Disclaimer: This article contains highly sensitive content regarding mental health.
Every human struggles with their mental health at some point and to different extents. In sharing the stories of these historical figures, I hope to reduce the stigma and negative connotations surrounding the topic of mental health. Regardless of whether society deems these figures to be admirable and heroic or not, it cannot be disputed that these figures showed bravery. I hope that others take inspiration to similarly embrace their strengths in the face of their personal trials and tribulations.
1. Abraham Lincoln
The fatalistic American President battled clinical depression and anxiety attacks regularly since childhood, something that ran in his family. Allegedly, Lincoln could be seen weeping in public and taking continuous interest in melancholy poems; he even discussed suicide on multiple occasions, forcing his friends to remove dangerous objects (such as knives) from his room. In a letter to his law partner (January 23, 1841) he wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth."
2. Julius Caesar
The Roman Emperor is thought to have suffered from epilepsy or otherwise small strokes (which allegedly led to depression later in his life), seizures and vertigo. The impact of the vertigo even affected him in crucial situations such as the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC where he collapsed but still managed to defeat his opponent, Scipio.
3. Winston Churchill
The British Prime Minister suffered from depression, mania, suicidal thoughts, insomnia, and bipolar disorder. Churchill stated: "I don’t like standing near the edge of a platform when an express train is passing through. I like to stand back and, if possible, get a pillar between me and the train. I don’t like to stand by the side of a ship and look down into the water. A second’s action would end everything. A few drops of desperation." He even referred to his own depression as a "black dog". Churchill eventually developed a loss in appetite, energy and ability to concentrate. He spent less time from activities he previously took interest in and spent an increased amount of time in bed. This contrasted other times where Churchill had excessive energy and found it hard to sleep, thus stayed up all night talking and dictating his thoughts. He would fall back into a pattern of not talking or having ideas and energy for months.
4. Princess Diana of Wales
Diana suffered from bulimia, low self-esteem, anxiety and severe depression. Following her marriage to Prince Charles, she became increasingly depressed and self-harmed regularly attempting to cut her wrists with blades. On instances, this got so extreme that she threw herself down the main staircase at Sandringham whilst pregnant. Diana stated that "The bulimia started the week after we got engaged. My husband put his hand on my waistline and said something like, ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ And that triggered off something in me." A few months after the wedding, she began to have suicidal thoughts, "I was about to cut my wrists," she said. "I came [back to London] to seek treatment. I was in such a bad way. Couldn’t sleep, didn’t eat, the whole world was collapsing around me."
5. Martin Luther King Jr.
King attempted suicide twice in adolescence and refused to seek psychiatric treatment. However, this led to his ability to be empathetic towards others - a central aspect of his iconic principles. When he was 12 years old, he committed his second suicide attempt and jumped out of a second-story window due to the trauma that the death of his grandmother Jennie had left him with. He blamed himself for this tragedy because he attended a parade that his parents forbade on the same day his maternal grandmother had a heart attack. This heightened his existing sense of guilt because he failed to look after his six year old younger brother who accidentally hit their grandmother as he was sliding down a banister. The hit knocked her unconscious. As a result, King was unable to sleep for numerous days after this incident.
6. Mahatma Gandhi
Gandhi attempted suicide in his teens and was known for being reclusive, shy and sensitive. His depression became increasingly severe and he became increasingly pessimistic and fatalistic following India's independence in 1947 due to the fact that he was proclaimed the "father of his country" yet failed to solve the pressing issues of poverty, hunger and violence in India. He was particularly upset at the partition of India (with a predominantly Hindu population) and Pakistan (with a predominantly Muslim population) as this contrasted his lifelong continuous campaigns for peace, such as his Non-Cooperation Movement. He even became doubtful that he would live for much longer as he stated "I don't want to live in darkness."
Conclusion
It was important for me to include images of each figure smiling to remind those out there struggling with their own thoughts that despite all these internal battles, you have the strength to be strong, brave, charismatic and heroic - most importantly, you have the means to become your own hero.
References:
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Shenk, J. (October, 2005). Lincoln's Great Depression. The Atlantic, Politics
Sample, I. (April 14, 2015). Julius Caesar may have suffered mini-strokes, say doctors, The Guardian
Ghaemi, N. (January 23, 2015). Winston Churchill and his 'black dog' of greatness, The Conversation, Health and Medicine
Farrell, J. (September 24, 2017). Charles sought second opinion on troubled Diana after Queen’s doctor believed she had a ‘dangerous’ mental disorder, Independent
Evans, T. (June 12, 2017). Princess Diana 'tried to slash her wrists' just weeks after marrying Prince Charles, Daily Star
James, K. (1984). From Mohandas to Mahatma: The Spiritual Metamorphosis of Gandhi, Essays in History, Vol. 28, pp. 5-20 Corcoran Department of History of the University of Virginia
Goalcoast, (2017). Martin Luther King: I Attempted Suicide
Bayne, B. (2013). Although King is one of U.S. history's most widely chronicled individuals, there are aspects of his life that are less well-known. Alternet
Firman, T. (2017). The Surprising Thing That Helped Princess Diana Overcome Mental Illness, Well Good