Researchers say Robert Burns could have had bipolar disorder
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have been studying his writing
Researchers have found Robert Burns may have had bipolar disorder.
A study by academics at the University of Glasgow has looked at more than 800 letters and journals written by the world-famous bard, in an effort to understand his mental state.
They now say they have some evidence to suggest that Burns may have suffered from the condition, with the Bard’s moods cycling between depression and hypomania.
It could explain what they describe as his 'intense creativity, temperamental personality and unstable love life'.
Moira Hansen, the principal researcher on the project, said: “Blue devilism was the term Burns used to describe periods of depression which he suffered, periods which affected his life and his work – not something you would automatically expect of someone with a worldwide reputation for knowing how to enjoy himself – and something that our project is properly studying for the first time.
“During his lifetime and since his death, Burns has often been viewed as a tortured poetic genius which helped to explain his reputation as a lover of life, women and drink. But it is only in the last two decades that it has been mooted he may have suffered from a mood disorder.”
“This project is using modern day methods to track and categorise the bard’s moods and work patterns.
“The work published in this article shows that we can used Burns’s letters as a source of evidence, in place of having the face-to-face interviews a psychiatrist would normally have.
“We have pinpointed evidence which showed bouts of increased energy and hyperactivity, and periods of depression and a withdrawal from day-to-day life."
Further analysis will be carried out by the project which will allow the construction of a “life mood map” to chart the variations of Burns’s mood over his lifetime offering a fuller understanding of Scotland’s national bard.