Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
4 Leaders that Have Mental Health Problems - Agenda - The World Economic Forum
Citation preview
12/2/2015 4 great leaders who had mental health problems Agenda The World Economic Forum
https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/10/4greatleaderswhohadmentalhealthproblems/?utm_content=buffer8b07a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=faceboo… 1/5
Mental health conditions have often mistakenly been associated with weakness, andthe stigma of being labelled “mentally ill” is sometimes as big a burden as thecondition itself. While mental health literacy might be improving, too many of us stillbelieve in dated ideas such as the one that says people with mental health problemscan’t hold down a job.
In fact, some of our most iconic leaders suffered from mental healthconditions.“Mania enhances creativity and resilience to trauma, while depressionincreases realism and empathy,” writes Nassir Ghaemi, a professor of psychiatry,who has carried out extensive research on the link between mental illness andleadership.
Ghaemi’s research not only proves that people suffering from a mental health illnesscan be great leaders – it also suggests they can make better leaders: “When timesare good and the ship of state only needs to sail straight, mentally healthy peoplefunction well as political leaders. But in times of crisis and tumult, those who arementally abnormal, even ill, become the greatest leaders.”
As these four inspiring leaders show, it’s time to dispel the myths of the past andstop stigmatizing something that affects one in four people at some point in theirlives. We must listen to Ghaemi’s words and recognize that for some people, “theirweakness is the secret of their strength”.
Abraham Lincoln
According to letters written by his friends, Lincoln was “the most depressed person
GLOBAL REGIONAL INDUSTRY
Global Health & Healthcare
4 great leaders who had mental health problemsBy Stéphanie ThomsonOct 9 2015
AGENDA SIGN IN SUBSCRIBE
12/2/2015 4 great leaders who had mental health problems Agenda The World Economic Forum
https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/10/4greatleaderswhohadmentalhealthproblems/?utm_content=buffer8b07a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=faceboo… 2/5
they’d ever seen” and it seems from research that depression ran in his family.
But it wasn’t always that way. As a young man, acquaintances remembered him forhis sunny disposition: “I never saw Mr Lincoln angry or desponding,” said a fellowsoldier in the Black Hawk War, “but always cheerful.” After several personaltragedies – including the death of his sister and a close friend – he started to sufferwith bouts of depression. They were sometimes so extreme that friends worried hewould take his life: “Lincoln was locked up by his friends … to prevent derangementor suicide,” one villager in New Salem said.
In Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled HisGreatness, Joshua Wolf Shenk shows how the president who led the US through itsbloody civil war managed to turn his suffering into strength.
Winston Churchill
Churchill spoke very openly about his depression and went through a particularlysevere period in the years before the First World War: “For two or three years, thelight faded from the picture. I did my work. I sat in the House of Commons. But ablack depression settled on me,” he later told his doctor.
According to a recent biography, the legendary British wartime leader found greatcomfort in creative activities: “His creativedepressive personality meant that writing(or painting, or bricklaying) was a way of keeping the ‘black dog’ of depression atbay.” As a result, he produced more words than Shakespeare and Dickenscombined, and while now famous for his political leadership, he also became one ofthe highest paid journalists of his time.
But the shadow of depression followed him most of his life: “I don’t like standing nearthe edge of a platform when an express train is passing through. I like to stand backand, if possible, get a pillar between me and the train. I don’t like to stand by the sideof a ship and look down into the water. A second’s action would end everything. Afew drops of desperation.”
12/2/2015 4 great leaders who had mental health problems Agenda The World Economic Forum
https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/10/4greatleaderswhohadmentalhealthproblems/?utm_content=buffer8b07a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=faceboo… 3/5
Martin Luther King Jr
Despite being one of the most widely researched leaders of modern times, very littleis ever written about Martin Luther King Jr’s experience with depression. As a 1968Time Magazine profile of him notes, he twice attempted to commit suicide before theage of 13, following the death of his grandmother.
