Many different theories have circulated regarding the artist’s exact psychiatric diagnosis in the years leading up to his suicide, but one of the most compelling is that Van Gogh had bipolar disorder.
This theory was originally set out in a 1938 German book, but a 2020 study by Dutch academics set out to elucidate this speculation using hundreds of his letters as evidence.
Ahead of World Bipolar Day, celebrated each year on his birthday (March 30), the BBC spoke to one of the study’s authors.
“We were lucky to have studied almost a thousand letters that Van Gogh wrote to his brother and others, and on which we base our conclusions,” says retired professor of psychiatry Willem Nolen, of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.
Nolen told the BBC that the letters gave his team the opportunity to examine evidence of symptoms with the aim of making a diagnosis.
The authors’ intention was to carry out an “extensive diagnostic interview” of Van Gogh, the patient, through his letters, in order to analyze his psychiatric situation, although they recognize that the painter was not writing for a doctor and it is possible that has not always been completely honest in his descriptions.
“He may have exaggerated his symptoms in his letters to his brother because he needed more money and more support. But one can also imagine that when he wrote a letter to other family members, including his mother, perhaps it made the symptoms sound less serious,” Professor Nolen noted.
What is bipolar disorder
- It is a mental illness that affects moods and is characterized by a dramatic change from one extreme to another.
- It is a relatively common condition, estimated to affect around one in 100 people.
- There are different types of bipolar disorder. Those with type I experience periods of manic and depressive highs and lows. Those with type II experience severe depression and mild manic episodes, known as hypomania, that last a shorter period of time. Those with cyclothymia experience less severe mood swings, but they may last longer.
- Men and women of all backgrounds are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder, and although it can occur at any age, people in their late teens are particularly vulnerable, as it often develops between the ages of 15 and 19.
- Each extreme episode of bipolar disorder can last several weeks (or even longer).
Treatments include:
- Long-term medications known as mood stabilizers to prevent the onset of episodes of mania and depression.
- Medications to treat symptoms when they occur.
- Psychological treatment to help deal with depression.
- Lifestyle tips, such as exercising regularly, improving your diet, and getting more sleep.
Source: UK National Health Service (UK NHS).
6 volumes of letters
How can we be sure that he had this disorder instead of suffering from others such as schizophrenia, neurosyphilis or poisoning? The answer lies in the evidence she left behind.
Professor Nolen reviewed the six volumes of letters. Three different art historians from the Vincent van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands, all experts on the painter’s life and work, were interviewed for the study.
The conclusion reached by the study carried out by researchers in the International Journal of Bipolar Disorder was that Van Gogh had developed bipolar disorder, with features of borderline personality disorderand that “probably worsened due to alcohol consumption combined with malnutrition.”
During his life, Van Gogh himself showed signs of not fully understanding what was happening to him. He wrote of a “mental or nervous fever or madness.” “I don’t know exactly what to say or how to name her,” he said. At first, possibly to reassure his family, he described his illness as “a simple attack of an artist’s madness.”
But the study authors found evidence that he suffered from depression during adolescence, met criteria for borderline personality disorder, drank heavily, and he self-harmed. It is the indications that he went through distinct phases of depression and mania that point most clearly to bipolar disorder.
“It is not entirely clear what form of bipolar disorder he suffered from, because although his episodes of depression were clearly very severe we cannot determine from the letters whether he suffered from the manic side,” Professor Nolen explained.
We know from his artistic production that there were moments in Van Gogh’s life, especially towards the end, in which he was very productive, painting portraits and self-portraits, fields and flowersand the Saint-Remy asylum, where he stayed for more than a year.
Professor Nolen says it is possible that Van Gogh painted more when he was in a hypomanic state, and this phase of bipolar disorder is sometimes associated with episodes of extreme creativity.
Several current celebrities have spoken openly regarding their own experiences with the disorder, including Mariah Carey, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez and Bebe Rexha.and a large number of musicians, actors and artists, living and dead, have described symptoms very similar to those of bipolar disorder.
There are also hints of the depressive phase of the disorder in Van Gogh’s letters and art, says Professor Nolen.
Had “at least 10 depressive episodesif not more, and things became more serious even though he was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital for more than a year.”
According to Van Nolen, during serious and depressive episodes, Van Gogh did not paint as much; sometimes he didn’t even do it for long periods or he only painted “very sad” works.
Vincent van Gogh had a tough and struggling life, both as an artist (he only sold one painting during his lifetime) and with his mental health, but Professor Nolen believes his story would probably have been different today.
“He would probably have been diagnosedhe would have been given advice to stop drinking and perhaps he would not fall into depressive and manic episodes.”
“Whether or not it would have an effect on his quality as a painter is very difficult to say, but he probably would not have committed suicide.”
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