World Bipolar Day commemorates the birthday of iconic bipolar artist Vincent van Gogh on March 30 each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have embraced the moniker, \u201cBipolar General,\u201d taking great pride and gratitude in the fact that I have survived more than 20 years of bipolar disorder, a brutal disease of the brain that included thrilling mania, hopeless depression and terrifying psychosis (delusions and hallucinations). I survived bipolar hell. I\u2019m on a miraculous journey of recovery, rebuilding my bipolar-shattered life into one of health, happiness and purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From my teens through most of my career, I was at the low end of the bipolar spectrum, experiencing \u201chyperthymia\u201d, a state of near-continual mild mania. It surely enhanced and boosted my natural talents as a student, athlete and leader, giving me extra energy, enthusiasm, drive, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and more. This condition was below the level of actual bipolar disorder, and was a blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This run lasted from high school, through West Point and Army Ranger School, graduate school at MIT, and throughout most of my Army career, up to the rank of colonel, and even into the first years as a general officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My hyperthymia was like a natural miracle drug that worked wonders, until it went too high, morphing into actual bipolar disorder, with my genetic predisposition for the disorder triggered by the intense stress, thrill and euphoria of leading soldiers in combat during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\t