Abstract
Background: The representation in multiple media of the expressions of a creative senior citizen with mood and personality disorders is valuable for clinical, research, and teaching purposes. Objective: To document the occurrence of likely bipolar II and histrionic personality disorders in a creative senior citizen utilizing oral and written testimony and drawings by the subject herself. Methods: The author, a close friend of the subject during her final two decades, examines posthumously her memoirs, notes, letters, drawings, photographs, and related materials to produce a psychological record of her life illustrating expressions of sadness, loss, originality, excessive emotionality, and attention seeking. Results: Oral monologues, written notes, and drawings by the subject document the presence of likely bipolar II and histrionic personality disorders in an artistic senior citizen. Conclusions: The occurrence of likely bipolar II and histrionic personality disorders in a senior citizen is confirmed by means of the creative works of the subject in multiple media. This article demonstrates the value of the posthumous synthesis of the extant works of individuals exploiting the technical capabilities of a publication on the Internet to reproduce sounds and images.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 5-23 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | German Journal of Psychiatry |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - Apr 23 2002 |
Keywords
- Aged
- Autobiography
- Bipolar disorder
- Creativeness
- Depression
- Histrionic personality disorder
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health