Depression makes leaders more realistic and empathic, and mania makes them more creative and resilient.

“The illness is a kind of robbery; it robs you of those you love. I don’t want money or power or fame. I just want to keep those I love. And this illness robs them from me. They wake up one day, and I am not the same person, and they say, ‘Who is this?’ And they leave.” The benefits of depression come at a painful, if not deadly, price.

When our world is in tumult, mentally ill leaders function best.

A KEY CHARACTERISTIC of a homoclite leader is that he or she is effective and successful in peacetime or prosperity, but fails during war or crisis.

King tried to commit suicide as a teenager; in fact, King made two attempts.

depressive realism hypothesis. This theory argues that depressed people aren’t depressed because they distort reality; they’re depressed because they see reality more clearly than other people do.

But they don’t fully realize the negative aspects of the disease, which are usually even more pronounced than its benefits: irritability, promiscuous sexuality, and lavish spending.

As with Martin Luther King, Gandhi’s nonviolent method sought to achieve psychological, not just political, ends.

people estimate themselves as more likely to experience positive events than their peers.