Did Abraham Lincoln suffer from a mental illness?

Question

If so, what form of mental illness, and why? Please, only serious answers...

Answer 1

Yes, James, severe depression. On January 23, 1841, he wrote:

"I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth. Whether I shall ever be better I can not tell; I awfully forebode I shall not. To remain as I am is impossible; I must die or be better, it appears to me."

Congressman Robert Wilson, who served with Lincoln in the Illinois legislature, wrote this about Abraham Lincoln:

"...when by himself, he told me that he was so overcome with mental depression, that he never dare carry a knife in his pocket. As long as I was intimately acquainted with him, previous to the commencement of the practice of the law, he never carried a pocket knife, still he was not a misanthropic. He was kind and tender in his treatment to others."

He thought he was melancholy and a hypochondriac; obviously not. Lincoln's depressions, whether they lasted for hours, days, weeks, or months always came to an end. Knowing this, he was able to encourage others. It would seem his own experience led him to believe that depression was not a permanent condition.

Answer 2

He suffered from severe depression. His wife was looked down upon because she was a Southerner, his favorite son died while he was in office, and of course the entire country was at war, with brother pitted against brother. Contrary to what we think now, he was brutally attacked by the press, constantly criticized for his policies from all sides, and considered to be a very unpopular president. Even if he hadn't already tended toward depression, it would have been enough to drive anyone to the brink.

P.S.--Blessedthang is incorrect on one of her points--the First Lady who was epileptic was Andrew Jackson's wife, not Lincoln's. Mary Todd Lincoln threw her money around (and the nation's), and had emotional problems, but she wasn't epileptic (I am--I keep track of these things).

Answer 3

Abraham Lincoln: The 16th president, one of the greatest Americans, suffered from severe, incapacitating and occasionally suicidal depressions, documented in six biographical volumes by Carl Sandburg, and in numerous articles, including, “Dark Veil of Depression” by Judy Folkenburg, National Institute of Mental Health, published in The Consumer.

Answer 4

Lincoln suffered lifelong depression. During one severe episode triggered by the death of his fiancée, Ann Rutledge, in 1835, his close friends, fearing him suicidal, kept constant watch over him. At one point during his presidency, his depression became so severe that he held a cabinet meeting from his bed. He also suffered from frequent nightmares.
For a period of years, Lincoln took blue mass pills to alleviate his depression. The main ingredient of these pills was mercury, which is toxic. Some historians now speculate that mercury poisoning may have accounted for the erratic behavior of Lincoln during the years he was taking the pills. He stopped taking them just after his inauguration and his erratic behavior seemed to subside at the same time. Reports of his behavior are consistent with symptoms of mercury poisoning. However, without hair samples from Lincoln during the period in question, it is impossible to confirm or invalidate this hypothesis.
He once mentioned one of his haunting nightmares to his friend. Lincoln mentioned that he was standing in a mourning crowd surrounding a train, and when he asked a grieving woman what had happened, she replied, "The President has been shot, and he has died."

Answer 5

Most historical mention on this I've read said he was maniac depressive, and, oddly enough, terribly constipated all his life.

He had family problems too. Mary Todd Lincoln was an epileptic and when she went into a seizure Abe would quietly place a handkerchief over her face and try to keep up appearances.

Lincoln was a fascinating subject. Can I recommend Gore Vidal's "Lincoln" as it reads like a novel.

Answer 6

Yes, he suffered from depression and this was way before medical science could come up with medicines like Zoloft, Prozac, and Celexa. It's amazing how he endured depression without medication. I've been off of my meds a few times before and I feel miserable each time.

Answer 7

what style of historic figures? Leaders of worldwide places? Artists? it is a huge question. it is likewise a subjective question because of the fact how psychological ailment is defined now and how it replace into defined interior the previous are very distinctive. 2 who're surely universally generally happening to have been "no longer particularly suitable" in a certifiable way have been Vincent Van Gogh and Adolf Hitler. i could desire to offer you few extra figures that straightforward experience and reason could instruct have been "tormented by psychological ailment" yet i could only be upsetting non secular zealots everywhere.

Answer 8

Most likely depression from the loss of his son...if not other illnesses...

Answer 9

He suffered from depression for most of his life.

Answer 10

He was directly responsible for the death of
800,000 soldiers , I think he had allot on his mind