After being finally diagnosed with bipolar, my father did everything in his power to re-frame how I thought about myself and what I then considered "a disease".

 

He told me over and over that what I had was not a disorder or disease as much as it was "the Van Gogh Complex" a term that he used to describe people with bipolar who experience heightened creativity - a new way of thinking about the difference.

 

He reminded me that "the Van Gogh Complex" was not as much about being "sick" as it was a reason behind my massive waves of creativity, the ability to complete great projects, and a large part of what made me so passionate.

 

He told me that no one who ever did anything great was "normal". That the "mentally ill" and "those crazy dreamers" were a big part of how the world evolves. Perspective is key.

 

From his perception of me, I grew a context.

 

"Mentally ill" people in this country have no context. They are medicated and shipped off and are given no legitimacy to their dreams. Why wouldn't someone feel sick and rejected given the societal stigma that tells us we have nothing to offer. It is not that we don't need treatment. Many of us and those people of greatness before us have committed suicide, ended up in jail, lost family and connection, become homeless, etc. etc. Modern medicine has helped us to subdue the parts of our condition that would otherwise destroy us.

 

But we aren't always "sick" and we are all just as special and important and in some ways we are unique to a point that may give us some advantage.

 

This group is about changing how you think about "bipolar disorder" by nurturing that creative manifestation we call "the Van Gogh Complex".

 

- Alizon Kiel