I recently posted about feeling somewhat depressed again, cycling downwards. An anonymous commentor asked if I was seeing a therapist as well, and suggested that my problems may be the result of faulty thought patterns.
I might be acting over-sensitive, but it brought me to this subject I'd been thinking of for a while.
I found this list of famous people that are thought to have struggled with bipolar disorder at BipolarSupport.org, their list is much longer, but I've narrowed it down to 50 famous people I have actually heard of. One notable omission is Albert Einstein, who is also thought to have been manic-depressive.
When looking at this list of names, I see some of the most creative artists in history. Some of the best actors of Hollywood past and present. Some of the most forward thinkers of their times. I see a long list of people who have somehow changed or contributed to the world.
- Buzz Aldrin, astronaut
- Hans Christian Andersen
- Robert Boorstin, assistant to Pres. Clinton,
- William Blake (1757-1827), poet
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- Tim Burton, movie director
- Drew Carey, actor
- Jim Carrey, actor
- Dick Cavett
- Agatha Christie
- Winston Churchill
- Francis Ford Coppola
- Emily Dickinson
- T S Eliot
- Carrie Fisher
- Robert Frost
- F Scott Fitzgerald
- Larry Flynt
- Sigmund Freud, physician
- Cary Grant, actor
- Linda Hamilton, actor
- Kristin Hersh, musician
- Victor Hugo, Poet
- Jack London, author
- Robert Lowell, poet
- Marilyn Monroe, actress
- Mozart, composer
- Kevin McDonald, comedian, actor
- Robert Munsch, writer
- Isaac Newton, scientist
- J C Penney
- Plato, philosopher, according to Aristotle
- Edgar Allen Poe, author
- Peter Gregg, team owner, race car driver
- Abbie Hoffman, writer, political activist
- Alonzo Spellman, athlete (football)
- Muffin Spencer-Devlin, athlete (pro golf)
- Gordon Sumner (Sting), musician, composer
- Britney Spears, Singer
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Liz Taylor, actor
- Mark Twain, author
- Alfred, Lord Tennyson, poet
- Ted Turner, entrepreneur, media giant
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, athlete, actor
- Vincent van Gogh
- Robert Downy JR, Actor, Singer
- Walt Whitman, poet
- Tennessee Williams, author
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), US President
Struggling with Bipolar Disorder does not mean that you are less than. It means that you are different from. Embrace those differences, and don't let others steal your light. It was given to you for a reason.
Felicia
I hope the person who made that comment to you did have good intentions, and was suggesting that challenging thoughts might be helpful for helping prevent you spiral downward further - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy does have good results with depression (not sure of the results with Bipolar though???).
ReplyDeleteHowever, if the person does mean that your thoughts are responsible for everything that you are struggling with (which is what it sounds like that might mean to me) then it is incredibly insulting!!
CBT doesn't actually take that perspective at all which is a common misconception, and dependent upon the commentors knowledge of CBT, they might have fallen prey to that.
I apologise if I am repeating information you already know!
Hi Felicia,
ReplyDeleteI have heard this argument as well (faulty thought process) even from professional. What many seem to forget is that the same symptoms that describe bipolar are those that describe giftedness. This article http://eqi.org/gifted2.htm discusses how being gifted has an emotional side, which is exactly why many gifted artistic persons are thought to be bipolar, makes sense huh? I believe our thinking process is not faulty but potentially more advanced and maybe misunderstood.
I feel like plugging my own blog here but I won't. Anyway, keep up with the good work.
I'm sorry you were hurt/insulted by the comment I left.
ReplyDeleteAs thebipolarproject said: "that challenging thoughts might be helpful for helping prevent you spiral downward further - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy does have good results with depression."
This is what I was referring to.
Hope you're feeling better this week.
It not faulty thought patterns, it the way this family fonction and I mean both side of this family. That is why I cannot explain why when I look at a spreadsheet I can see what need to be done to make it balance. My thought process is not always logical to others, but at the end they are always amaze by the result and then see the that I had the right way... Momanonymous XXX Love you so much
ReplyDeleteGreat list. Far longer than what I had already known.
ReplyDeleteWell said!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments everyone, and for your apology @anonymous. I figured it was well meaning, but hey - it inspired a whole post - so great. LOL @momanonymous - LOL! Love to all xx
ReplyDeleteFelicia, I agree this is only a difference in thinking. Possibly a higher degree of thinking. Also born a child prodigy it scared me as I kept coming up on top of almost any subject. But the depressions have finally halted many of my dreams. The mania scares me as I don't know how high I can go without accidentally killing myself. Either way it brings a certain fear of dying and dying by one's own hand. The gift is so high and the low is so painful it's hardly worth it. I'd love to feel the same 'normal' everyday. My brain does not know how to rest or focus on something long enough to do anything about it. Gain and lose interest so quickly, makes me tired thinking about it. Good post and interesting to know so many bipolar's are geniuses. Small comfort, but it is some. Keep posting I need a place to talk.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYour words touch me, and I feel your pain. The bipolar life, while it may have some perks, is not an easy one. I have often said that having such a hightened understanding of human behavior can be a real hinderance, and that ignorance truly must be bliss. It is comforting to me to know that while this disease sometimes threatens to devour all that I am, on good days, I have the power to change the world... And so do you. Keep talking, I like to listen.