Why are there so many famous bipolar people? Will a diagnosis of bipolar make you famous? Probably not, at least not immediately. Nonetheless, it is a reality that a surprising number of famous people, contemporary and historical have a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of bipolar.
Winston Churchill, Isaac Newton, Ernest Hemingway, and other household names are included in this inventory. Moodsurfing has looked at the connection between hypomania and success, and has also highlighted the public advocacy of several modern-day celebrities living with bipolar, including Mariah Carey, Demi Lovato and Elon Musk.
Here’s a slideshow from WebMD that details several other well-known people who have struggled with bipolar, including several, such as Carrie Fischer and Patty Duke, who courageously spoke out to begin to lessen the stigma of mental illness.
Others whose names are often mentioned in this context, even though a clear diagnosis cannot be made are: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Ludwig von Beethoven, Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf.
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References:
Lowe, Jamie. Mental: Lithium, love and losing my mind. New York: Blue Rider Press; 2017.