Major General Gregg F. Martin, PhD: Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was First Diagnosed With Mental Illness
An Interview With Stephanie Greer
Learn all you can about the disease. Work collaboratively with your care team, and develop a peer support network of people who can help and support you.
Navigating the complexities of mental illness can be a solitary and daunting path for many. The initial diagnosis often comes with a deluge of emotions, confusion, and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty about the future. It is a pivotal moment where guidance and wisdom from those who have walked this path before can make a significant difference. As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Major General Gregg Martin, PhD, US Army, (Ret).
Major General Gregg F. Martin, PhD, US Army (Retired) is a 36-year combat veteran, bipolar survivor, thriver and warrior. He has commanded and led soldiers from a 30-soldier platoon during the Cold War, to a brigade of 10,000 troops during the Iraq War, to a base of 30K soldiers and civilians. Born with a bipolar brain, he lived on the bipolar spectrum most of his life, which elevated him until it went too high and brought him crashing down — fired, retired and hospitalized, before he began his journey of recovery and new life.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! We really appreciate the courage it takes to publicly share your story. Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your background and your childhood backstory?
I was born in Holbrook Massachusetts in 1956. I loved athletics and was naturally high energy, full of drive, and very competitive — a very successful student-athlete-leader, from high school, through West Point and Army Ranger School, and throughout my 36-year Army career.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite Life Lesson Quote is to “Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude at all times.” It was powerful as an Army leader because one could not control one’s environment — terrible weather, enemy attack, misery, etc — but one could control one’s own attitude. A grateful attitude generated power in me the leader, which was then transfused into the hearts of my soldiers., where they soon believed they could do anything, and accomplish any mission.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Can you share what your journey with mental illness has been like? Can you share the moment you first realized what you were experiencing was a mental illness, and how that initial understanding evolved with time?
After being born with a bipolar brain and living my life moving up the bipolar spectrum, the condition mostly HELPED ME, with extra energy, enthusiasm, drive, creativity, problem solving, creativity, positivity and the like. It wasn’t until November 2014, when my bipolar illness had gone too high, and I had been fired from my bob, forced to retire and was later hospitalized, that I realized there was something seriously wrong — I was hopelessly depressed and was experiencing terrifying psychosis. I clawed my way to the doctor and told him something was seriously wrong with me and my brain. At this point, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder type 1 and psychosis. Although I was elated to receive a diagnosis, my condition went from bad to worse, and I entered what I call two years of “bipolar hell”, an absolutely awful period of deathly suffering.
Was there a turning point for you when things started to change for the better? Can you please share a story?
In March of 2016, I was in such horrible condition, that I was admitted to the Veterans Administration Hospital in White River Junction Vermont. This excellent, multi-disciplinary care helped stabilize me and stopped my further decline. But it took several more months for me to be prescribed lithium, which was a game-changer that stabilized me, caused my bipolar symptoms to vanish, and initiated my journey of recovery.
Who are some of the people in your life who have been on this journey with you? How have they either helped you or made things harder?
There are many, but the most notable are my wife Maggie (the ROCK), my three sons (Phillip, Patrick, Conor), and an Army battle buddy named Bill Barko. Each played a key role in my stabilization and recovery.
How did your personal relationships and social interactions shift following your diagnosis, and what advice would you give to others navigating similar changes?
Once diagnosed, I was completely open and honest about my diagnosis. I felt no stigma or shame, because bipolar illness is a physiological disease of the brain — it’s biologically real, just as much as cancer or diabetes. So my personal relationships and social interactions did not change per se. But what changed was me — as my physical and mental condition declined from bad to worse. In this worsened state, everything declined precipitously, including relationships and interactions.
My advice is to reject any stigma, positively accept your diagnosis, and learn how to begin recovering and how to manage what is a chronic disease of the brain. Work collaboratively with your care team, your spouse and family, friends and work colleagues. Be open and honest and grateful you have a diagnosis and health care (hopefully).
A person with bipolar disorder has two choices: accept their condition and get medical help, which can result in a happy, healthy, purposeful life; or succumb to the stigma, avoid medical help, and follow a path of destruction — ruined marriage, family, career, and finances, as well as homelessness, addictions, prison and death — in other words destruction! The choice is ours.
