The Bible and Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar is characterized by extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania) and lows (depression). The length of each episode varies. During manic phases, individuals may feel euphoric, full of energy, or unusually irritable. In contrast, depressive episodes can lead to feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest in activities.
Are there persons in the Bible who suffer from bipolar?
There is at least one person who demonstrates symptoms of bi-polar—King Saul. Israel's first king is one of the more complicated figures in Scripture. While it might be a stretch to diagnose him, very few people doubt that he goes from one extreme to the next. Let's look closer at Saul.
Saul had grandiose or inflated thoughts about himself. After the prophet Samuel was delayed in coming, Saul took it upon himself to perform the priestly role of offering sacrifices. “He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So, he said, ‘Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings’ (1Sam.13:8-9). This inflated view of himself cost him the kingdom (13:13). A little later, he even erected a monument to himself (15:12).
He also showed erratic and unpredictable behavior. Once he bound his troops to a foolish oath. “'Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!' So, none of the troops tasted food” (1Sam.14:24). When his son Jonathan broke the oath, he was going to kill him (v.44). Another time when prophesying, he stripped off his clothes and lay naked on the ground (1Sam,19:23-24). We should note that there were other prophets prophesying alongside of Saul, but he’s the only one who took off his clothes.
Saul became extremely fixated on David. It is a common trait of persons with bipolar disorder to fixate on an event or person. When this fixation occurs, they can begin to trace their current situation or problem to that event or person. This is what we see in King Saul.
This fixation culminated in a paranoid pursuit of David, which took him across the Judean countryside. Instead of ruling as king, he declared, “I will track him down among all the clans of Judah” (1Sam.23:23). Eventually, in a last-ditch paranoid effort, he disguised himself in order to inquire of a medium to conjure the spirit of Samuel, who had already died—even though Saul himself had forbidden the use of mediums (28:3-15). The king certainly demonstrated erratic behavior unbecoming to his position that was fueled by jealously, fear, and paranoia.
Saul engaged in increasingly risky (and dangerous) behavior. The king’s fixation became disastrous and deadly. He became obsessed with David, frequently going on a homicidal rage to kill him. He made at least nine attempts to kill David. “While David was playing the lyre, Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear” (1Sam.19:9-10). Saul’s obsession wasn’t merely paranoia, it also proved to be deadly. He killed those whom he even perceived as siding with his enemy. In chapter 22 we read of how he slaughtered priest, families, and even a whole town. "The king ordered the guards at his side: 'Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because they too have sided with David'...That day he killed eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. He also put to the sword Nob, the town of the priests, with its men and women, its children and infants, and its cattle, donkeys and sheep” (1Sam.22:16-19).
Even his son Jonathan wasn’t immune, “Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse” (1Sam.20:30)!
Were these symptoms of mania? Probably, but it's difficult to know for certain. In the very least, we can say with confidence that Saul's behavior was certainly times erratic at times and very unpredictable.
The best insight into what Saul experienced is found in what the writer calls being “tormented by an evil spirit” (1 Sam. 16:14, 15, 16, 23; 18:10; 19:9). “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, ‘See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you’” (1 Sam.16:14-15). These episodes typify Saul's extremes. They describe him as being "tormented" (בָּעַת, terrified, came upon him suddenly) by an evil (רַע) spirit. The Hebrew word translated “evil” (NIV, KJV), “harmful” (ESV) can mean evil, harmful, bad or even deformed. The writer is simply drawing a contrast between “the Spirit of the LORD” that departed Saul and something different and harmful that replaced him. We can’t really get much more precise than that, but he’s probably not talking about demons.
Don't get thrown off when you read that the evil spirit came "from the Lord." While it's true that Saul had fallen out of the LORD's favor, still it is hard to see how listening to music would drive out the demonic. Certainly, God could have sent an evil spirit to torment the king, but if he did this would be the one and only time it ever happened. Most times, God sends angels, prophets, and plagues. He doesn't usually use evil spirits to accomplish his work.
Instead, a better way to understand "an evil spirit from the Lord" is to see it as the best way the writer could explain the odd, erratic behavior of their king. He used the language of his day to describe what he saw in the best way possible. Saul had done some bad things and now he was acting erratic; therefore, this must be from God. The people of that day had no idea what depression and mania were, so they described it the best way they could.
Interestingly enough, Saul’s relief came from hearing music (not exorcism). “Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better’… Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.” (1Sam.16:14-23).
When David played music, the text uses three verbs to describe what happened:
Then relief would come (רָרַח) to Saul...
he would feel better (טוֺב), and
he evil spirit would leave him" (סוּר) (v.23).
Whatever these "evil spirits" were, they were accompanied by swift mood swings. An honest look at the experience of Saul and the "evil spirits" is most likely a combination of sustained depression and manic episodes.
King Saul's behavior demonstrates several key symptoms of bipolar: grandiose thoughts about himself, erratic and unpredictable behavior that become increasingly risky or even dangerous. Add to this the description of "being tormented by evil spirits" and we may be looking at a person struggling with bipolar disorder.
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