In recent years some very well known people have spoken out about their own episodes of mental illness. They are helping to reduce the stigma attached to imbalance of the mind, and showing the world that brilliance can exist beyond the battle.
Here are the words of just a few:
"I was doing the same thing every night and numbing myself to sleep, the same routine. I couldn’t wait to get home and hide out."
“Every morning it was a struggle to wake up.”
“I was definitely depressed. I cried all the time. I was miserable to be around.”
“There is a lot of shame attached to mental illness, but it’s important that you know that there is hope and a chance for recovery.”
“My actual job in life is managing my mental health.”
"You can live well with a mental illness. It may take time, but it’s worth it.”
"Depression never discriminates. It took me a long time to realise it, but the key is to not be afraid to open up.”
Other inspirational people living and passed who are documented as having suffered from mental illness include: Nina Simone, Frida Kahlo, Mark Twain, Carmen Miranda, Leonard Bernstein, Marie Curie, Karen Carpenter, Ben Stiller, Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Marilyn Monroe, Audra McDonald, Jay-Z, Carrie Fisher, John Mayer, J.K. Rowling, Stephen Fry, Selena Gomez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Fearne Cotton, David Walliams, Pablo Picasso and Tennessee Williams to name only a few.