These Authors Have Helped Normalize the Discussion on Mental Health

According to the World Health Organization, more than 264 million people suffer from depression around the world. Even with its prevalence, there is still a lot of negative stigma surrounding depression and mental illness. According to a 2016 study by scientific journal Embo Reports, “there is no country, society, or culture where people with mental illness have the same societal value as people without mental illness.”

At Copper, our mission is to remain curious and inquisitive, especially about such ubiquitous and important topics as mental wellness. A study from the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that the lives of authors lean toward depression and psychiatric disorders. So we did a little research and found a few famous authors who lived with mental illness. We hope that sharing their stories will help dispel shame or negative stereotypes and encourage open dialogue about mental health.

1. Sylvia Plath

Best known for her poetry collections, “The Colossus and Other Poems” and “Ariel,” the author and poet is said to have begun writing at the age of 8. At 30 years old, Sylvia Plath died by suicide in her home in London after years of struggling with depression and many suicide attempts. On her tombstone, it reads, “Even amidst fierce flames the golden lotus can be planted.”

2. Ernest Hemingway

Although Ernest Hemingway lived with depression, borderline and narcissistic personality traits, bipolar disorder, and psychosis, he never sought out medical attention or therapy. He died by suicide in 1961, and his family today is known for a long history of mental illness. In his lifetime, the novelist, short story writer, and journalist, had a great impact on American literature, particularly with his most acclaimed work, Pulitzer prize-winning “The Old Man and the Sea.”

3. Mark Twain

Mark Twain was a literary visionary of his time. Famous for his works, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” humorist Mark Twain is known to have struggled with depression and bipolar disorder for most of his life. Twain faced a lot of loss in his life that is said to have led to bouts of depression, including the deaths of his wife, three children, and his close friend, Henry Huttleston Rogers.

4. Virginia Woolf

Regarded as one of the most iconic literary figures of the 20th century, Virginia Woolf began struggling with depression in her teens and lived with the mental illness for the rest of her life. Virginia suffered from several emotional breakdowns and mood swings in tandem with the deaths of her mother, of her sister two years later, and of her father in 1905 due to cancer. In 1941, Virginia died by suicide, and although headlines tried to paint her as a gloomy, melancholy person, her writings convery her vivaciousness and love for nature’s beauty.

5. F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was a man of many artistic talents. The novelist, screenwriter, essayist, and short story writer and his wife Zelda were known for their glamorous lifestyle that was on full display in Fitzgerald’s literary masterpiece, “The Great Gatsby.” However, behind the scenes, he struggled with alcoholism, substance abuse, and depression.

6. Leo Tolstoy

Author Leo Tolstoy proves that literary success and fame doesn’t equate to happiness. After his success following the release of “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” at 50 years old, Tolstoy is said to have been suicidal and depressed. He wrote about his struggles in “A Confession” where he shares his depressed thoughts and feelings as a means of helping others overcome the “soul sickness.”

7. Emily Dickinson

In one of her most famous poems said to be written around 1861, Emily Dickinson wrote, “Hope is the thing with feathers. That perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words. And never stops at all.” It is thought that she wrote about hope in her poetry from a place of longing and perhaps, even despair. Although she was never officially diagnosed with depression or bipolar disorder, the tone of her work, her self-isolating behavior, and her mention of a “sickness” in her writings led many to believe that she lived with a mental health disorder as well as epilepsy.

If more creatives, artists, and authors shared about their mental wellness journeys, how would that make a difference? Share it with us @meetcopper so we can continue to share them with our Copper Community.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash