What hurt Van Gogh. Experts found signs of schizophrenia in the great artist

Why did Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear? What was the exact nature of his illness? And why did he kill himself? The exhibition "On the Edge of Madness: Van Gogh and His Illnesses" at the artist's museum in Amsterdam will focus directly on his state of health for the first time. And during the accompanying symposium, both art historians and doctors will discuss the symptoms and diagnoses of the famous post-impressionist.

The story of Van Gogh's struggle with the disease will be told by approximately 25 paintings and drawings that the artist made in the last year and a half of his life, as well as many documents and letters from that period.

Vincent Van Gogh. Still life with a plate and onions. 01.1889, 50×64 cm

Among the exhibits will be not only works belonging to the Van Gogh Museum, but also several treasures borrowed from other institutions. For example, these are two paintings painted after the "ear incident" in 1888 - "Still Life with Bulbs" from the Dutch Kröller-Müller Museum, as well as a portrait of Felix Rey, the artist's doctor, from the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. This painting will be shown in Amsterdam for the first time.

Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait at the Easel (1887)

Visitors will be able to see original letters and unique documents that have not yet been exhibited to the public. Among them is a police report and a petition signed in 1889 by the inhabitants of Arles, in this city in southern France, Van Gogh suffered several breakdowns. The local population turned to the mayor with a demand to forcibly place the artist in a psychiatric clinic.

Vincent Van Gogh. Portrait of Dr. Ray. 1889, 64×53 cm

In the end, Van Gogh decided to voluntarily move to an asylum for the insane in Saint-Remy. Paintings and drawings from this period, such as the Orphanage Garden at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, show his battle with illness and how work became his only lifeline.

Vincent Van Gogh. Shelter garden. 1889, 71.5×90.5 cm

The final section of the exhibition contains the unfinished painting Tree Roots, which the 37-year-old artist apparently worked on on July 27, 1890, the day he shot himself in the heart with a revolver.

Vincent Van Gogh. Wheat field with reaper and sun. 06.1889, 72×92 cm

Van Gogh had a number of symptoms - hallucinations, memory lapses, unpredictable behavior towards relatives, friends and strangers. “No one could live with him,” says Steven Naifeh, co-author of Van Gogh: A Life, published in 2011. Throughout his life, the artist also suffered from epilepsy, bipolar and borderline personality disorders.

Vincent van Gogh, Poppies and Butterflies (May 1889). Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

On September 14, the Van Gogh Museum will host an expert meeting where international medical luminaries and Van Gogh experts will attempt to formulate a diagnosis for the painter. Their findings will be presented the next day. Scholars will also discuss the potential role that the disease played in his work, comparing its history with the cases of other artists.

“Van Gogh certainly suffered from some mental illness exacerbated by alcohol,” says Dr. Kramer, an exhibition consultant. - As for epilepsy, in France at that time it was a fashionable diagnosis. If you had hiccups, it could also be called epilepsy.”

Vincent Van Gogh. Landscape at dusk. 06.1890, 50.2×101 cm

Van Gogh's medical "fascination" can be traced back to his attending physician, Felix Rey, who claimed to have kept the famous patient's ear in a jar in his office.

Stephen Nyfle noticed that many doctors tried to diagnose Van Gogh in order to satisfy their own ambitions. He cites some, in his opinion, unlikely assumptions made over many decades. One is acute intermittent porphyria, which is a metabolic disorder that can cause hallucinogenic delusions. This disease is believed to have been the cause of British King George III's bouts of insanity.

Another example is Meniere's disease, a disease of the inner ear in which fluid accumulated in it affects the orientation of the body in space and balance. Proponents of this diagnosis claim that Van Gogh cut off part of his ear in order to stop tinnitus - the hallmark of this disease.

Emil Schuffnecker, copy of Vincent van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1892-1900)

The biographer himself believes that Van Gogh suffered from a combination of temporal lobe epilepsy (a neurological disorder that causes debilitating seizures) and bipolar disorder. In addition, Stephen Nyfle is sure that this condition was aggravated by the absinthe that the artist drank, and mercury, with which he may have treated syphilis.

The exhibition "On the Edge of Madness: Van Gogh and His Illnesses" opens in Amsterdam on July 15 and runs until September 25.

