Bipolar Geniuses: Virginia Woolf (1882-1941)
Author of nine novels, six short story compilations, and 14 nonfiction books, Woolf is one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century. And she was very self-aware of her mental illness.
Bipolar Geniuses: Beach Boy Brian Wilson
“Every now and then I hear voices in my head, but not very clear,” Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson told the New York Times Magazine in 2004. “I can’t understand what they are saying. It’s a mental illness. I have been diagnosed as a manic depressive.”
Bipolar Geniuses: Carrie Fisher
She played Priness Leia – one of the most iconic heroes in Hollywood history. But off screen, Carrie Fisher has battled bipolar and addiction for decades.
Bipolar Geniuses: Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890)
Over time, Van Gogh was hospitalized at least five times for manic-depressive breakdowns. Friends and various artists described him as eccentric, disturbed, terrifying, on the verge of a breakdown, extremely difficult, obstinate and as a heavy drinker.
Bipolar Geniuses: Robin Williams
Williams confided to Carrie Fisher about his moods. While he didn’t believe he was bipolar, he answered yes to the five “Are You Bipolar?” questions Fisher posed at her one-woman show.
Bipolar Geniuses: Edgar Allan Poe
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity. During these fits of absolute unconsciousness, I drank – God only knows how often or how much. As a matter of course, my enemies referred the insanity to the drink, rather than the drink to the insanity.”
– Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart”
