Politicians and Journalists
Alastair Campbell, press advisor
Dick Cavett, television journalist
Iris Chang, historian and journalist
Neil Cole, Australian Labor party
Michael Costa, Australian Labor party
Charmaine Dragun, former Australian journalist/newsreader
Abbie Hoffman, political activist
Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy
Bill Lichtenstein, print and broadcast journalist
Jane Pauley
Gail Porter, British TV presenter
Business People
Philip Graham, publisher and businessman
John A. Mulheren, American financier, stock and option trader and
philanthropist
Rene Rivkin, entrepreneur
Steven Thomas, entrepreneur
Mark Whitacre, business executive
Visual Artists
Barney Bubbles, graphic designer
Arthur McIntyre, Australian artist
Edvard Munch, painter
Jackson Pollock, painter
Vincent Van Gogh
This list of famous athletes with bipolar disorder is very interesting. It seems that more than one of them have gotten in trouble with their league for side effects related to their bipolar disorder.
Athletes
Frank Bruno, boxer
Paul Gascoigne, English footballer
Jonathan Hay, Australian rules footballer
Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player
Chris Kanyon American professional wrestler
Graeme Obree, Scottish racing cyclist
Barret Robbins, NFL and Pro Bowler
Michael Slater, International Australian cricketer
Tim Smith, rugby league player
Delonte West, American basketball player
Performing Artists
Maurice Benard
Russell Brand
Andrea Breth
Jeremy Brett
Rosemary Clooney
Richard Dreyfuss
Patty Duke
Carrie Fisher
Stephen Fry
Mel Gibson
Linda Hamilton
Mariette Hartley
Margot Kidder
Vivien Leigh
Jenifer Lewis
Demi Lovato
Kristy McNichol
Burgess Meredith
Eric Millegan
Spike Milligan
Cheri Oteri
Nicola Pagett
Tony Slattery
Mackenzie Taylor
Gene Tierney
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Mark Vonnegut
David Walliams
Ruby Wax
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Quite of few of the names on this list were diagnosed posthumously. And from what I learned about the personalities of some of these writers in English class it is not surprising. A lot of these writers are the poster children for the tortured artist persona.
Authors
Andy Behrman, Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania
John Clare, poet
Patricia Cornwell, American crime writer
Alan Garner, According to the Guardian, “In The Voice that
Thunders
Graham Greene, Graham Greene: A Life in Letters
Ivor Gurney, English composer and poet
Ernest Hemingway
Marya Hornbacher, Madness
Patrick Kroupa
Jack London
Kate Millett, The Loony-Bin Trip
Seaneen Molloy, Northern Irish blogger
Robert Munsch
Edgar Allan Poe
Sidney Sheldon
Virginia Woolf
Continuing my theme of boosting morale by looking at successful examples of people with bipolar disorder. Here is a list of scholars. Although scientists are not reputed to have the best interpersonal skills. It is inspiring to see this list of great thinkers that are recognized for accomplishments in their fields.
Scholars
Ludwig Boltzmann, physicist and mathematician
Georg Cantor, mathematician
Robert S. Corrington, theologian
Iris Chang, historian
Kay Redfield Jamison, clinical psychologist and Professor
Florence Nightingale, nurse and health campaigner
Bill Oddie, naturalist
Emil Post, mathematician
Stuart Sutherland, British psychologist
Michael Thalbourne, Australian psychologist and parapsychologist
Do you know of others? I would love to hear about more.
There is a long list of famous people that have been diagnosed
with bi-polar disorder. It is comforting and inspiring to know
that others have found success while dealing with this disease.
Here is a list of Musicians that suffer from “Manic
Depression”:
Musicians
Adam Ant
Emilie Autumn
Max Bemis, Say Anything
Adrian Borland
Robert Calvert, Hawkwind
Rosemary Clooney, singer
Kurt Cobain, Nirvana![Byberlinfotos(http://flickr.com/photos/94363005@N00/375924857)[CC-BY-2.0(www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)],viaWikimediaCommons alt](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/AmyWinehouseBerlin2007.jpg)
Vincent Crane, Atomic Rooster
Ray Davies
Disco D, record producer and composer.
DMX (rapper)
Mike Doughty
Connie Francis
Justin Furstenfeld, Blue October
Matthew Good
Macy Grey
Terry Hall, The Specials
Kristin Hersh, Throwing Muses
Jack Irons, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam
Daniel Johnston
Kerry Katona, Atomic Kitten
Otto Klemperer, conductor
Ben Moody, Evanescence
Sinéad O’Connor
Phil Ochs, musician.[94]
Ozzy Osbourne
Craig Owens, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows
Jaco Pastorius, jazz musician
Odean Pope, American jazz musician
Charley Pride
Axl Rose, Guns N’ Roses
Robert Schumann, German composer
Nina Simone
Peter Steele, Type O Negative
Poly Styrene
Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad and The Devin Townsend
Band
Nick Traina
Townes Van Zandt
Scott Weiland, Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver
Pete Wentz, Fall Out Boy
Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys
Amy Winehouse
So I’m finally starting to feel better in some ways. I’m able to get up and move around, spend time with friends and family and even take some time for myself with out getting really depressed or having a mood swing. My medication was upped so that has something to do with it. In truth, I hate taking the pills and sometimes it’s a struggle to get myself to take them. “But I feel better so I don’t need them,” I think to myself. However I know these things don’t work that way.
So I thought I was doing better… taking my meds on time, sleeping and eating enough and not letting myself get overly stressed out… but I forgot that those things, if mismanaged, are triggers for mood swings, they don’t cause them. In other words, a mood swing can still strike even if one is taking great care of one’s self, and it did. I went from feeling good and content to feeling worthless and doubting.
“The drugs make you numb.” How often I’ve heard people tell me this. But when I’m not on them they say, “You’re overly emotional, pull yourself together.” I can’t win, and I know I’m not alone. Balancing one’s mental health and life is like walking on a tightrope, granted life is like walking on a tightrope in general, only with mental illness thrown in, it’s kind of like walking the same tight rope carrying a dozen eggs *one’s sanity at the moment* in a wind storm.