Journal "Medical Psychology in Russia";

Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Chuvash State University named after I.N. Ulyanova (Cheboksary).

Email: [email protected]

Annotation. Mostly according to foreign literature, the development and course of mental disorders of Vincent van Gogh are analyzed. Their presence is not in doubt among specialists, however, the unambiguous qualification of the mental state seems difficult due to the retrospective nature of the analysis and the influence of a complex of various factors. The most plausible, in the opinion of the author of the article, is still the conclusion about the artist's affective organic psychosis as an atypical form of manic-depressive psychosis with a continual bipolar course. Clinical features are confirmed by organic changes in the brain, stereotype of development and prognosis. Among the etiological factors, there is a fairly wide range of factors: genetic, generic, toxic, circulatory, metabolic and malnutrition; predisposing factors are closely intertwined with provocative (socio-psychological), so the disorders proceed unfavorably and progressively. Thoughts about death, suicidal intentions and attempts can be traced throughout the illness, the motives of "protest, cry for help" are replaced by a firm decision to die. Van Gogh's suicide is not accidental; it fits congruently into the clinical picture of his mental disorder.

Keywords: Vincent van Gogh, mental disorders, suicide, pathography.

"Instead of falling into despair,
I chose active melancholy...
hoping, striving, seeking…”

Vincent van Gogh [T. 1. S. 108. 2]

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) - the world-famous Dutch artist, a representative of post-impressionism, as you know, suffered from mental disorders, and therefore was in psychiatric hospitals for a long time. In the literature, discussions around the various aspects of this topic, as well as their influence on fine art, have not ceased to this day. Much attention is occupied by discussions of the reasons for the suicide of the artist. The vast majority of works are published in foreign languages, which makes it difficult for domestic specialists to get acquainted with them. Therefore, on the one hand, we tried to acquaint readers with unfamiliar facts from the life and history of Van Gogh's illness, diagnostic judgments of doctors of various specialties, on the other hand, to summarize them and put forward our own opinion on the issues under discussion. The basis for this study was the letters of Van Gogh, the famous works of N.A. Dmitrieva and A. Perryusho, published in Russian, as well as numerous foreign articles. Initially, the materials of I. Stone were used (I. Stone. Lust for Life: The Tale of Vincent Van Gogh / Translated from English by N. Bannikov. - St. Petersburg: North-West, 1993. - 511 p.), however, we considered them redundant and omitted from the final text of the article.

Brief history of life. Vincent's mother was 34 years old at birth, the first child died a year ago, 6 weeks after birth. The significant asymmetry of the face, the unevenness of the skull and the peculiarities of temperament (significant emotionality) allowed some scientists (Gastout) to suggest that he received a birth injury. Frequent headaches since childhood can also testify to this.

Vincent grew up as a taciturn and sullen child, shunned his younger brothers and sisters, did not take part in children's games. Because of the "attacks of rage" the children were afraid of him. I chose entertainment in which I could retire. He liked to wander alone around the outskirts of the town, where he collected plants and insects, visited the cemetery where his brother rested. I developed a passion for reading early on. Moreover, he read everything in a row "from novels to philosophical and theological books."

Until the age of 11 I went to a local school. He differed from his classmates in an uncompromising, disobedient, difficult and contradictory character. “Not wanting to submit to any discipline, he showed such unrestraint, and he behaved so defiantly with fellow students that the pastor (father) had to take him out of school.” From the age of 12 to 14 he studied at a boarding school in the small town of Zevenbergen, and then for another one and a half to two years at the King Wilhelm II High School in Tilburg. At the age of 15 (1868) Van Gogh left his studies. It is known that "he quarreled with his parents every now and then."

In 1869 (16 years old) he went to work in the Hague branch of the Goupil & Co company as an apprentice art dealer, where he worked for four years. In May 1873 (aged 20) he transferred to the London branch. At the end of August, he fell unrequitedly in love with Ursula Leuer.

