What Do Winston Churchill, Beethoven and Jim Carrey Have in Common?

And the answer is.....all three battled mental illness (aka brain disorder or mental health disorder). If you’re currently struggling with a mental health disorder (according to the World Health Organization 26% of American adults and children do every year), take comfort in the fact that many famous figures from history and many of today’s celebrities - everyone from Michelangelo to Abraham Lincoln and Rodney Dangerfield - have fought battles against diseases of the brain. The simple fact is that people with mental health disorders can enrich lives.

Given today’s bleak economic climate it’s quite possible that a greater percentage of the world’s population is suffering from a serious mental illness than at any other time in history. Unfortunately, many people never seek treatment for serious mental illnesses because of the stigma and prejudice against these disorders and those who have them (which is common in all societies).

One of the most famous examples of how people can overcome serious mental illness is math and economics Nobel laureate John Nash, who struggled with schizophrenia for a large part of his adult life. Nash’s illness and his fight against it are featured in the 2001 film “A Beautiful Mind,” which won Oscars for best picture and best director (Ron Howard).

“A Beautiful Mind” makes one want to understand more about why much of the general public perceives these people as “abnormal” because so many of them are exceptionally talented in certain fields. It is often suggested that genius, especially creative talent, is linked to mental disorder (chronicled in the book “Touched By Fire” by Kay Redfield Jamison). Many of the world’s greatest politicians, artists, comedians and actors battled or are battling brain disorders.

Perhaps when more people realize that mental health problems have complex causes, are no different from diseases that affect other organs, and disable the famous as well as the non-famous, more sufferers will be willing to discuss their experiences to help others.

Our next blog examines twelve famous people with mental health disorders.