believed to have had it based on their lives and stories. There have been so many, in fact, that some consider it a mark of genius. That may or may not be true, but it’s easy to see why the connection is made after one look at the many famous people with bipolar disorder. You can read various bipolar stories here.
Many famous writers are believed to have had bipolar disorder. Mark Twain, famous and popular American humorist, writer and speaker, suffered a significant personal and professional loss with the disappearance of his publishing business. While bipolar symptoms are believed to have influenced his later life, Mark Twain is an example of the positive impact bipolar disorder had on an individual’s creativity. Unfortunately, like many bipolar celebrities, many of his crazy business ideas never came to fruition.
Kurt Vonnegut is believed to have suffered from bipolar disorder. After a severe depression in 1969, when he published his world-famous novel Slaughterhouse-Five, he vowed that he would never write another book. However, he went on to write another novel only four years later. William Faulkner, who made up an entire fictional location in Yoknapatawha County, was living with the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Many other famous novelists and poets such as Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Virginia Woolf are known to have been bipolar.
Other creative talents such as Beethoven, Van Gogh and Isaac Newton are also believed to be due to the disorder and it likely caused their exceptional gifts. Among modern politicians, Winston Churchill and Benjamin Franklin are shining examples of successful bipolar people in modern history.
People with bipolar disorder have affected our lives in countless ways. Bipolar disorder has indirectly inscribed our love affairs by affecting the health of those who have made considerable contributions to humanity. Manic episodes or hypomania, being a symptomatic part of bipolar disorder, are known to often lead to moments of intense productivity. And while bipolar disorder causes real discomfort for those who experience it, it’s hard to deny that it can also be considered a kind of genius and talented disorder.
The subject of bipolar disorders is also widely featured in books and novels. Patty Duke, an American Academy Award-winning actress, used to be a bipolar patient who has had bouts of bipolar disorder throughout her life. She described the disease in her book and discussed her struggle with her disorder in numerous interviews. Kay Redfield Jamison, a renowned psychologist who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when she was 28, has published two books, including her own experiences with the illness and an examination of the interplay between illness and creativity. Other famous people also wrote about the subject and how mental disorders influenced her life.
Many modern stars and celebrities have been diagnosed with this type of mental disorder by their doctors. Actresses Linda Hamilton, Margot Kidder, Carrie Fisher and the aforementioned Patty Duke are bipolar sufferers, while musicians including Kurt Cobain, Ozzy Osbourne, Axel Rose and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor have also received the same diagnosis from mental health professionals.
In the past, bipolar people were misunderstood and actually feared by most people, which is why their lives were extremely complicated and often socially isolated. They needed to spend their lives living under extreme pressure from both the inside and the outside.
Today, the disorder is treated with therapy and medications that eliminate the main symptoms of the disease. At the same time, many patients feel that the drugs stunt their creativity.
Bipolar disorder will be described as a permanent, lifelong condition that must be carefully managed and continuously treated. Modern medical science has done much to develop treatments that influence the disorder without depressing creativity across the spectrum. Today there are many bipolar people who function very well and have above average creativity, even though they used to have life-threatening symptoms of depression. Bipolar celebrities have shown that this disorder cannot stop people from leading very normal lives full of creativity and innovative ideas.
