Did Frank Zappa suffer from a mental illness?
John Hopkins
>
> I wonder if Frank Zappa had an undeclared or undiagnosed mental
> illness. He had references to suicide in his songs and seemed very
> moody.
[etc.]
The problem here is not only trying to diagnose posthumously, but also
that the subject was unquestionably brilliant and probably a bona fide
genius -- a *productive* genius at that, such that even if he had an
identified mental illness it probably wouldn't have been in anyone's
interest to treat it, unless he degenerated into outright abuse or
something.
It reminds me of Nietzsche, who *did* eventually go mad. Most of his
best work was done in the four or five years preceding the breakdown,
where it's easy to imagine that his sanity was being nibbled around the
edges. "Ecce Homo," finished just before, is both frightening and
fascinating, with chapter titles like 'Why I Write Such Good Books,' and
'Why I Am A Destiny.'
Fortunately it doesn't affect the good work, except for people who can't
read such things without thinking of what happened later.
/John
LyndaNP
Hi Phineas,
Welcome to the ng.
> I wonder if Frank Zappa had an undeclared or undiagnosed mental
> illness. He had references to suicide in his songs and seemed very
> moody. Also he had to constantly be smoking cigarettes and drinking
> coffee (self-medicating?) which are stimulants perhaps in order to
> keep his mood up. He seemd to be in foul moods sometimes and be
> irritable. He would be quite pleasant in one interview and then very
> nasty and mean in another. He said he was always thinking and couldn't
> turn it off. He talked of places 'beyond love', worked long hours and
> slept during the day. Anyway I could go on.
>Bipolar Disorder (Manic Depression)
From:
http://www.frii.com/~parrot/living.html#bipolars
These individuals have publicly stated that they have experienced manic
depression in their lives.
* Buzz Aldrin, astronaut
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State Department
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Unipolar Disorder (Depression)
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depression in their lives.
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Greg Henry
-g
Phineas wrote:
>
> I wonder if Frank Zappa had an undeclared or undiagnosed mental
> illness. He had references to suicide in his songs and seemed very
> moody. Also he had to constantly be smoking cigarettes and drinking
> coffee (self-medicating?) which are stimulants perhaps in order to
> keep his mood up. He seemd to be in foul moods sometimes and be
> irritable. He would be quite pleasant in one interview and then very
> nasty and mean in another. He said he was always thinking and couldn't
> turn it off. He talked of places 'beyond love', worked long hours and
> slept during the day. Anyway I could go on.
>
> So I wonder if he was suffering from some kind of mood disturbance
> that nevertheless drove him to do the things he did. Perhaps he kept
> the mood disturbance going or did not seek treatment because it drove
> him to do his work. If he was bipolar, he would join a lot of other
> famous and respected musicians who were too, but I've never heard
> anyone talk about whether he was.
>
> -=-Phineas
>
> Phinny's Funhouse............................ http://i.am/dapper/
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BetzBet
>illness. He had references to suicide in his songs and seemed very
>moody.
I am not sure, as we could never diagnose by minimal contact, but my sense is
that he was not.
Frank Zappa was an exceptionally intelligent man. He often spoke about his
genre as an "act" to sell himself. On the few occasions that I met and spoke
with him he appeared to be a most ordinary person. (much to my dismay. I
expected an unusual person, at least.
nuff said,
Betz