Some great leaders had mental illness – and it may have helped
Some of America’s greatest leaders in history have had mental health problems and it may have helped in times of crisis, psychiatrists and psychologists said.
Presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, along with Civil War generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, all struggled with mental health issues, often depression, said Tufts University psychiatry professor Dr. Nassir Ghaemi, who has written about historical figures’ psychological issues. He also points to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and India’s Mahatma Gandhi as major historical figures who thrived while having emotional issues.
“Some of those mental health problems can, in fact, make for greatness,” said Katherine Nordal, a psychologist who heads the American Psychological Association’s professional practice program. Other professionals agreed.
Saying someone has psychiatric issues, “in my view … is a compliment,” said Ghaemi, author of the book “A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links between Leadership and Mental Illness.” He used medical and historical records to analyze historical figures.
Manic depressive people are often more creative, more empathetic and realistic than those who appeared to be more mentally healthy, Ghaemi said. These people tend to succeed in times of crisis and fail in times of peace and prosperity, he said.
Two sets of leaders illustrate that.
Sherman was severely depressed, reportedly suicidal, while Gen. George McClellan was considered mentally healthy but not a successful general in crisis, Ghaemi said. Grant, who had a problem with alcohol, excelled during wartime but did not do well as a peacetime president, he said.
More recently, Churchill suffered repeated long bouts of depression, which he was open about, calling it his “black dog.” His predecessor as prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, was the same political party – conservative – but more mentally healthy and yet didn’t see the threat of Adolf Hitler.
Churchill thrived in the crisis of wartime but failed in the post-war peace and prosperity, Ghaemi said.
In 2011, Ghaemi told NPR he reviewed Kennedy’s medical records. "His behaviors have been well known — his hypersexuality, his high energy — what I do is to go into the medical records and show how those symptoms really are consistent with this temperament called hyperthymic temperament in psychiatry, which means mild manic symptoms all the time. And then I base these diagnoses not just on these symptoms, but family history, because these illnesses are genetic.”
The struggle with mental health that some people endure can take a toll, but some leaders — and Ghaemi's book counts the 35th president among them — emerge from that struggle more sure of themselves.
Information from NPR is included in this report.
This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Some great leaders had mental illness – and it may have helped."