Whoah! Don’t run away because this entry looks so long!!! Most of it’s just a list so there’s not as much reading as it looks. Now pour some tea or coffee, sit down and read my blog, Dammit!!

I’m still nervous about eventually working again. According to a study at Brown University, 30% – 60% of those with BP can’t work. First, what the hell kind of report is that? When I was working, if I gave a report with a 30% spread I’d be emptying my desk in 30 – 60 seconds. But it shows about half do work.

Right now, I’m enjoying the high life on the backs of those of you slaving 8 – 10 hours a day. Nah, not really, but I’ve heard many horror stories from those who’ve gone back too early. Then it’s back to the red tape getting back on disability. You’ve heard it’s too easy to get on? BULLSHIT! It’s no picnic.

Many with mood disorders can and do work and some become very successful. Perhaps you’ve heard of some of these:

Francis Ford Coppola – Director
Ned Beatty – actor
Linda Hamilton – actor
Vivien Leigh – actor
Robin Williams – actor, comedian
Kurt Cobain – musician
Ludwig Von Beethoven – composer
Tim Burton – Director
Patty Duke – actor
Carrie Fisher – actor
Vincent Van Gogh – artist
Jimi Hendrix – musician
Ernest Hemingway – author
DMX – musician and actor
Peter Gabriel – musician
Charley Pride – musician
Axl Rose – musician
Sting – musician
Brian Wilson – musician
Sylvia Plath – poet, writer
Winston Churchill – U.K. Prime Minister
Theodore Roosevelt – U.S. President
Jim Carrey – actor
Robert Downy Jr – actor
Darryl Strawberry – baseball
Luther Wright – basketball
Dick Cavett – Talk show host
Jane Pauley – Television Journalist
Art Buchwald – humorist, columnist
Edgar Allen Poe – author
Virginia Wolf – author
Adam Ant – musician
Sinead O’Conner – Musician
Mariette Hartley – actress
Graham Green – English Novelist
Rep Patrick Kennedy – Congress
Abby Hoffman – Political Activist
Dick Clark – tv personality, businessman
Barbara Bush – Former First Lady
Ben Stiller – actor
Mike Wallace – news anchor
Roseanne Barr – Actor, comedienne
Joan Rivers – comedienne
Michael Crighton – writer
Sheryl Crow – Musician
Anthony Hopkins, actor
Ted Turner – Entrepreneur

I didn’t plan on including those that didn’t end well (Curt Kobain, Sylvia Plath, Ernest Hemingway, etc), but, decided it’d be an injustice not to list them. Despite taking their own lives, the world is a better place because of their contributions. They’re not alone. 1 in 5 people with bipolar disorder successfully commit suicide.

Obviously the historical names were not officially diagnosed, but their names are listed because it’s likely based on research. In the old days depression was called melancholy. I wish we’d bring that back. It’s much more fun sounding than depression.

I adore Vincent Van Gogh who I know in my heart was BP. Read the biography “Lust for Life” to have a good understanding of BP. It’s an amazing book and brought many tears to my eyes because I relate so well. I still shed a tear when I see his paintings.

My favorite painting I posted above called “Wheat Field with Crows”. He painted it in the last month of his life before killing himself. Others prefer “Starry Night” or “Cafe Terrace at Night” but I find it’s beauty in reflecting what I believe was in his heart at the time. Even if it was pain. isn’t that what art should express?

Here for you to enjoy is Don McLean’s “Starry Starry Night”: