Celebrities freaking out in the streets and attacking buses; celebrities acting strangely on national television programs; celebrities being found on internet video sites with all their depressive illness for the world to see; and worst of all celebrity suicides due to depressive illnesses. In the lives of celebrities who live with and live through depression, there is little information to be found and when they speak on depression they do so briefly. Not all of them make their way into the national or world spotlight for depression, usually only those who die by their own hand and depression is suspect, as with the case of Jimi Hendrix manic depression.
Jimi Hendrix Manic Depression
Far from being just a song that the man wrote and performed, manic depression is believed to be a part of the life of Jimi Hendrix from his youth. Jimi Hendrix grew up poor to parents who drank too much and fought even more. The difficulties he faced as a child are unimaginable to most of his fans but they were undoubtedly a catalyst for his super stardom. Jimi Hendrix’ manic depression probably began as a result of his feelings about his parents’ all too fragile relationship.
They stuck it out and continued fighting while he became increasingly withdrawn as a result. While he was in elementary school he wanted a guitar so badly that when his father refused to buy anything more than a toy he went into a depressed state. It took his incessant playing of the annoying toy to convince his father to buy him a real guitar which relieved the depression and started him on his road to the stage. Jimi Hendrix’ manic depression was further egged on by the loss of his mother when he was a mere 15 years old.
The manic end pushed by the music that flowed from his soul and the depression that came from his life. He wrote verses to his mother and fought on through that manic depression using a combination of his love for music and the readily available intoxicating substances of the era. Understanding what he went through in his extreme youth helps the listener understand what was behind the words of many of his most famous songs, including “Manic Depression”.
Jimi Hendrix’ flash and incredible ascent to stardom did not seem to affect Jimi Hendrix’ manic depression. The wild man on the stage in front of throngs of fans was the same man who tried to escape feeling isolated, lonely and withdrawn by using whatever drugs were on hand. The drugs only seemed to numb the pain somewhat and as the use increased so did the need. Drug use and abuse numbed and cycled Jimi Hendrix’ manic depression and he ultimately died as a result of them.