What are 5 things you learned from your journey that you think other people navigating life with mental illness would benefit from knowing?
1 . Go get medical help. Don’t wait.
2 . Embrace your diagnosis — OWN IT! Don’t shy away or hide from it.
3 . Reject stigma! Mental illness is physiologically real, just like diabetes, cancer or heart disease. It’s not due to a lack of character or moral failing. So don’t blame the afflicted!
4 . Learn all you can about the disease. Work collaboratively with your care team, and develop a peer support network of people who can help and support you.
5 . Religiously take your medications, get therapy, live a healthful life, and anchor these into the “5P’s”: Purpose, People, Place, Perseverance, and Presence.
How has living with mental illness affected your relationships, both romantic and platonic? Any advice for others who are navigating relationships while managing the condition?
It’s been a mixed bag. Some groups of relationships have improved, while others have declined or been destroyed. Bipolar disorder has made me more compassionate, generous and humble, but also more agitated, impatient and angry. It’s critical to be open and honest about all this, and work closely with your spouse or significant other, and your care team. It’s critical to identify triggers and avoid them, even if it means avoiding those people.
Reflecting on your journey, what do you believe are the common misconceptions about mental illness that could be dispelled to support newly diagnosed individuals better?
The ongoing stigma — based on fear and ignorance — that mental illness is not “real”, that it’s just “made up” inside someone’s head. People must accept that IT IS BIOLOGICALLY REAL!!!
What strategies or practices have you found most effective for managing your mental health, and how did you tailor them to fit your unique circumstances?
- Take your meds.
- Work with a therapist.
- Live a healthy life: diet, exercise, sleep, water, low stress, etc
- Anchor these into the “5P’s”: Purpose — develop your own personal Mission; People — build a network of fun, happy, uplifting people; Place: live somewhere you want to be; Perseverance: never quit, always keep fighting, have the will to win against a brutal disease; Presence: develop the ability to get outside of your own head and think objectively about your own thinking — “metacognition”
Looking back, what is one thing you would tell your past self in the wake of your diagnosis, and what message of hope can you offer to those who are just starting to come to terms with their mental illness?
Looking back, I should have lived a more balanced life, with more sleep, less partying and alcohol, and less intensity about my job. This is what my mother told me for years, but I failed to listen.
I would tell others who are just starting to come to terms is that there is HOPE, and if they do the right things, they can and will begin their journey of recovery.
Are there any books, podcasts, or other resources that have helped you understand or manage your condition better?
Books:
-BIPOLAR GENERAL: My Forever War with Mental Illness by Gregg F. Martin
-A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi
-Brainstorm: From Broken to Blessed on the Bipolar Spectrum by Sara Schley
Podcasts: go to CREST.BD Living with Bipolar Disorder, and watch my interview, Sara Schley’s interview, and “The History of Bipolar Disorder”, by Prof. Manuel Carmona de Sanchez.
Dr. Jim Phelps, PsychEducation.org, morphing into PsychEducation208.org
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)
First, Joe Rogan, so we can spread the word and save lives.
Second, Anderson Cooper, for the same reason.
Third, Jake Tapper
Fourth, Nora O’Donnell
Fifth, Oprah
Sixth, John Stewart
How can our readers further follow your work online?
https://www.npr.org/2024/01/16/1225023148/helping-veterans-cope-with-life-after-a-bipolar-diagnosis
Orlando 6 interview with Trooper Steve
https://www.clickorlando.com/video/news/local/2023/09/26/serving-those-who-served-bipolar-general/
Thank you for your time and thoughtful answers. I know many people will gain so much from hearing this.
About The Interviewer: Stephanie Greer, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of Akin Mental Health — a company dedicated to guiding families on their journey supporting a loved one with mental health challenges like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. Stephanie is passionate about this topic from her own personal experience growing up with a mother who struggled with bipolar 1 disorder and found a path forward to overcome the obstacles and live well. Stephanie’s professional experience includes a PhD in neuroscience as well as design research roles at Hopelab and Apple. Stephanie brings this personal passion together with her world class science and technology background to support families across the US in their personal journey’s supporting loved ones with mental illness. To learn more about how Akin Mental Health is supporting families, visit us at akinmh.com.