In May 1875 he transferred to Paris. On April 1, 1876, he received a settlement from the manager of the firm for violating labor discipline. From this time until December 1876 he worked in England as an assistant teacher in Mr. Stock's boarding house. In January-April 1877 he worked in Holland as a bookseller. May 1877 to July 1878 prepared to enter the theological faculty. However, he entered a missionary school, where he studied for three months. At the same time, he began to draw (27 years old). At the end of school, he was denied a position, subsequently sent to the mining town of Borinage (November 1878 - November 1880), where he served as a preacher. During the inspection, Van Gogh was dismissed by the Commissioner of the Evangelical Society for "deplorable excessive zeal" and lack of such qualities as "common sense and moderation, which are so necessary for a good missionary." He returned to his parents in Etten, where he stayed for eight months (April - December 1881). After another quarrel with his father, he leaves for The Hague in December 1881, lives there for two years with the prostitute Sin and her children. Then he moved to Nuenen (1883-1885), where he made about 240 drawings and painted about 180 paintings. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Antwerp (1885 - March 1886), then moved to Paris (1886 - February 1888). There he attended a private school, got acquainted with the art of the Impressionists, studied the technique of Japanese engraving and "the synthetic canvases of P. Gauguin." More than 20 self-portraits of Van Gogh have survived from the Parisian period. In 1888-1889. lived in Arles (France). In 14 months he created about 200 paintings. From May to July 29, 1889, with short breaks, he was treated in the psychiatric hospitals of Saint-Remy-de-Provence and Auvers-sur-Oise. During this time he painted 70 canvases. On July 27, 1890, he committed suicide: he shot himself in the chest with a pistol. July 29, 1890 died.

History of the disease. The mother's sister and her other relatives suffered from "epilepsy attacks". Vincent's younger siblings were also found to be mentally ill: Theo had psychotic disorders due to kidney disease (uremia) shortly before his death; according to other sources, he suffered from paralytic dementia, which was the cause of his death. Gornelis (Gornelis) after an unsuccessful marriage is recruited as a volunteer in the army of the Boers in South Africa with the aim of dying in battle (wanted to commit suicide); the youngest sister - Wilhelmina (Wilhelmina) - at the age of 35 fell ill with schizophrenia, was periodically treated in a psychiatric hospital, died there at the age of 79 years.

From childhood he suffered from headaches. It has been suggested that "the constant participation of the father in the funeral ceremonies was reflected in the impressionable child and this partly explains his tendency to melancholy and thoughts about life and death." Since 1872 (19 years old), his correspondence with his brother Theo (15 years old) began. Already in the letters of that period, there are repeatedly repeated sayings “I am sad, but always joyful” and “... seek joy and light in sorrow.”

He suffered his first rather deep depressive state at the age of 20 after an unsuccessful declaration of love. For several months, he remained despondent, withdrawn from any social contact, and had little contact with his family. “The former exemplary employee seemed to have been replaced. According to eyewitnesses, he is gloomy, irritable, ... plunged into hopeless despair, ... lonely. In his first sermon (1876) he develops the idea of ​​"the fusion of sorrow with joy in the human heart"; that "... suffering is higher than joy, but joy and hope rises from the abyss of sorrow." Periodically, he was visited by thoughts of suicide: "I had breakfast with a piece of dry bread and a glass of beer - Dickens recommends this remedy to all who attempt suicide as a sure way to turn away from their intention for a while."

He arrived at work in a bookstore in Dordrecht (South Holland) in his "Quaker clothes" (23 years old), which caused bewilderment among employees. Surrounding considered Vincent "an eccentric guy", "mocked him." He showed no zeal for trade, was only interested in the content of books, led an ascetic lifestyle. Even his own sister wrote that "he was stupefied with piety ...". Around the same time (24 years old) he came at night on foot from Etten to the Zundert cemetery to meet the sunrise there. During his illness, he often recalled childhood events, a cemetery, all the way up to a magpie's nest on a tall acacia near the cemetery. In the spring, he undertook a distant campaign from the Borinage to the French province of Pas de Calais (where one of the artists he revered, Jules Breton, lived). “On the way there, Vincent spent the night either in a haystack or in an abandoned cart, trading some of his drawings for bread. The pilgrimage restored his vigor.

