MeanMrsMustard said
I don't think so. We all have our ups and downs. John's were more well-publicized because he was famous.
I think he might have just been slightly more extreme than most. As basically everyone before me said, the drugs were probably a big factor.

Exactly. I think we all need to realize that there were things going on in his life that we probably will never know about, and will at least not understand. We only know the things that were publicized. 

I think John may have fit into a less understood part of the "bipolar spectrum" and had what is called a hyperthymic temperament. Bipolar disorder is characterized by extreme "ups" (episodes of hypomania) and extreme "downs" (more "downs" than "ups"). A person with hyperthymic temperament is the opposite: they live in an almost constant state of "up" and only occasionally experience the "downs." People with this temperament (classic examples are Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt and Bill Clinton, many of the great explorers, Steve Jobs) tend to be great innovators, very driven, creative, good at reading ...]]> Wed, 16 May 2012 17:21:04 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/page-2/#p50440 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/page-2/#p50440 Ever seen 12 Easy Pieces? Jack Nicholson's character reminds me of John. Extraordinarily talented and tortured. Deep down inside, he knew he was an asshole, despite his obvious incredible qualities. 

I also noticed the behavior you mentioned, as sort of "red flags", although I wouldn't go as far as saying I have no doubt, as really I'm not an expert at all.

Also, I was sort of Beatlesing around on the internet a few days ago and noticed this (it's part of a letter from John to Cynthia, in 1965.)

it's only sort of three o'clock in the afternoon and it seems the wrong time of day to feel so ...]]> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:08:30 +0000 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p46443 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p46443 Between what I know of John and my fairly extensive experience with friends and other musicians with bipolar disorder, I am inclined to say very, very likely John was bipolar. Very. Actually, there's no doubt in my mind he was. It almost seems silly to me to try to deny it. If you've ever been in a band with a bipolar person who's not getting treatment, a lot of the stories about John during his Beatles days make a lot of sense. There was a lot of behavior that John exhibited, even well before he got into drugs (which IMO ...]]> Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:48:29 +0000 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44708 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44708 robert said:

sometimes he was and sometimes he wasn't

This is very confusing... isn't that what being bi-polar is? Uhhh

]]> Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:49:08 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44690 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44690 robert said:

sometimes he was and sometimes he wasn't

alright, that officially doesn't make sense....

]]> Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:46:46 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44645 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44645 sometimes he was and sometimes he wasn't

]]> Tue, 18 Oct 2011 00:12:47 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44474 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44474 I don't think so. We all have our ups and downs. John's were more well-publicized because he was famous.
I think he might have just been slightly more extreme than most. As basically everyone before me said, the drugs were probably a big factor.

]]> Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:54:46 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44454 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44454 Zig said:

I think it's a fair question. Like you say, seaglass eyes, it's opinion based unless we knew what was on his medical history. If not bipolar, maybe passive-aggressive? His turbulent background would certainly bring lesser people to their knees.

BTW, don't ever apologize for bringing up a serious topic. It will help offset my silly ones.

Part of the reason I love this site is the silly/serious combination….I'm not sure passive-agressiveness is an actual disorder though. Haven't done research on that.

EDIT: "Passive–aggressive behavior, a personality trait, is passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following through with expectations in ...]]> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:09:31 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44442 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44442 I think it's a fair question. Like you say, seaglass eyes, it's opinion based unless we knew what was on his medical history. If not bipolar, maybe passive-aggressive? His turbulent background would certainly bring lesser people to their knees.

BTW, don't ever apologize for bringing up a serious topic. It will help offset my silly ones.

]]> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:35:09 +0100 http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44439 John Lennon http://www.beatlesbible.com/forum/john-lennon/was-john-bipolar/#p44439 "Into the Sky with Diamonds" said:

Bipolar is to a certain extent a modern term for manic depressive.

Lennon was certainly enthusiastic with every new cause, but I don't know that he was manic; and although he was a tortured soul, I don't know that he was depressive.

But yes, he wasn't "normal" in a statistical sense of the word.

And of course drugs can muddy any mind.

I was using bipolar as the most current term for that disorder, yes. I do think he was in fact depressive, although the drugs did contribute to that. Manic I'm not quite so sure about. From watching ...]]> Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:06:03 +0100