- Buzz Aldrin
One of America’s pioneer astronauts lauded as the second man to walk on the moon in 1969, later suffered from depression and alcoholism. He worked his way through, and even served as chairman of the National Mental Health Association. - Ludwig van Beethoven
When the composer died of liver failure in 1827, he had been self-medicating his many health problems with alcohol for decades. Sadly, much of what he may have suffered from probably could have been managed with today’s medications, including a serious case of bipolar disorder. Beethoven’s fits of mania were well known in his circle of friends, and when he was on a high he could compose numerous works at once. It was during his down periods that many of his most celebrated works were written. Sadly, that was also when he contemplated suicide, as he told his brothers in letters throughout his life. During the early part of 1813 he went through such a depressive period that he stopped caring about his appearance, and would fly into rages during dinner parties. He also stopped composing almost completely during that time. - Marlon Brando
He is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem.The actor experienced chronic depression throughout his life and was diagnosed with clinical depression. his daughter Cheyenne lived with schizophrenia for several years. - Jim Carrey
The sensational actor and comic openly discussed his history of depression and being on Prozac on “60 Minutes” in 2004. He said that he was subject to frequent mood swings. This has been characterized as manic depression or chronic depression. He also suffered from a near constant state of despair. He often suffered from great bouts of anger, many of which had some link to difficulties in his childhood. However, he said that he was able to channel these negative emotions and tendencies towards his comedic work. - Winston Churchill
Anthony Storr wrote about Winston Churchill’s bipolar disorder in “Churchill's Black Dog, Kafka's Mice, and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind.” Like Lincoln, Churchill was a great leader dealing not only with international strife but his own mental struggles at the same time. In his 30s, he complained to his friends that he was hounded by the “black dog of depression.” He sat in the Houses of Parliament and contemplated suicide. Churchill told his doctor that he had to be careful where he stood in a train station:
“I don't like standing near the edge of a platform when an express train is passing through,” he told his doctor. “I like to stand right back and if possible get a pillar between me and the train. I don't like to stand by the side of a ship and look down into the water. A second's action would end everything. A few drops of desperation.” - Kurt Godel
Gödel was a brilliant logician and mathematician, as well as a contemporary and great friend of Albert Einstein. Einstein’s super-intelligence might have made him seem a little odd to the average person, but he doesn’t seem to have suffered from any actual mental illnesses. Gödel, on the other hand, thought that someone was out to poison him. He was so sure of this delusion, especially later in life, that he would only eat food that his wife had cooked, and usually made her taste it first, just to be sure. When his wife was hospitalized for six months, Gödel simply stopped eating and starved to death. - Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens depression was documented in the book "Key to Genius." By his early 30s, Dickens was the most famous author in the world. He was wealthy and seemed to have it all. But after an unbelievably difficult childhood, which saw the author working in a boot factory and living on his own when his father was thrown in prison, Dickens would start falling into depressions with the start of each new novel. The first one to cause him problems was one of his lesser-known works, The Chimes, in 1844. After that, Dickens’ friends wrote that he became down every time he set to work on a new project, but that his mood would gradually lift until he was in a kind of mania by the time he finished. His depression worsened with age, and he eventually separated from his wife – the mother of his ten children – to live with an 18-year-old actress. After he was involved in a train crash four years before his death, in which he was uninjured but was forced to assist dying passengers before help came, his depression seems to have finally staunched his creativity, and his previously prolific output virtually ceased. - Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln’s first major depression happened in his 20s and he struggled with it for the remainder of his life, in addition to anxiety attacks.The Great Emancipator managed to lead the country through one of its more trying times, despite suffering from severe depression most of his life. According to one Lincoln biographer, letters left by the president’s friends referred to him as “the most depressed person they've ever seen.” On at least one occasion, he was so overcome with “melancholy” that he collapsed. Both his mother and numerous members of his father’s family exhibited similar symptoms of severe depression, indicating he was probably biologically susceptible to the illness. - MichelangeloYou might have wondered in the past just how someone could paint something as huge as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. According to a paper published in the Journal of Medical Biography in 2004, Michelangelo’s single-minded routine may have been due to the disorder. According to descriptions by his contemporaries, the painter was “preoccupied with his own reality.” Most of the male members of his family are recorded to have exhibited similar symptoms. Michelangelo also seems to have had difficulty forming relationships with people; he had few friends and didn’t even attend his brother’s funeral. All of this, combined with his obvious genius in math and art, led the researchers to believe that today Michelangelo would be considered high functioning on the autism spectrum.
- Isaac Newton
One of the greatest scientists of all time is also the hardest genius to diagnose, but historians agree he had a lot going on. Newton suffered from huge ups and downs in his moods, indicating bipolar disorder, combined with psychotic tendencies. His inability to connect with people could place him on the autism spectrum. He also had a tendency to write letters filled with mad delusions, which some medical historians feel strongly indicates schizophrenia. Whether he suffered from one or a combination of these serious illnesses, they did not stop him from inventing calculus, explaining gravity, and building telescopes, among his other great scientific achievements.
- Leo Tolstoy
The author of “War and Peace,” started experiencing depression while writing “Anna Karenina. Tolstoy did not suffer from obvious signs of depression until middle age, but when it hit him, it hit hard. He went through serious personality changes, questioning virtually everything in his life. At times he debated giving away all of his possessions, becoming celibate, and the nature of his religious beliefs (or lack thereof). At one point he was determined to give up writing altogether, saying, "art is not only useless but even harmful.” Tolstoy is a perfect example of someone who seemingly has everything brought low by this disease: despite coming from a wealthy family, being celebrated as an author, and being father to 13 children, eventually his demons drove him to seriously consider suicide. He wrote in one letter, “The possibility of killing himself has been given to man, and therefore he may kill himself.” Eventually Tolstoy pulled himself out of this hole by becoming what we would now consider a born-again Christian. - Virginia Woolf
The English author, feminist essayist and publisher famous for among others - Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse suffered from Bipolar II disorder. She had vivid memories that had an influence on her writing. Deaths of her mother followed later by her step-sister and father thrust her into depression. She drowned herself in March 1941. - Stephen Hawking
The famed theoretical physicist was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Syndrome when he was just 20. the disease has confined him to a wheelchair and communication via a computer. He outlived his doctors prognosis of 2 years and is today celebrated for his numerous contributions in quantum physics. - Jack Kerouac
Before his writing career took off, the novelist and poet, considered an American literary iconoclast, had served in the Navy where he had been diagnosed with "dementia praecox" an antiquated term for Schizophrenia. The reply to his doctor was "as far as I'm concerned, I get nervous in an emotional way" He died after alcohol destroyed his liver.
Information Courtesy of Mental Floss
No comments:
Post a Comment