In the past, some have questioned if I can be depressed, have anxiety, or deal with Post Traumatic Stress while I still accomplish so many things.
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| Via Tumblr |
Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD have been, historically, some of the fuelers of the greatest things we’ve known – paintings, music, plays, books, etc.
Van Gogh was super depressed. The dude cut off his own ear.
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| Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear |
Come on.
Yet, he created some of the most beautiful art ever known.
Other notable awesome people with mental health issues include:
- Michelangelo: OCD.
- Tchaikovsky: Depression.
- Beethoven: Bipolar Disorder & Depression.
- Edgar Allan Poe: Depression.
- Johnny Depp: Panic Attacks.
- Isaac Newton: Bipolar Disorder.
- Howie Mandel: OCD.
- Demi Lovato: Bipolar Disorder.
- Abraham Lincoln: Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD.
- Buzz Aldrin: Depression.
- Ernest Hemingway: Bipolar Disorder.
- Marlon Brando: Depression.
- Darrell Hammond: PTSD.
- Carrie Fisher: Bipolar Disorder.
- Calvin Coolidge: Depression.
- Stephen Fry: Bipolar Disorder.
- Kurt Cobain: ADD & Bipolar Disorder.
- Agatha Christie: Depression.
- Teri Hatcher: PTSD.
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: PTSD.
- Whoopi Goldberg: PTSD.
- Beyoncé: Depression.
Here we have world leaders, scientists, and entertainers. These people have changed the world despite their mental health issues.
Many of the people on this list are or were very open about their struggles with mental health as well. We discuss our mental health issues because we want others to stop feeling alone or like they have no one to turn to. When mental health issues are so prominent in the chronic illness community, why wouldn’t we discuss these as being just as valid and debilitating as other chronic illnesses?
Isn’t that the point of being a patient activist and blogger anyway?
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| Via Wisdom to Inspire |
If Abe Lincoln can run the world, help fight a war, care for his wife’s mental health issues, and raise his kids while living with the very same three conditions I endure daily? I think I can conquer whatever lies ahead of me.