In Good Company

When I was twenty one, I was diagnosed by a mental health professional (my second in a list of four) with having moderate agoraphobia. This was later classified as a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

When I was twenty nine, I was diagnosed by the third professional as having Borderline Personality Disorder, later modified to Bipolar. My symptoms were classified as severe Chemical Depression, severe Social and General Anxiety Disorder, and mild Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Being properly diagnosed elated me, but living with these disorders can be disheartening. So I thought I'd share with you a list of celebrated others, who have also been properly diagnosed and talked openly about their afflictions, OR who are thought (by scholars, historians, and health professionals) to have had manic depression, schizophrenia, or some other form of mental/emotional disability.

If you can relate to nay of these issues, you must know... not only are we not alone, but we are in good company.

Axl Rose, musician
Maurice Bernard, actor
Margot Kidder, actress
Carrie Fisher, actress, author
Charles Dickens, author
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author
DMX, musician
Rosemary Clooney, actress and vocalist
Russell Brand, comedian and actor
Adam Ant, musician
Ludwig Boltzmann, physicist and mathematician
Sir Isaac Newton, physicist
Ozzy Osbourne, musician
Jane Pauley, journalist
Vincent Van Gogh, artist
Pete Wentz, musician
Mark Twain, author
Peter Gabriel, musician
Earnest Hemingway, author
Kurt Cobain, musician

There are so many more. Please visit "Wikipedia: People Affected By Bipolar Disorder" for a more detailed list.