What do you get when you mix a public relations career with prostitution? What do you get when you mix an Art dealing career with forgery? What do you get when you mix jail time and house arrest with electroshock therapy? What do you get if the same person has experienced all of this with a healthy does of Bipolar Disorder ? Andy Behrman From Andy's website: WHO IS ANDY BEHRMAN (A.K.A. ELECTROBOY)? He slept only three hours a night. Sometimes he didn't go to bed for days. He was a public relations agent, an art dealer, a hustler and a forger who made millions. He would fly from Zurich to the Bahamas then back again to balance out the hot and cold. He learned new languages in a week. He spent his money on wild shopping sprees all around the globe, buying up clothing, paintings and extravagant gifts for friends. He gave complete strangers spontaneous gifts of thousands of dollars from the cash he kept in his freezer. He was moving at breakneck speed - - fueling his behavior with drugs and alcohol. After seeing more than eight doctors, he was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Then he was arrested for art forgery and was convicted of fraud. He was sent off to prison. When he was released, he returned home, forced to live in his apartment under house arrest. After two unsuccessful years of experimenting with all different combinations of medication to stabilize his wild mood swings, he opted for intensive bouts of electroshock therapy as a last resort. He was temporarily cured. This interview is about is his story and how he manages his mental struggles. Andy's website:www.electroboy.com Follow Andy on Twitter: @electroboyusa Andy's book: Electroboy - A Memoir of 'Mania'
4 Comments
3/29/2014 04:29:42 pm
Great to see someone who has the ability to communicate complex issues in a way that everyone can understand. As a pro ECT advocate it is also a pleasant surprise to listen to unbiased "lived experience" instead of people who have never had ECT or worse still don't even have a mental illness calling for it to be banned. For some it is a life saving treatment.
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Ana
7/5/2014 08:15:46 am
it's hard when you want to give up on someone who has nothing and doesn't understand his manic episodes. Thank you for your story.
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Kyles
12/15/2014 05:01:36 am
I wish I had the courage to put it out there, not sugar coating a thing like u... People who don't have a mental illness will never understand. And as for ECT, it saved my life... Don't get me wrong it hasn't cured my bipolar, but it saved me from either killing myself or doing time for killing someone. I still ride the rollercoaster everyday, but man ya can't buy highs like I have. But they are few and far between. ECT should be offered to more people.
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