While attending a missionary school and serving as a preacher, “does not care at all about his appearance, dresses haphazardly… Suffering from a bad memory, making it difficult for him to remember the texts of sermons… Lost sleep and lost weight… nervousness with outbursts of rage… Eccentric guy with sudden outbursts of anger… Distributed to the poor all my clothes and money as a preacher in Wama.” Most of the time he walked barefoot, was "not like everyone else." ON THE. Dmitrieva in her monograph describes that Vincent in the Borinage (1879) deliberately walked barefoot, deliberately smeared his face with coal and almost tried to resurrect the dead. But there was no foolishness in his behavior: otherwise, the miners would hardly have trusted him ... . Whether this was so is not known, but those around him mocked him, called him blessed for his excessive exaltation, indecent behavior ... At times he was overcome by "hopeless longing", but sometimes he was seized by "gusts of frenzy" ... Many residents considered him insane. Tireless, does not eat, does not sleep, he gave away everything he had long ago during a typhus epidemic.

Everyone who has come across Vincent is struck by his sadness, "frightening sadness". In a letter (1880) to his brother Theo, Vincent agrees that he is "a man of passions, capable and inclined to commit more or less reckless acts," of which he later repents. Those around him consider him "a nonentity and a slacker of the worst kind". “Instead of indulging in despair, I chose the path of active sadness, as far as I can be active - in other words, I preferred sadness, inactive, detached sadness, full of hopes, aspirations and quests.”

In all available literature about Van Gogh, an episode of his not quite adequate behavior is described: he suggested to the bride's parents: “... as long as I hold my hand on the fire of this lamp, let Kee (the bride, cousin, pastor Stricker's daughter) be here and listen to me for so many minutes! I don't need anything more! And in front of his horrified parents, he immediately stretched out his hand into the fire. Traces of burns on the hands then for a long time were the subject of gossip. The inhabitants of Etten called Vincent a loafer and a debauchee. His father considered him a useless, finished man, accused him of immorality because he fell in love with his cousin and stopped going to church. The pastor even "began to talk about the establishment of guardianship over his son, about the deprivation of his civil rights because of his insanity" .

Van Gogh suffered from sleep disorders with early awakenings. It is known that, as soon as he woke up, he immediately began to draw to improve his condition. The letters preserved the experiences of that period of illness: “... how infinitely sad life is! And yet I cannot surrender to the power of sadness, I must find some way out, I must work ... ". “... to make amends, I have to work hard; when all illusions are gone, work is a necessity and one of the few joys left. Work thus gives peace and peace of mind ... ".

Vincent was despised and treated like never before. The inhabitants of the village laughed at him only at the one appearance of the "dirty man", this loser ... .

He suffered the death of his father very hard: “It is easier for me to die than to live. Dying is hard, but living is even harder. Against the backdrop of ideas of self-accusation and self-abasement, he renounced his part of the inheritance.

His health is undermined by hardships (he sits on one bread and smokes a lot to deceive hunger) ... one after another, 12 teeth crumbled, his digestion was upset, he coughs, he has vomiting. "I'm quickly turning into an old man - shriveled, bearded, toothless - that's at 34".

He eats almost nothing, but drinks a lot of coffee and a little alcohol. He became addicted to absinthe, to this cloudy and poisonous drink ... For four days in a row he drinks only coffee - 23 cups. Often he sits on one bread ... Vincent was in a state of nervous anxiety, which now rarely let him go - peace was not given.

With one of the artists, the Scotsman Alexander Reed, he conceived the idea of ​​committing suicide together.

Paroxysmal states with episodes of sudden horror, specific sensations in the epigastric region, fluctuations of consciousness appeared at Van Gogh in Paris (1886-1888), while taking absinthe. There is evidence of periodic initial spasms in the hand, astonished and staring eyes, accompanied by a confused-amnestic phase of consciousness. During that period, he "always had dizziness and terrible nightmares ...".

Van Gogh always alternated periods of desire for solitude and silence with periods when he was attracted to city life and motley crowds; then, tired, he again yearned to plunge into silence, and then again began to yearn for the exciting injections of the city ... . “He used to be extremely silent, then unbridled noisy and talkative.” Increased agitation, expressed in a tendency to noisy disputes and even quarrels, was rather the result of absinthe, which Van Gogh began to abuse in Paris, while he had not previously been addicted to alcohol.

Vincent is especially bad at winter. He then falls into depression, then indulges in outbursts of unexpected anger, every day becoming more irritable and intolerant. April 20 - “The excitement of the past weeks subsides - he again feels physical weakness. Summer is his favorite season, but even then: "... he often felt depressed, could not resist black melancholy - especially on cloudy rainy days."

