tempestuous personality, intense creativity and unstable love life
suggest that he might have suffered from bipolar disorder, according to
Scottish researchers.
The 18th-century Scottish bard produced huge quantities of literary
works, including Auld Lang Syne and A Red, Red, Rose, in bursts of
creativity interspersed with periods of depression and heavy drinking.
According to scientific and literary experts at Glasgow University his
creative spikes, along with his volatile love life, point to the
possibility that he suffered from the condition that affects up to
three million people in Britain.
Dr Daniel Smith, from the university’s Institute of Health and
Wellbeing, said: “Burns had a complicated and some might say tempestuous
personal history, with bouts of melancholic depression, heavy lifelong
alcohol consumption and considerable instability in relationships,
including a series of extramarital affairs.
“Although it is difficult to prove conclusively, it is possible that his
life history and his prodigious literary outputs may have been
influenced by a recurrent disorder of -Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/books/robert-burns-could-have-suffered-bipolar-disorder-1-3427401
Robert Burns’
tempestuous personality, intense creativity and unstable love life
suggest that he might have suffered from bipolar disorder, according to
Scottish researchers.
The 18th-century Scottish bard produced huge quantities of literary
works, including Auld Lang Syne and A Red, Red, Rose, in bursts of
creativity interspersed with periods of depression and heavy drinking.
According to scientific and literary experts at Glasgow University his
creative spikes, along with his volatile love life, point to the
possibility that he suffered from the condition that
affects up to
three million
people in Britain.
Dr Daniel Smith, from the university’s Institute of Health and
Wellbeing, said: “Burns had a complicated and some might say tempestuous
personal history, with bouts of melancholic depression, heavy lifelong
alcohol consumption and considerable instability in relationships,
including a series of extramarital affairs.
“Although it is difficult to prove conclusively, it is possible that his
life history and his prodigious literary outputs may have been
influenced by a recurrent disorder of
Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/books/robert-burns-could-have-suffered-bipolar-disorder-1-3427401
Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/culture/books/robert-burns-could-have-suffered-bipolar-disorder-1-3427401