Augustine Ihm and his family were in and out of homeless shelters in Chicago through his childhood. Often alone and vulnerable, he was abused and the experience left him racked with shame and estranged from his mother when she didn’t protect him. He has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and uses mindfulness and his […]
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Helping people belong, Augustine Ihm
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Musician and songwriter Stolar says that from a young age, he always had heightened emotions — what he calls ‘emotional superpowers’. But by the time he was studying at NYU, those feelings were running out of control. He has been diagnosed with depression and bipolar disorder. With bipolar in the family, his relatives were able […]
From Harvard to Hospital, Hakeem Rahim
American Advocate Homecoming king, Harvard student at 17, yet this African-American trailblazer did not know what hit him, when a few weeks into college he experienced his first panic attack and, subsequently, a full blown manic episode and hospitalization. An amazingly frank speaker, Rahim is now one of America’s leading mental health advocates. He has […]
When Not Killing Yourself Becomes the Goal, Maggie Robbins
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Hammering it Out – The Bipolar Blacksmith, Bex Simon
Bipolar Blacksmith Becoming a blacksmith saved Bex Simon from succumbing to bipolar disorder. In fact, the illness laid the foundations for her blacksmith business. Praised for her unusual and spectacularly artistic designs, Simon has been off medication since 2009, and lives with her husband and two children. She uses her illness ‘by building like a […]
The Stigma of Bipolar, Thomas Duncan Bell
The Bipolar Businessman In many ways Thomas Duncan Bell is like any other entrepreneur: he runs successful businesses, is driven and ambitious. In his early twenties, however, he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder, after entering a local police station bleeding, pleading for help. He still occasionally suffers, yet is also directing his rather impressive […]