11Geniuses Throughout History And Their Possible Psychiatric Disorders
We know them as geniuses and political leaders, and we know their history and what they did during their lives but we won't go into any of this, it is possible for humans to have psychological disorders and this includes geniuses among them, leaders, artists, ordinary people and anyone else what could they have suffered from disorders in their lives? The following article will answer this question, despite the impossibility of being certain of an accurate diagnosis of the psychological state of a historical figure, but this did not deter researchers from making a thoughtful guess.
1- ABRAHAM LINCOLN
- Depression
The great liberator of slaves was able to lead his country through one of the darkest periods in its history, despite the severe psychological depression that plagued him for most of his life. According to one Lincoln historian, some letters written by his friends referred to him as "the most melancholy person we have ever known".
At one point, he had a melancholy episode that caused him to have a nervous breakdown, and it seems that his mother and several members of his family suffered from the same symptoms as that severe depression, which meant that Lincoln was vulnerable to illness because of his vital family background.
Lincoln is believed to be the anonymous author of a poem published in 1838 entitled "Thoughts of Suicide", which stated:
“The hell am I afraid? And what the hell to me,
I have never tasted bliss;
With friends calling me to misery,
With hope he turned his back on me.”
2- LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN
Bipolar disorder
When the musician died of liver failure in 1827, he had spent decades self-medicating with alcohol for his many health problems.
Unfortunately, most of his illnesses could have been treated with today's medications, including his case of bipolar disorder. His obsessions were known to his friends, and when under the influence of any drug, he could compose several pieces at the same time.
It is remarkable that he composed his most famous musical works when he was in his worst psychological state.
It is pathetic that he also excelled in writing it at the times when he thought of suicide, as he mentioned in letters he sent to his brothers during his lifetime.
In the early months of 1813, Beethoven went through a period of severe depression that made him careless about his appearance, and caused him to have fits of frenzy at public parties. At that time, he stopped writing altogether.
3- Edvard Munch
Panic attacks
The most famous panic attack in world history occurred in Oslo at the beginning of 1892, and Munch recorded the event in his diary:
“One evening, I was walking down a road, and the city was at one end and the fjord down.
I felt tired and sick.
I paused and looked down at the fjord as the sun was setting, and the clouds turned a deep red.
I was overwhelmed with a deep feeling that some cry was tearing apart nature.”
This experience left in the same artist a great impact, which prompted him to retrieve it again and again by drawing two paintings about it, two pictures with pastel pen, and a lithograph, all inspired by his experience. In addition, he composed a poem using the description he wrote in his diary.
It is uncertain whether Munch experienced other panic attacks, but what is certain is that mental illness did not run in the family. Also, at the same time as Munch, his sister, who suffers from bipolar disorder, was in a mental hospital.
4- Michelangelo MICHELANGELO
- Autism
You may have previously wondered how a single person could paint something as big as the ceiling of the Sistine Cathedral.
According to research published in the Journal of Medical Biography in 2004, the creative work that captured Michelangelo's powers may be attributed to his mental disorder, and if we read what his contemporaries have reported about him, the painter was "fascinated by reality, in his own world." His family records prove that most of the males in the family suffered from similar symptoms.
It also seems that Michelangelo was finding it difficult to communicate with people and build relationships with them, as he did not have many friends... He did not even attend his brother's funeral.
Given all of the above, in addition to his apparent genius in mathematics and the arts, researchers have been led to believe that Michelangelo's case in today's world would have been diagnosed as a high-functioning autism.
5. CHARLES DICKENS
- Depression
At the age of thirty, Charles Dickens was the world's most famous writer.
He was rich and seemed to have gathered glory on all sides, but his very harsh childhood problems, working in a shoe factory and then having to live alone when his father was imprisoned, all pushed the writer into depression with the beginning of each new novel he wrote.
The first problem he encountered was with one of his lesser-known books, The Bells, which he wrote in 1844.
Then his friends noticed that every time he started working on a new writing project, Dickens was in a poor state of mind, but that his mood gradually began to improve until he reached a stage of mania when he finished writing.
His depression worsened with age, and eventually he separated from his wife - and the mother of his ten children - to live with his eighteen-year-old lover.
Four years before his death, he was in a train accident in which he was unharmed but had to help dying passengers before help arrived.
Because of this incident, depression took its toll on himself and limited his creativity, and his previous prolific written production decreased to a point close to being interrupted.
