Hi,

I just interviewed a very nice man about his bipolar disorder, and there was something I gleaned from our interview that I wanted to share with you. I was asking him about what he does to keep

himself stable with his bipolar disorder. He named off several things. Then he said that he does something creative every day. He does something creative every day to keep himself stable. That really struck me as interesting, because I haven’t heard that before.

When I ask that question in an interview, I’m used to hearing things like eating right, sleeping right, exercising, keeping busy, and things like that…But doing something creative every day? No, I’d never heard that one before. It definitely piqued my interest. Especially because I know this man to be a very stable man. So this doing something creative every day must really work!

So I did a little research into it.

Patty Duke is probably the most famous actress with bipolar disorder, because she wrote about it in a book about herself and her struggle with it. And, for those of us who can remember her

acting on the TV, there is no disputing her creativity.

Jim Carey is a famous actor who is still acting today, who also has bipolar disorder. If you saw him in his role as the Riddler in the Batman movie, or several of his other roles, like The Mask, you know how creative he can be.

Robert Downey Jr., lately of Iron Man fame, is definitely a creative actor, but who also has bipolar disorder.

Carrie Fisher was very creative in her role in Star Wars, but she also suffers from bipolar disorder.

And Robin Williams, whose creative comedy and acting (Mrs. Doubtfire) has sometimes been

declared “insane,” also has bipolar disorder.

But bipolar disorder and creativity going hand in hand in famous people is not just limited to

actors and actresses, nor is it limited only to people who are alive today. In my research I discovered that Ludwig von Beethoven and Vincent van Gogh were believed to have had bipolar disorder as well.

Even Jimi Hendrix, that very famous creative rock musician was believed to have had bipolar

disorder.

So there are many, many creative famous people, in the present and in the past, who have (or have had) bipolar disorder.

But what this man said was to do something creative every day – not that you have to necessarily BE a creative person to begin with.

Think about it.

There are many ways to be creative.

Even in therapy, they have used creativity to help people with bipolar disorder, ways in which the person can continue to help themselves even after the therapy is discontinued – such as art and music therapy. Now, they don’t require that you be a famous artist or musician to partake of this type of therapy, but just that you let your creativity shine through, and that you make the effort.

So maybe your loved one’s way to do something creative each day might involve art or music.

The ways they can be creative are limited only by their imagination!

Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave