Andy Behrman

After graduation in June of 1984, I moved to Manhattan. My first stop was a psychiatrist, who in less than our first…

— Andy Behrman

As no one knew much about my mental illness, a lot of people had the attitude that I had the capability to…

— Andy Behrman

Friends and family were convinced I was functioning just fine because I was efficient, productive and successful - who wouldn't be working…

— Andy Behrman

I am a rapid-cycling manic-depressive, bi-polar one disorder, which means I can have thirty or forty episodes a year, and I used…

— Andy Behrman

I felt like I was the only person on the planet with this 'thing called depression', and I remember being frightened. I…

— Andy Behrman

People accuse me of glamorizing mental illness. Looking back sometimes, that's true. But I don't feel guilty.

— Andy Behrman

There are lots of people with mental health disabilities, and that's just the way their life is; it's not like you see…

— Andy Behrman

When I'm manic, I'm so awake and alert, that my eyelashes fluttering on the pillow sound like thunder.

— Andy Behrman

I couldn't sleep for nights on end, as my brain felt like there were thoughts colliding within it; I obsessed over small…

— Andy Behrman

In total, I was diagnosed with depression by eight psychotherapists and psychiatrists over a period of thirteen years. Diagnosed wrong. Absolutely wrong.…

— Andy Behrman

Like most manic depressives, some of my symptoms included racing thoughts that I simply had to act upon - flying from New…

— Andy Behrman

I think almost all manic depressives exhibit some kind of criminal behaviour, even if it's something as minimal as shoplifting, but then…

— Andy Behrman

My eating habits are the only behaviour of mine that are still manic. I can't walk by a restaurant, a bakery, an…

— Andy Behrman

Manic depression is a type of depression, technically, and it's the opposite of uni-polar. Manic depression is also called bi-polar disorder. Some…

— Andy Behrman

I counterfeited Mark Kostabi's artworks. During the eighties, Mark didn't paint his own paintings. Instead, he had other artists painting them, and…

— Andy Behrman

Money is a huge issue for manic depressives. Sometimes the problem is not nearly on the same scale as it has been…

— Andy Behrman

Like Sylvia Plath, Natalie Jeanne Champagne invites you so close to the pain and agony of her life of mental illness and…

— Andy Behrman

“Bipolar disorder is about buying a dozen bottles of Heinz ketchup and all eight bottles of Windex in stock at the Food…

— Andy Behrman

Most nights, I'm good for only four or five hours of sleep. That leaves the other 20. I have to fill them…

— Andy Behrman

My ever-present mania meant I was never phased by staying up twenty hours a day or by the different time zones. I…

— Andy Behrman

My manic depression was ravaging my life, but because nobody could see it, many people thought it was a figment of my…

— Andy Behrman

I think, when it comes to psychiatry, that a lot of people are overmedicated. I think when it comes to ECT a…

— Andy Behrman

In my most psychotic stages, I imagine myself chewing on sidewalks and bulging and swallowing sunlight and clouds.

— Andy Behrman

The little depression I experienced during my manic-depression was not like depression as anyone else had ever described it. It was very…

— Andy Behrman

The guilt I felt for having a mental illness was horrible. I prayed for a broken bone that would heal in six…

— Andy Behrman

Weekly $25,000 shopping binges at Barney's and "high end" boutiques for clothes I barely wore were the norm. So were lavish meals…

— Andy Behrman

My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding…

— Andy Behrman