The thought of duty often depressed Vincent. He kept returning to the agonizing thought that he would never return the money spent on him to his brother: “a rather sad prospect of repeating to myself that maybe my painting will never be of any value.”

At the end of 1888, Van Gogh lived and worked with Gauguin for two months. In the evening they regularly visited the brothels and cafes, where they always ordered absinthe. Against the background of his consumption, Van Gogh develops hallucinations that caused a quarrel with Gauguin and "rage against himself", as a result of which he cut off his left ear, put it in an envelope and gave it to a prostitute. After that, he fell asleep quite soundly, and later with difficulty reproduced the dramatic events that had happened to him.

For the first time in his life, he was hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital with an "attack of violent insanity." He was placed in an isolation ward: he stamps his feet, he has auditory and visual hallucinations. Trainee Ray qualifies the condition as a special form of epilepsy (Dr. Jurpar confirmed: "Violent insanity with general delirium" p. 278). “Two days later, on January 1, Vincent was already fully conscious. At first, he did not remember his attack. Only gradually did he begin to realize that a catastrophe had occurred in his life.

01/07/1889 Vincent was finally discharged from the hospital. “He is depressed, for several days he cannot write a letter to Theo. At night, he suffers from insomnia and strange nightmares, which he hid from Dr. Ray. He is afraid to sleep alone, not sure that he will be able to fall asleep. He generously sprinkles camphor on his mattress, scatters it around the room.

The mental state remains rather unstable, the mood is constantly changing for short periods of time: “Feverish excitement, depressed state of mind, a new flash of enthusiasm and again a breakdown. Then it begins to seem that they want to poison him. At the beginning of December 1889, his mind again darkened ...

Information about Van Gogh's mental disorders is rapidly spreading among the inhabitants of Arles. Surrounding him is constantly bullied, ostracized: “touched” shout after him and throw stones ... He walks in a fur hat, in clothes stained with paint, wears a warm coat and a neckerchief in the heat ... [S. 290.5]. Later, residents wrote a petition to the mayor of the town, demanding that Van Gogh be sent to a psychiatric hospital. On the background of treatment, only a slight improvement is observed. Still "deep sadness burdens his soul." Sometimes he is "covered by a causeless strange longing, and sometimes a feeling of emptiness and fatigue in the brain."

1890 "If it were not for your friendship, I would have committed suicide without regret, and cowardly as I am, I still would have ended it." Suicide is that "vent" through which "it is given to us to protest," he writes in a letter to his brother.

A. Perruchot describes one of the attacks of the disease in this way: “Vincent ran a brush over the canvas, and suddenly his fingers cramped, his eyes became wandering, and he thrashed in a violent fit” ... For 3 weeks, until the very end of July, his mind did not return to Vincent. In moments of especially acute attacks, he screamed, fought back, screamed so terribly that a spasm cramped his throat and he could not eat. He had religious hallucinations." Seizures appear every 2-3 months.

20.02. again a terrible seizure - the longest violent seizures were replaced by bouts of severe depression ... Only in the first half of April the patient's delirium subsided, began to emerge from the severe stupefaction that always accompanied bouts of illness ...

When the condition worsened, Van Gogh became impulsive, agitated, could hit the warden or attempted suicide. In one of these episodes, it seemed to him that the crowd was chasing him, the police were chasing him ... He tried to poison himself with paints from tubes, an antidote was given .... During periods when delusions and hallucinations were reduced, vital depression came to the fore with a feeling of loneliness, ideas of self-accusation, self-abasement and suicidal thoughts: “Totally alone! The soul is tormented by longing. With the energy of despair, he again grabs the brush.

Van Gogh's suicide was a deliberate and prepared act. He took a pistol from a friend under the pretext of hunting crows, carried it with him for several days. “Vincent walks around gloomy, anxious,” he admits to the innkeeper that he is no longer able to bear it, that he does not have the strength to live. Another bout of "hopeless longing", obviously, was the last straw that led to the implementation of conceived suicidal plans.

Creativity and mental disorders. Van Gogh belongs to art historians as Post-Impressionists. This direction, which appeared in the mid-80s of the XIX century, replaced impressionism (from the French impression - impression). The Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary says that, “taking the purity and sonority of color from impressionism, post-impressionism opposed it with the search for permanent beginnings of being, stable material and spiritual entities, generalizing, synthetic painting methods, increased interest in philosophical and symbolic aspects, in decorative and stylizing and formal ways."

