Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy
Having a mental illness like bipolar disorder can present some challenges to patients. Life is tough enough, but trying to stabilize your moods while facing ordinary and extraordinary obstacles is a challenge in itself.
Yet what some people may not know is that the accomplished, rich or famous also face similar challenges. Some of them have also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. For many, they are able to cope and are outspoken about their condition, proving that under the right circumstances, bipolar disorder is manageable and you can lead an above- normal life. Artists with bipolar disorder tend to stand out. Here’s a list of famous creative people with bipolar disorder and their descriptions of dealing with it. The links are to their documented statements on having bipolar disorder.
- Patricia Cornwell, award-winning crime novel writer of the Kay Scarpetta series, thinks that her bipolar disorder contributes to her creativity because she explores a wider range of emotions.
- Pete Wentz, guitarist for popular emo rock band Fall Out Boy, is quoted as saying “I have manic depression. I obsess over everything. When I am depressed, I can’t get out of bed.”
- Axl Rose, Guns N' Roses front man, discussed how he went to a clinic and was diagnosed after filling out a 500-question test. He felt the medication didn't help with his disorder, but people left him alone because he was on medication.
- Linda Hamilton, star of, Beauty and the Beast, Terminator and Terminator 2.
Hamilton
This is just a small sample of artists with bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Carrie Fisher, Margot Kidder, Kurt Cobain, Sylvia Plath and Jimi Hendrix are all other artists that have or had bipolar disorder. Does having bipolar disorder automatically mean creative genius? Not necessarily, but expressing the feelings associated with the moods can apparently open the creative doors.
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