Lincoln's Melancholy

[Gene C]

(10-06-2016 08:30 AM)ELCore Wrote:  Frankly, I am always annoyed whenever I see this NAMI advertisement that says flat-out that Lincoln had a mental illness.

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I agree. One can suffer from bouts and degrees of depression, which we all do, without having a mental illness. Lincoln found a way or ways to deal with his melancholy, without being mentally ill. Part of this issue is how much we believe the comments that he grieved so hard that he was suicidal, and what definition we give to "mentally ill"

Definition - By Mayo Clinic Staff
"Mental illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior. Examples of mental illness include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviors.

Many people have mental health concerns from time to time. But a mental health concern becomes a mental illness when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent stress and affect your ability to function.

A mental illness can make you miserable and can cause problems in your daily life, such as at school or work or in relationships. In most cases, symptoms can be managed with a combination of medications and talk therapy (psychotherapy)."

That's a pretty broad definition. Using that definition, I could be considered as having a mental illness at times, but as we all know, I am (im)perfectly normal. I guess the key term to this definition is "ongoing" and "frequent".

Lincoln's "melancholy" seemed to be ongoing (throughout his life), but how much did it affect his ability to function?
Have writers and modern biographers taken his "mental health concerns" and magnified them into a "mental illness"?
Your thoughts?