Van Gogh became an artist at the age of 27, after the onset of a mental breakdown. The depressive (affective) state is somehow visible in the titles and plot of his works (Fig. 1-4). "Sorrow", "Grieving Old Man", "Weeping Woman", "Melancholia", etc. - as Vincent called his works - which are the embodiment of joylessness and grief. The drawing "Sorrow", as follows from the text of Van Gogh's letter to his brother Theo, "... the best of those figures that I painted, so I decided to send it to you ... ... I was not ashamed to show you a little melancholy. I wanted to say this, as in Michelet's book:

But there is an emptiness in the heart,

Which nothing can fill."

Drawings by Van Gogh [by 5]

Sorrow. November 1882. A grieving old man. May 1890.

Weeping woman. March-April 1883. A woman in a cap. 1883.

His works are characterized by "passionate emotionality", "acutely dramatic perception of life", they are sustained in a "gloomy scale" (the first half of the 80s of the XIX century); since 1888 - "painfully intense, extremely expressive manner, built on contrasting colors, impetuous rhythm, on the free dynamics of a pasty brushstroke". Vincent also works on still lifes. He paints a skull with a cigar, an ominous image, colored with some kind of terrible irony, a real death challenge; the picture sprinkles with mighty, almost satanic fun ... ". Cezanne (1886) looks at them, landscapes and portraits of Van Gogh, shakes his head and exclaims: “By God, this is the painting of a madman!” . Contemporaries of his paintings were disappointed and ridiculed: "all these cold gray tones, which are considered refined, although in fact they are flat, uninteresting, childishly helplessly composed" . No wonder he was so attracted by contrasting colors - he knew how to feel the strange harmony of spiritual contrasts: joy - suffering; calmness - tension; consolation - drama. His best canvases are both dramatic and upbeat festive,” N.A. Dmitriev.

After visiting Paris and the influence of the Impressionists, the palette of his paintings changed. He completely expelled dark tones from his palette. As N. Smirnov writes ( Afterword), it has two primary colors - yellow and blue. The first is from pale lemon to bright orange. Identified in his mind with the concept of "life". The second - from blue to almost black, expressed "impassionate eternity", "fatal inevitability" and "death". However, the change in the color palette, with a predominance of yellow, is explained by some scientists as xanthopsia (visual impairment when objects appear to be colored yellow) as a result of poisoning with digitalis (digitis) and / or santonin. P. Lanthony interprets two specific features in Van Gogh's paintings as follows: colored halos are determined by the artist's glaucoma, and the dominance of yellow is determined by digitalis xanthopsia.

ON THE. Dmitrieva points out that part of the public saw Van Gogh as a “strange”, “obsessed”, “mystic”, “visionary” artist one-sidedly. Perhaps these assessments reflect mainly knowledge of his mental disorder and suicide.

Psychiatric (medical) diagnoses.

Numerous diagnostic judgments of doctors are ambiguous and very variable, reaching 30 different diseases. Getting acquainted with them, we can say that almost the entire spectrum of private psychiatry was discussed: adjustment disorders, borderline mental disorder with transformation into a psychoorganic syndrome, epilepsy with affective disorders and psychosis, dysphoric disorder, cycloid psychosis, organic disorder. Among other diagnoses, there are: diffuse meningoencephalitis, schizophrenia, mental degeneration and constitutional psychopathy, alcoholism [cit. according to 21] and others. Psychoanalysts offered their own interpretation of mental disorders and its individual manifestations in the form of self-harm, called Van Gogh syndrome.

E. van Meekeren (2000) believes that Van Gogh for a long period of his life showed symptoms of the so-called borderline (personality) disorder (borderline = personality disorder): impulsivity, mood lability, feeling (fear) of abandonment, self-damaging behavior. The influence of hereditary psychopathological predisposition, together with malnutrition, intoxication and exhaustion, could contribute to the transformation of a borderline mental disorder into a psychoorganic syndrome with psychotic and convulsive components.

There are many works that testify to Van Gogh's epilepsy, but mental disorders are either not discussed in them, or are considered as an independent pathology. Meanwhile, according to the authoritative opinion of Gasteau, the basis of mental disorders, nevertheless, is fronto-parietal epilepsy, provoked by the consumption of absinthe and the presence of early damage to the limbic system of the brain.