Ewan McGregor in a new movie based on the novel by Stephen King
6- CHARLES DARWIN
Outdoor phobia
To this day, scholars are still arguing what exactly Darwin's psychological problems were. Whatever its nature, it was dangerous.
Despite his famous 5-year voyage on the Beagle (and the book that followed) that launched his illustrious career, Darwin spent most of his life unable to move.
He personally focused on the physical symptoms as the cause of his suffering, but the constant shivering, nausea, hysterical crying, and visual hallucinations (among other things) seem to be caused by an advanced case of agoraphobia.
This has led to him being bedridden almost the entire time since he reached the age of thirty. Darwin's fear of people led him to avoid talking, even to his own children. He wrote in this regard:
“I am forced to live… in peace, I can hardly meet anyone, and I cannot speak at length even with the people closest to me.”
He mentioned in at least one letter that he was contemplating suicide because of the publication of his book “The Origin of Species” and the storm of controversy that the book left behind, which caused him great sorrow. It is possible that he also suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder or delusion, since he carefully recorded every new symptom he had or had previously experienced.
7- WINSTON CHURCHILL
Bipolar disorder
As in the case of Lincoln, Churchill was a great leader who fought not only international struggles but also his own psychological struggles at the same time.
In his thirties he complained to some friends that he was being chased by a "black depression dog", and he sat in the British Parliament and contemplated suicide. Churchill told his doctor that he was careful about where to stand at the train station:
“I don't like standing near the edge of the station platform when a bullet train goes by.
I go back, and if I can, I put a pole between me and the train.
Also, I don't like to stand too close to the side of the ship or look at the water below.
The whole thing (suicide) will only take a few seconds, it will require only a few drops of frustration.”
That "black dog" will follow him for the rest of his life. When he was in mild states of turmoil, he was charming, but his mood changed quickly. During cases of severe mania, he stayed up all night to write, and thus produced forty-three books, in addition to performing his political duties.
8. VASLAV NIJINSKY
Schizophrenia
Although not very popular nowadays, "Nijinsky" was a household name in the early 20th century.
Considered the greatest male dancer of his time, Nijinsky was known for his emotive performance, broad leap, and tiptoe-dancing, something uncommon among male dancers at the time.
When he started designing ballet choreography, his modern choreography revolutionized its time. By the time he reached the age of twenty-nine, the symptoms of his illness were beginning to affect his work. He spent the rest of his life as a tourist among mental hospitals, and would spend whole weeks without a word.
9- KURT GÖDEL
- delusion of persecution
Gödel was a highly regarded logician and mathematician, as well as a close friend of Albert Einstein.
Einstein's extraordinary intelligence made him look eccentric in the eyes of ordinary people, but he did not suffer from mental illness. Conversely, Goodell lived under the shadow of a suspicion that someone would poison him.
He was so possessed by this delusion that in his late life he would eat nothing but what his wife cooked for him. However, he would make her taste the food before him, to reassure his heart.
When his wife had to stay in the hospital for six months, Jodel didn't eat anything until he died of starvation!
10. LEO TOLSTOY
- Depression
Tolstoy did not show obvious symptoms of depression until he reached middle age, but when it hit him, it came relentlessly, and he went through severe personality transformations that made him question everything in his life.
Sometimes he thought about giving up all his personal belongings, getting celibate, and giving up his religious beliefs (which probably didn't exist). At a certain point, he decided to stop writing altogether, saying:
“Art is not only unimportant, it is harmful.”
Tolstoy provides the most striking example of a person whose illness destroyed all his beloved things: despite his wealth, fame as a distinguished writer, and father of thirteen, his demons made him seriously contemplate suicide. He wrote in one of his letters:
“A man has been given the opportunity to end his life, and therefore he has the right to end it with his own hands.”
But in the end, Tolstoy saved himself from that abyss by becoming what might be described, in today's parlance, as a "born-again Christian."
11- Isaac Newton ISAAC NEWTON
- All diseases list
He is considered one of the greatest scientists throughout history and a genius who is difficult to diagnose, but historians agree that he was suffering a lot.
Newton experienced extreme mood swings, indicating bipolar disorder combined with psychotic tendencies, and his inability to communicate with people could put him on the autism spectrum.
And he used to write letters filled with crazy hallucinations, which some medical historians have interpreted as strong evidence of schizophrenia.
It does not matter how many serious diseases he suffered, as they did not prevent him from inventing arithmetic, clarifying the principle of gravity, and making the telescope, in addition to his other great scientific achievements.
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