everyminute

List of People with Mental Illness

Posted on 08/07/08, 11:44 am

Continuing with the idea of listing our favorite authors, artists, politicians, musicians, academics, etc.. Let's try to put together a comprehensive list of every famous person that has a *documented* mental illness. So, list everyone you can think of and be sure to put the source of how you found out about it.

For example:
Woody Allen - Depression - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4539493.stm

Vincent Van Gogh - Depression - http://www.philosophicalsociety.co...

• Reply #1 08/08/08  4:30am
  
  malc1
  Stephen Fry - depression - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steph... ,
  
  John Cleese - depression - http://www.geocities.com/Televisio...
  
  
• Reply #2 08/08/08  12:38pm
  
  WanderingVet
  The following are documented at:http://www.covenanthealth.com/coldfusionapplication/covhlthwhatsnew/detail.cfm?Post_ID=3684
  
  Abraham Lincoln: The 16th president, one of the greatest Americans, suffered from severe, incapacitating and occasionally suicidal depressions, documented in six biographical volumes by Carl Sandburg, and in numerous articles, including, â??Dark Veil of Depressionâ?? by Judy Folkenburg, National Institute of Mental Health, published in The Consumer.
  
  Lionel Aldridge: A defensive end for Vince Lombardiâ??s legendary Green Bay Packers of the 1960â??s, Aldridge played in two Super Bowls. In the 1970â??s, he suffered from schizophrenia and was homeless for two years. He now gives inspirational talks on his battle against paranoid schizophrenia. His story has been told in numerous newspaper articles, copies of which are available from the National Alliance of the Mentally Ill.
  
  Ludwig Beethoven: The brilliant musician experienced manic depression, documented in Beethoven by Schauffler.
  
  Leo Tolstoy: Author of War and Peace, one of the worldâ??s greatest novels, Tolstoy told of his own mental illness in My Confession. It is also discussed in Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and Inner World of Madness by Beet Kaplan.
  
  Edgar Allen Poe: The famous author known for his eerie, inventive works, clearly experienced mental illness as documented in The Haunted Palace: The Life of Edgar Allen Poe by Frances Winwar.
  
  Winston Churchill: â??Had he been a stable and equable man, he could never have inspired the nation. In 1940, when all odds were against Britain, a leader of sober judgement might well have concluded that we were finished,â?? wrote Anthony Storr in Churchill. Storr also discussed Churchillâ??s manic depression in his book The Dynamics of Creation.
  
  Vivien Leigh: The actress who starred inâ?? Gone With The Windâ?? suffered from mental illness, as documented in Vivien Leigh by Anne Edwards.
  
  Sylvia Plath: The poet and novelist suffered mental illness as documented in A Memory of Sylvia Plath by Anne Edwards.
  
  Patty Duke: The actress told of her bipolar illness in an autobiography, Call Me Anna, which became a television movie.
  
  Charles Dickens: One of the greatest authors in the English language suffered from depression, as documented in Key To Genius by Hersham and Lieb, and Charles Dickens, Vols. I and II by Edgar Johnson.
  
• Reply #3 08/20/08  8:58pm
  
  rubyblue
  Bipolar Disorder -
  
  Beethoven
  Abe Lincoln
  Adam Ant
  Burgess Meredith
  Frank Bruno
  Jimi Hendrix
  Winston Chruchill
  Richard Dreyfuss
  Sting
  Kurt Kobain
  Ozzie Osbourbe
  Spike Milligan
  Vincent Van Gogh
  Steven Fry
  Patty Duke
  Linda Hamilton
• Reply #4 08/21/08  10:49am
  
  everyminute
  Many celebrities are speaking out about their experiences with mental illness. Among them are Nobel Prize-winning economist John Forbes Nash Jr. (schizophrenia); actresses Patty Duke (bipolar disorder), Lorraine Bracco (depression) and Brooke Shields (postpartum depression); newspeople Jane Pauley (bipolar disorder) and Mike Wallace (depression); athletes Terry Bradshaw (depression) and Muffin Spencer-Devlin (bipolar disorder); writers Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., (bipolar disorder), Art Buchwald (depression) and William Styron (depression); and such public figures as Tipper Gore (depression) and Kitty Dukakis (depression, substance abuse).
  
  From a CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/...
• Reply #5 08/22/08  1:50pm
  
  SheriM
  Gee, I wish I had found this group before my beautiful son committed suicide last January. Maybe I could have noticed the signs of his depression more clearly, dug a little deeper and saved his life. Tommy was a wonderful person, successful, generous and much loved. But for some reason stopped believing in himself. I feel quite guilty, I've suffered from depression myself and should have recognized his symptoms. I wish I could have made him realize he was not alone. I wish I wish I wish...
  
• Reply #6 08/24/08  1:04am
  
  BrisaChica
  Don't be so hard on yourself Sheri. These feelings are normal but I am sure you did what you could. Even if you have more knowledge it is no garauntee how deap ones metal illness will go. Even with meds it can be hard to pull them out of the metal illness they deal with. My friend had the same experience with her son and both parents went through a period of what they could have done. Just know he is resting in peace now and not suffering. I rember the young man's father saying what every deamons haunted him can bother him no more. I hope this helps. I know your feelings can go deaper for your son than my experience can know. Bless you.
• Reply #7 09/18/08  11:26am
  
  BehaveWell
  The list is very long but one person that comes to mind is Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. I think she suffered greatly and after President Lincoln was assasinated her mental condition deteriotated even further. I don't think there was a whole lot of compassion for this very fragile woman who probably suffered a great deal of depression, grief and sadness and also based on her uncontrolled shopping it looks like she may have been bipolar.
  
  
• Reply #8 09/19/08  11:13am
  
  Teardrop665
  ((Sheri))
  
  There are soo many with this disorder but as for now i can think of Jim Carey and Martin Lawrence

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