Whether some see the line connecting creativity with mental illness as bold or faint, the musical artists who talk about their struggles with bipolar disorder help to greatly decrease the stigma associated with the disease. Here are ten:
#1 Adam Ant
The former frontman for new wave group Adam and the Ants said after nearly 20 years of touring and trying to remain “top dog”, he began taking medication and dealing with his illness. He told Rolling Stone Magazine: “The whole subject of bipolar disorder is in its infancy in terms of the public being aware it is an illness and not a disease, and not a kind of terminal thing where you have to feel shame.”
#2 Matthew Good
Canadian musician/producer, two-time Juno Award winner. Before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder 1 in 2006, he describes having a manic depressive episode: “At the best, imagine the thing you fear worst, imagine being shoved in a coffin with it and then buried underground and then having that coffin start shrinking. At its worst, imagine that, times a thousand.”
#3 Pete Wentz
Best known as the bassist, vocalist/lyricist for rock band Fall Out Boy, Wentz has been candid in talking about his struggle with bipolar. On the biggest misconception of the illness: “Most people that I meet in the world get sad sometimes and some people feel elation sometimes, to varying degrees. I think the idea there is a one-size-fits-all is one of those myths and everyone figures themselves out. And, there’s no shame in talking about it.”
#4 Kristin Hersh
American indie singer/songwriter and author, formed rock bands Throwing Muses and 50FootWave and is now a solo artist. In describing her early work, Hersh told The Guardian, “I let bipolar disorder color those songs. Their angry, edgy nature reflected the sound inside my head.” She also credits acupuncture for eliminating her bipolar symptoms.
#5 Daniel Johnston
Indie-folk guitarist/singer is the subject of the documentary film The Devil and Daniel Johnston, which details his battle with bipolar disorder. In an interview on The Russell Brand Show, Johnston describes how his medication eliminated his depressive symptoms. “Before I got on the medication, I would get depressed for as long as three years.”
#6 Ray Davies
Best known as the guitarist/vocalist and songwriter for the English group The Kinks, and now a solo artist. According to the biography, Ray Davies: A Complicated Life, author Johnny Rogan recounts that Davis was diagnosed with bipolar in 1973 following a suicide attempt.
#7 Scott Stapp
Grammy-winning frontman for hard rock bands Creed and Art of Anarchy had a public breakdown—mania with incidents of paranoia and delusional behavior. At the time, Stapp blamed the breakdown on an interaction between his antidepressants and an “unprescribed medication.” In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Stapp spoke about bipolar: “It’s hard to understand … a disease that you can’t see physically. There’s no cast. There’s no wheelchair, but it’s debilitating. It can destroy your life because it’s hard to understand.”
#8 Mary Lambert
A singer-songwriter, poet and spoken-word artist, Lambert even sings about bipolar disorder: ‘I’ve got bi-polar disorder/my sh*** not in order.’ On her steps toward self-care, she told bpHope Magazine: “I started working on what was necessary for me to function and feel better … I’m really grateful for that time, which is when I also stopped smoking and learned how to eat better.”
#9 Craig Owens
Former lead vocalist of Chiodos and now currently fronting Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows issued a public statement in 2008 when he attempted to overdose on prescribed Xanax. He cited “years-long battles with manic depression and bipolar disorder.”
#10 Odean Pope
At the age of 73 the renowned jazz musician (tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader) publicly revealed he had been battling bipolar for 30 years, in the hopes he could help others. “I had finally realized that through the proper diagnosis and the proper medication, [it] can be controlled and for those of you who might be struggling with this, there’s nothing to be ashamed of—it’s an illness and it can be controlled.”
via bpHope – bp Magazine Community
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