Vincent Van Gogh And Bipolar Disorder

story in a memoir titled Madness: A Bipolar Life, in an attempt to shed some light and insight on the

revision, American Psychiatric Association, 2000), characterizes bipolar disorder as a cyclical illness in which patients “swing” between opposite poles of behavior from manic hyperactivity to extreme states of depression. The types of mania associated with

The essential feature of Bipolar 2 Disorder is “a clinical course that is characterized by the occurrence of one or more Major Depressive Episodes accompanied by at least one Hypomanic Episode.”//

In pop culture Bipolar Disorder is described as someone quickly switching emotions. The term gets flown around easily without evidence of the alleged diagnosis. This publication changed my perspective on mental illness due to always hearing society's opinion on the phrase. Kay’s experience shows an individual who suffered tremendously behind doors that no one else could relate to, having episodes last days to months not switching every minute like society's stereotypes. It is obvious that there is not control and while medication helps, there is a significant consequence when missing treatment. Additionally, material learned within this book can help fundamentally determine someone suffering this illness. For example, if someone has manic highs and lows that force them to change their daily lifestyle for a period of time and developes changing impulsive decisions there could be an underlying illness. Even though there are few details that can fall into the category of Bipolar, it is still rare and unless diagnosed by a doctor one should never jump to conclusions about another

Vincent Van Gogh was an artistic genius with a nightmare for a life. He suffered both mental illness and the scorn of others.

Aristotle famously asked why is it that all men who have become outstanding in philosophy, poetry and arts are melancholic. This question remains unanswered today. Bipolar disorder is one of the most distinctive conditions in psychiatry. Many famous musicians, writers, and leaders of society have had bipolar disorder. Many of these people — and some of their physicians — have been concerned that the pharmacologic treatment of their mood swings might

“In the earliest days of documentation, these people were viewed as 'crazy,” possessed by the devil or demons,” Dr. Gardenswartz says in Bipolar Magazine (Stephens, 2014). Bipolar disorder or manic-depressive disorder, consists of mood swings that range from the lows of depression to the highs of mania. Depending on the rapidness of the mood swings, the disorder can be classified as mixed or rapid. Mixed episodes last less than usual, while rapid cycling consists of four or more mood disordered episodes per year (“Bipolar Disorder,” 2012). The term “bipolar” logically emphasizes “the two poles, “usually experience both depressed and elevated moods in a cyclical manner, according to Robert L. Spitzer, MD, professor of psychiatry at

The article “Bipolar Disorder: The Agony and the Ecstasy” by Thomas Wheaton explains what it is like living and dealing with Bipolar. Bipolar is a mental health condition typified by mood swings between gushing euphoria and draining depression. Luckily, there are medications and therapy to help someone cope with the disorder. For example, Trazodone it will help a person sleep at night and Xanax, which is for panic attacks. The side effects are that people tend to be dizzy, light headed, heat-sensitive and their mouths will be dry from some of them. In contrast, to not taking them it would be worse for them. There were times where he was depressed to point where he thought about killing himself both when he was six years old and then again when

The two major types of Bipolar Disorder (BPD) set out in this paper are Bipolar 1 and 2. Bipolar 1 is diagnosed as guide lined by the DSM5. As the occurrence of a least one maniac episode preceding or post an episode of hypomania and/or Major depression. The DSM 5 highlights that Bipolar 2 is diagnosed by one major depressive episode in occurrence with one hypomanic episode with an absence of Mania. (Association:, 2013) Mania as defined by DSM5: “A distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood and abnormally and persistently increased goal-directed activity or energy, lasting at least 1 week and present most of the day, nearly every day.” Hypomania being: “A distinct period of abnormally and

In bipolar depression patients alternate between mania (and hypo-mania) as well as depression. These patients switch from a low mood to a frenzied abnormal elevation in mood .A manic episode is, “a period of excessive euphoria, inflated self-esteem, wild optimism and hyperactivity, often accompanied by delusions of grandeur and hostility if activity is blocked” (Dinsmoor, R. S. & Odle, T. G. 2009). According Samuel E. Wood (2011), while manic, “they may waste large sums of money on get-rich-quick schemes and if family members or friends try to stop them they are likely to become hostile, enraged, or even dangerous; they might even harm themselves, so quite often they must be hospitalized during manic episodes to protect them and others from the disastrous consequences of their poor judgment”. Depressed bipolar patients show low self-esteem and prolonged feelings of sadness. They may withdraw from friends and family, as well as activities they use to enjoy. Loss of energy and excessive anxiety are also common. They may experience changes in eating or sleeping habits as well as a more serious symptom, thoughts of suicide. (Duckworth,K & Sachs,G 2011). Every individual with bipolar experience is different, and they may have all of the symptoms or just select symptoms. Whichever symptoms bipolar people are experiencing they can often interfere with personality, work, school and

Observers of Van Gogh’s life believed that his eccentricities, compounded to create many distressing experiences that directly impacted the development of Expressionism. This was visible from his early childhood. Painting was no longer seen through pictures, it became a crucible that could hold all of the artist’s passions, conflicts, and unrealized dreams. (Encyclopedia.com)

High doses of thujone will also cause a person to see objects in yellow, which may also be the reason why he loved the color yellow. Yet, due to Van Gogh’s extreme commitment to religion, and enthusiastic speed in this art pieces, many doctors also assumed Van Gogh could have been bipolar. Van Gogh’s episodes were always followed by exhaustion, and depression, and eventually suicide (Meier-Graefe 46). Therefore, bipolar may be a logical reason of Van Gogh’s mental condition. Though, there may have been many arguments of Gogh’s mental condition, there is still a final agreement that throughout his Van Gogh still created intriguing art for the world to see.

Before I truly understood Bipolar disorder, it was still a fairly common word in my vocabulary. Anytime I thought someone was being moody or fluctuating between emotions, I joked by claiming that person to be bipolar. Several incidents of this involved one of my roommates who seemed to be happy one day, and quite the polar opposite the next. However, it was not until my clinical experience on the psychiatric unit that I realized what true bipolar disorder was, and that she did not fit the criteria. Even though I always thought my roommate was bipolar, I quickly found after being exposed to a diagnosed bipolar patient that my roommate was instead just moody. I decided to write this paper on bipolar disorder, not because I have struggle with it or know a friend or family member with this disease, but because I had several misconceptions about what it entailed.

Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of all time. He is known for his paintings and is hailed as the quintessential expressionist painter in history. Yet, Van Gogh lived one of the most troubling lives one could ever imagine. Almost every painting can be viewed as a look into his troubled soul. Van Gogh’s Paintings today can be sold for millions of dollars, but during his life time he sold a single painting for a measly 40 francs. Van Gogh’s legacy has left behind stories of greatness and sadness having to do with both his personal life and his career as an artist.

The wethered issue of genius and madness has induced a long blank and a clinical hobby among researchers. Although amiableness has a different meaning than creativity when established in a social environment, it is difficult to imagine a non-creative genius (Fink et al 1-10). creativity of two oddities and the result is the key to pleasantness (Cropley 2-14). The thought of a relationship amid creativity and prosperity of mentally diseased has mostly been maintained with rare stories of incredible art use when involved people fought against the discouragement or liquor ill-use. Previous studies that focused primarily on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have given some experimental evidence of the relationship between creativity and psychopathology.