Jeff Tweedy of Wilco wrote an interesting piece in the New York Times yesterday about his life-long battle with migraines, depression, and anxiety. Though I have never suffered headaches in my life, I completely understand what it’s like to vomit for 12 hours at a time. In my case it was due to anxiety, though for some years I laboured under the misconception that it was an ulcer.

One of the more impacting passages from his piece, for me anyway, was…

“I’m sure there were misperceptions about my condition. You know, seeing a rock musician vomit on the side of the stage, I’m sure people thought I was completely out of my mind on drugs or strung out.”

Prior to my diagnosis, and getting on the proper medication, many of you might recall images of me looking as if I was akin to a skeleton. I had been rail-thin my whole life, rarely ate, and never quite understood why. Drugs have never been a factor in my life, and for ten years, between the ages of 20 and 30, I didn’t drink. I was thin because of the affects of intense mania, though wouldn’t figure that out until I was properly diagnosed. My mood swings were also a result of my condition, but that didn’t stop a lot of people from thinking that I was a drug user.

At one point in my life I weighed a mere 134 pounds. Standing six feet tall, that’s extremely thin. I now weigh 180 lbs, but even my gaining weight didn’t stop some from claiming that I was ‘getting fat’. It was, and is, somewhat of a no win situation with regards to public perception.

I commend Tweedy for being so open about his problems. Besides being one of the best songwriters of my generation, in my opinion anyway, it’s good to know that he’s also courageous enough to speak publicly about his experiences.