July 1,
stars rounded up. In the Hypomanic Edge, clinical psychologist specializing in bipolar disorder John Gartner writes extended vignettes about famous historical figures who he believed had -- drumroll please -- bipolar disorder. The book's title refers to hypomania, a high mood, high energy state characterized by decreased need for sleep, intense focus, creativity, impulsivity, hypersexuality, and grandiosity in their ideas and self-perceptions. Hypomania is not as severe as mania (which is characterized by a major deficit in social and occupational functioning and generally requires medication and often inpatient hospitalization) but is also not in the normal repertoire of moods of people without certain types of bipolar disorder, see image below:
As a healthcare provider (but not a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, etc.), I generally feel uncomfortable at the notion of retrospectively or armchair diagnosing historical figures, the deceased, and people who haven't disclosed their diagnosis and whom you aren't personally being asked to diagnose with mental illness. Mental illness still carries a stigma, so many don't wish to disclose their diagnosis publicly and may face negative personal, social, or professional consequences for having or being speculated to have such a diagnosis. Most of the figures Gartner profiled are deceased, often long deceased, with the exception of his final profile, biotech entrepreneur Craig Venter, whom he interviewed extensively (though notably Venter doesn't seem to have publicly announced a mental illness diagnosis). For the deceased figures, it's clear Gartner did research by talking to biographers, living relatives who knew the individual, etc., rather than just relying on his own hypotheses; however it's clear the questions he asked those he interviewed were quite leading ("here's a list of traits of hypomanic behaviors, how strongly do you think your subject aligns with them?).
Gartner's hypothesis is that people who experience hypomanic episodes are evolutionarily selected for and have had a crucial role in American society, being leaders, entrepreneurs, daredevils, moguls, and innovators. The people who he profiles (all men) to support his hypothesis are:
- Christopher Columbus
- John Winthrop, Roger Williams and William Penn
- Alexander Hamilton
- Andrew Carnegie
- certain male members of the Selznick and the Mayer Hollywood families
- Craig Venter
I found the vignettes informative and well-presented, with the caveats described above. The book would have been more interesting had it included vignettes of famous women with possible hypomanic tendencies, as hypomania is not an exclusively male mental state.
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