Bipolar People

I've been trying to deal a lot lately with the fact that I'm diagnosed Bipolar. The thing that pisses me off about it is that it's for life. The condition, while not debilitating, is annoying. Kim has been quite vocal about the fact that one hell of a lot of artistic people over the years have had the same condition, and I thought I'd share them with you today.

So here goes...

• Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut
• Sophie Anderton, model
• Adam Ant, musician.
• Emilie Autumn, musician.
• Andy Behrman, author of the book Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania.
• Max Bemis, frontman of the band Say Anything
• Maurice Benard, actor.
• Ludwig Boltzmann, physicist and mathematician.
• Adrian Borland, British musician.
• Russell Brand, comedian and actor.
• Andrea Breth, German stage-director.
• Jeremy Brett, actor.
• Frank Bruno, boxer.
• Barney Bubbles, graphic designer.
• Robert Calvert, musician, former Hawkwind frontman.
• Alastair Campbell, press advisor.
• Georg Cantor, mathematician.
• Jim Carey, Comedian and Actor.
• Dick Cavett, television journalist.
• Iris Chang, historian and journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle.
• John Clare, poet.
• Kurt Cobain, musician.
• Neil Cole, former Australian Labor party politician.
• Francis Ford Coppola, Director
• Rosemary Clooney, singer and actress.
• Patricia Cornwell, American crime writer.
• Robert S. Corrington, theologist.
• Michael Costa, former Australian Labor party politician and Treasurer of NSW.
• Vincent Crane, keyboard player of Atomic Rooster.
• Ray Davies, musician: The Kinks
• Disco D, record producer and composer.
• DMX, rapper.
• Mike Doughty, musician.
• Robert Downey, Jr., actor.
• Charmaine Dragun, former Australian journalist/newsreader.
• Richard Dreyfuss, actor.
• Patty Duke, actress.
• Carrie Fisher, actress and writer.
• Larry Flynt, Publisher
• Connie Francis, singer.
• Stephen Fry, actor, comedian and writer.
• Justin Furstenfeld, Lead singer of the band, "Blue October".
• Peter Gabriel, Musician.
• Alan Garner, novelist.
• Paul Gascoigne, English footballer.
• Mel Gibson, actor and director.
• Matthew Good, Canadian musician.
• Philip Graham, publisher and businessman.
• Macy Gray, musician and actor.
• Graham Greene, English novelist.
• Ivor Gurney, English composer and poet.
• Terry Hall, lead singer of The Specials.
• Linda Hamilton, actress. Star of the Terminator movies.
• Jimi Hendrix, Musician.
• George Francis Handel, Composer
• Robert Hansen, serial killer.
• Mariette Hartley, American actress.
• Jonathan Hay, Australian rules footballer
• Ernest Hemingway, writer.
• Kristin Hersh, musician, formerly of rock band Throwing Muses.
• Abbie Hoffman, political activist.
• Marya Hornbacher, writer.
• Jack Irons, drummer, formerly of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam.
• Kay Redfield Jamison, clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
• Daniel Johnston, musician.
• Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player.
• Lee Joon, Korean actor and musician.
• Chris Kanyon American professional wrestler.
• Kerry Katona, English television presenter, writer, magazine columnist and former pop singer with girl band Atomic Kitten.
• Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy
• Otto Klemperer, conductor.
• Margot Kidder, actress.
• Patrick Kroupa, writer and hacker.
• Vivien Leigh, actress
• Jenifer Lewis, American actress.
• Bill Lichtenstein, print and broadcast journalist and documentary filmmaker
• Jack London, American author.
• Demi Lovato, American actress, singer, Disney star.
• Gustav Mahler, Composer
• Arthur McIntyre, Australian artist.
• Kristy McNichol, actress.
• Burgess Meredith, actor.
• Eric Millegan, actor.
• Kate Millett, author.
• Spike Milligan, comedian.
• Ben Moody, musician. The former guitarist from Evanescence.
• Seaneen Molloy, Northern Irish blogger.
• John A. Mulheren, American financier, stock and option trader and philanthropist.
• Edvard Munch, artist.
• Robert Munsch, author.
• Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher.
• Florence Nightingale, nurse and health campaigner.
• Sinéad O'Connor, musician.
• Phil Ochs, musician.
• Bill Oddie, naturalist, comedian and television presenter.
• Ozzy Osbourne, singer. Lead singer of Black Sabbath and his self-titled band.
• Cheri Oteri, actress. Saturday Night Live Cast Member.
• Craig Owens, singer for American band Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows.
• Nicola Pagett, actor.
• Emma Parker Bowles, model.
• Jaco Pastorius, jazz musician.
• Jane Pauley, TV presenter and journalist.
• Edgar Allan Poe, poet and writer.
• Jackson Pollock, American artist.
• Odean Pope, American jazz musician.
• Gail Porter, British TV presenter.
• Emil Post, mathematician.
• Charley Pride, country music artist.
• Rene Rivkin, entrepreneur.
• Barret Robbins, former NFL Pro Bowler.
• Axl Rose, lead singer and frontman best known for Guns N' Roses.
• Richard Rossi, filmmaker, musician, and maverick minister.
• Robert Schumann, German composer.
• Nina Simone, American singer.
• Michael Slater, International Australian cricketer.
• Tony Slattery, actor and comedian.
• Phil Spector, Music Producer
• Sidney Sheldon, producer, writer.
• Sting, Musician
• Tim Smith, rugby league player.
• Peter Steele, frontman, Type O Negative.
• David Strickland, Actor, Suddenly Susan.
• Poly Styrene (real name Marion Elliot-Said), singer.
• Stuart Sutherland, British psychologist and writer
• Mackenzie Taylor, British comedian.
• Michael Thalbourne, Australian psychologist and parapsychologist.
• Steven Thomas, American entrepreneur.
• Gene Tierney, Academy Award nominated actress, Best Actress (1945).
• Devin Townsend, musician, Strapping Young Lad, The Devin Townsend Band.
• Nick Traina, singer.
• Timothy Treadwell, American environmentalist and bear enthusiast.
• Margaret Trudeau, Canadian celebrity and ex-wife of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
• Mark Twain, Writer
• Ted Turner, Media Mogel
• Tracy Ullman, Comedian, writer
• Ludwig Von Beethoven, Composer
• Jean-Claude Van Damme, actor.
• Vincent Van Gogh, artist.
• Townes Van Zandt, singer-songwriter.
• Mark Vonnegut, author.
• James Wade, darts player.
• David Walliams, actor/comedian/author/charity fundraiser.
• Ruby Wax, comedian.
• Scott Weiland, musician. (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver)
• Pete Wentz, musician. Fall Out Boy.
• Delonte West, American basketball player.
• Mark Whitacre, business executive described in the true story movie, The Informant..
• Brian Wilson, musician, founding member of The Beach Boys.
• Robin Williams, Comedian, actor.
• Jonathon Winters, Comedian, actor.
• Amy Winehouse, musician.
• Virginia Woolf, writer.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, actress.

So there you have it, according to Wikipedia (I wasn't in the mood to put that much research into this). It's common among artistic people, unfortunately, some of these guys didn't end up well, but that's because either they didn't manage it, or it was so severe that their lives were consumed by it. There's some missing from this list, but there too many to list.

Now I don't feel so different.

Cheers.