Celebrities, Genius, and Bipolar

There has often been thought to be a link between bipolar disorder and genius. Some studies have proved as much. Kay Redfield Jamison of John Hopkins school of Medicine, who suffers from bipolar disorder, said that intelligence tests on Swedish 16-year-olds had shown that highly intelligent children were most likely to go on to develop the disorder. Source 

A study of more than 700,000 adults illustrated the fact that people who attained the highest grades at school are 4 times more likely to suffer with bipolar disorder than those who achieved average grades. This study was carried out by researchers who worked at the Institute of Psychiatry, based at King’s College in London, and colleagues from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and the results showed that the link between bipolar disorder and high intelligence was most pronounced in those who studied music or literature, just as it had been with key historical figures in our past. Source

Some celebrities have come out with their diagnosis freely. Others who have passed away are postulated as having bipolar disorder judging by their behaviors, often irrational.

Ludwig van Beethoven, composer and pianist is suggested to have had bipolar. Russel Brand, comedian, Demi Lovato, singer, and Carrie Fisher, actress, have all openly come out with their diagnoses.  Marylin Monroe is thought to have had bipolar as well as Kurt Cobain. Issac Newton, mathematician/physicist, Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher, Vincent Van Gogh, artist, and Frank Sinatra also are thought to have had bipolar disorder. One of the most recent celebrities to come out as having the disorder is Catherine Zeta-Jones. Source

My personal experience seems to coincide with these studies linking genius with bipolar. While is school I averaged a 3.945 GPA through high school and a 3.8 average GPA in college while earning my Bachelor's in Economics. I've always been thought of as "bright."  I often wonder if it would be better to be dull and live a normal life than have a higher IQ and deal with bipolar.

It's astonishing to think about all the famous individuals who had bipolar and were successful. It seems as though their work saw gains while their personal lives unraveled. That's what happened to me. I was doing fantastic at a new banker job, raised investment sales by 200% in one month at my branch, while my life was slowly falling apart around me. I believe I was somewhat manic, staying out all hours. Then I had a panic attack, a severe one, for the first time at work and I panicked. I resigned right then and there, thought I was having a heart attack and couldn't handle the job. It's like someone flipped a switch in my brain. Everything was fine, I was pulling 50k, then BAM, you've quit your job and end up hospitalized then homeless. It's amazing how fast you can fall.

With all of societies modern advances in medicine I often wish I could afford to go to a bipolar clinic, like Standford School of Medicine's, or the Mayo Clinic's. I have gone to several DBSA (depression bipolar support alliance) meetings and one younger gentleman discussed how he went to a specialist in Chicago where they evaluated the different level of nutrients in his system to help better guide a medication choice. From his presentation he explained how they looked at the whole person to decide treatment.

Currently I rely on Medicaid with a $863 monthly deductible. Makes it hard to visit even a regular doctor for a cold, let alone any specialists. That's where celebrities have a one up on the rest of us. They have the funds to get the best treatment. The rest of us must rely on private insurance, or in my case the government.