As soon as you get diagnosed with bipolar, one of the first things you’re likely to hear about or read about are all the famous people past and present who are believed to have or have had bipolar. Mental Health Today has a long list categorized by field of endeavor. You’re likely to recognize at least a few names on the list, including…

• Theodore Roosevelt
• Winston Churchill
• Jim Carry
• Patty Duke
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Robin Williams
• Vincent Van Gogh
• Ted Turner
• Buzz Aldrin
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Sylvia Plath
• Darryl Strawberry
• Jane Pauley
• Virginia Woolf

What I would like to see is a list of not-so-famous people who’ve achieved some level of success in their respective fields. If you have bipolar and have achieved some level of success in your profession, please share it with the rest of us on Bipolar Beat. Specifically, I’d like to see the following:

• Profession or area of expertise
• Description of one or more accomplishments in your field
• Whether you think bipolar contributed to your success in some way or was a challenge you had to overcome
• How you balance bipolar with your professional pursuits

If you don’t have bipolar but know of someone who has it and has achieved some level of success because of or despite bipolar, feel free to share that, too, but please do not “out” someone who doesn’t want to be outed.

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From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (May 19, 2009)

    Last reviewed: 19 May 2009