He suffered several bouts of severe depression, and shortly before he wasassassinated, his staff even tried to get him psychiatric treatment, which he turneddown. But it was one of the characteristics often found in people who suffer fromdepression – an extreme form of empathy – that drove the civil rights leader toachieve all he did. Addressing a conference of psychologists in 1967, he dismissedtheir desire to always “cure” maladjustment: “There are some things concerningwhich we must always be maladjusted if we are to be people of good will.”
Princess Diana
After marrying the heir to the British throne, Princess Diana was propelled into thepublic spotlight. The intense pressure and scrutiny of her new role left her feelingdesperate and alone. Although she did not speak about it at the time, she opened upin a 1995 interview with the BBC: “I had never had depression in my life. But thenwhen I analysed it I could see that the changes I’d made in the last year had allcaught up with me, and my body was saying: we want a rest.”
Rather than receiving support, her struggles with mental health problems were thesource of scorn and amusement in the British press: “It gave everybody a wonderfulnew label – Diana’s unstable and Diana’s mentally unbalanced. And unfortunatelythat seems to have stuck.”
2K+ 829
12/2/2015 4 great leaders who had mental health problems Agenda The World Economic Forum
https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/10/4greatleaderswhohadmentalhealthproblems/?utm_content=buffer8b07a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=faceboo… 4/5
Agendablog Depression Forum Global Health & Healthcare Leadership Mental Health Suicide
World Mental Health Day
The stigma of these labels pushed her further into depression: “When no one listensto you, all sorts of things happen.” She started to selfharm and struggled withbulimia for a number of years. “I didn’t like myself; I was ashamed because I couldn’tcope with the pressures.”
Author: Stéphanie Thomson is an Editor at the World Economic Forum
Image: Plaster phrenological models of heads, showing different parts of the brain,are seen. REUTERS/Chris Helgren.
Posted by Stéphanie Thomson 11:31
All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform
dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Comments are closed.
Related posts
Suggested next articles
Follow Us
Forum on Twitter
Is Africa winning thewar against...DONALD ARMBRECHT
Would you want tolive to 120?DONALD ARMBRECHT
You like this
World Economic Forum861,397 likes
Liked Sign Up
12/2/2015 4 great leaders who had mental health problems Agenda The World Economic Forum
https://agenda.weforum.org/2015/10/4greatleaderswhohadmentalhealthproblems/?utm_content=buffer8b07a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=faceboo… 5/5
How the renminbi became an elite currency wef.ch/1N3lemL #China #economics pic.twitter.com/0YRMMGcNrC
World Economic Forum @wef
Expand
47 quotes on #leadership worth repeating wef.ch/1QdRecf pic.twitter.com/FKcsb8NHx6
World Economic Forum @wef
Expand
How will #climatechange affect the world's
World Economic Forum @wef
8m
29m
36m
Communities
Strategic Partners
Industry Partners
Foundation Partners
Global Agenda Councils
Global Growth Companies
Global Leadership Fellows
Technology Pioneers
Schwab Foundation
Young Global Leaders
Global Shapers
Women Leaders and GenderParity
Civil Society
Academic Networks
Reports
Global Risks Report
Global Competitiveness Report
Global Gender Gap Report
Useful links
Events
Annual Meeting 2015
Annual Meeting of the NewChampions 2015
About us
Our Mission
Leadership and Governance
Our Members
History
Klaus Schwab
Careers
Contact Us
Open Forum
World Economic Forum USA
中文
日本語
Privacy & Terms of Use
Access
IBC area
IMC area
Strategic Partners’ area
Partner Institutes’ area
Sitemap
Home
Blog
Reports
Events
Projects
Communities
Media
NewsCommunity News
Event News
Forum News
Issue News
Report News
Media Advisory
Videos
Press
Fictitious email warning
Subscribe
Committed to improving the state of the world
