Famous People With Bipolar Disorder

Many famous people have been affected by bipolar disorder. It is often suggested that genius and mental illness are linked. In the case of bipolar disorder, many of those who suffer from the disorder also have exceptional gifts. Above average creativity is sometimes considered a symptom of bipolar disorder. Manic episodes or hypomania may lead to times of intense productivity. Living with bipolar disorder is not a smooth road to creative genius. Those who suffer from the disorder walk a tightrope of mania or hypomania occasionally accompanied by ideas and aspirations hanging over a pit of depression and hopelessness.

Some actors and actresses have revealed their bipolar disorder diagnosis. Richard Dreyfuss, Carrie Fisher, Stephen Frey, Linda Hamilton, Vivian Leigh, Ben Stiller, and Jean Claude Van Damme are known to have bipolar disorder. Patty Duke wrote a book describing her personal turmoil of living with bipolar disorder. Maurice Bernard, from the soap opera "General Hospital," has discussed his diagnosis and promotes awareness about the disorder. Marilyn Monroe is also thought to have suffered from the disorder.

Many authors and poets are thought to have suffered from bipolar disorder. Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Dickens, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, and Virginia Woolf are famous writers who had bipolar disorder. Lord Byron, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Keats, and Sylvia Plath are poets who suffered from manic depression.

Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard Munch are famous artist who had bipolar disorder. Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann are famous composers who suffered the highs and lows of bipolar disorder. Musicians Jimi Hendrix, Axl Rose, Courtney Love, Ozzy Osborne, Steven Page, Tom Scholz, Scott Weiland, and Jim Morrison lived with this condition. Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton are historic figures who are thought to have suffered from some form of bipolar disorder. Patrick Kennedy suffers from bipolar disorder.

Florence Nightingale lived with the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Isaac Newton, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Emil Post are mathematicians who had bipolar disorder. Athletes Frank Bruno, Chris Kanyon, Neil Lennon, Jimmy Piersall have bipolar disorder.

Kay Redfield Jamison is a psychologist who wrote extensively about her experiences with bipolar disorder. She wrote memoirs that described her personal battle with the disorder. She also wrote a book that examines the link between bipolar disorder and artistic creativity.

People who have bipolar disorder have touched our lives in countless ways. Bipolar disorder has indirectly affected us by touching the lives of those who have made contributions to humanity. The next time you listen to a classical music piece by Beethoven or Schumann or read a poem by Keats or Emerson, remember that the creators of those works of art were living the extremes of bipolar disorder. And though bipolar disorder causes great distress for those who live it, it is difficult to deny that it may also be a gift.

Next article: Is Bipolar Disorder A Disability