However, even the most common diagnostic conclusion - epilepsy - is questioned. In particular, a very interesting hypothesis is put forward that Van Gogh suffered from Meniere's disease (an inner ear pathology) and not epilepsy. As you know, for the clinic of this disease, bouts of dizziness are very characteristic, often with the fall of the patient. Since Meniere's disease was described only after Van Gogh's death, the authors, based on an analysis of the letters and the clinic, consider the diagnosis of epilepsy in the artist to be erroneous. J.B. Hughes denies not only epilepsy, but also Meniere's disease, leaning toward the qualification of Geschwind's syndrome, which often coexists with fronto-parietal epilepsy. This decision is confirmed by the absence of spontaneous seizures. Convulsive states, as is known, appeared against the background of chronic malnutrition and alcoholism, with the use of large doses of absinthe, causing typical convulsive states.

The opinion about lead poisoning contained in oil paints and other toxic substances is very peculiar. Characteristic complaints found in letters to his brother Theo are given, which allow us to speak of neurotoxic encephalopathy and suicide as an influence of Saturnism. Other toxic substances discussed include: bromides, camphor, oils from absinthe, cognac (absinthe), nicotine, and turpentine. The consequence of chronic intoxication may be the diagnosis of organic mental disorder due to cerebral damage or somatic disease (F.06) or organic personality disorder (F.07, ICD-10).

R.H. Rahe (1990) illustrates the impact of psychosocial stress in the development of adjustment disorder. The author substantiates his point of view with a diagram of life with a specific chronology of events accompanying the development and further dynamics of the disease. The most pathogenic event may be the stigma of a mental disorder. As well shown in the description of the artist's life, throughout his short life he was influenced by family and social stigma, being, in fact, an outcast of society.

Some authors, including K. Jaspers, diagnosed the artist with paranoid schizophrenia. However, the absence of the main (basic) symptoms of this disease and the presence of psychotic episodes with clouding of consciousness and complete recovery make it doubtful. Neurosyphilis can be rejected for similar reasons: lack of information about infection and a characteristic clinic.

Van Gogh was characterized by long episodes of depression with periods of (hypo)mania. His career as an evangelist ends when an "altruistic religious mania" develops. Bipolar disorder is accompanied by periods of very high energy, enthusiasm and productivity, followed by episodes of depression, so common among writers and artists. The deepening of depression during his life in Paris was a factor in the beginning of the use of absinthe, which hastened his second major illness - epilepsy. Van Gogh suffered seizures only after drinking absinthe, which increases seizure activity. The seizures were partial, indicating a latent epileptic focus, probably located in the mesotemporal region. They contributed to the development of interictal dysphoric disorder, as well as psychotic episodes with persistent amnesia. Van Gogh's suicide may have been an unexpected event, possibly exacerbating dysphoric disorder.

An extremely tempting hypothesis is the point of view about cycloid psychosis in the understanding of Kleist-Leonhard. We are talking about an intermediate atypical endogenous psychosis, something in between schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis. This can be supported by the corresponding clinical picture of Van Gogh's mental disorder ("autochthonous lability"), constitutional features and a favorable prognosis (no mental defects).

The influence of brother Theo's illness on Van Gogh's suicide is very interesting. According to the archives of the psychiatric center in Utrecht, Theo van Gogh suffered from paralytic dementia, the first symptoms of which were noted as early as 1886. Their rapid progression by 1890 during Vincent's visit to his brother in Paris could be the decisive motive for the great artist's suicide.

E. van Meekeren considers the reasons for Van Gogh's suicide to be stress (social isolation, the status of a mentally ill person with a poor prognosis), intoxication caused by the treatment of a mental disorder, and brother Theo's illness.

Conclusion. The most plausible, in our opinion, is the conclusion about affective organic psychosis in the understanding of T.Ya. Khvilivitsky (1959). It is also called an atypical form of manic-depressive psychosis. Mental disorders are characterized with a continual bipolar course in the form of short-period rhythms (fast cycles). At the same time, the coexistence of depressive and manic states with disorders of consciousness is not only denied, but allowed; an increase in the frequency of attacks of the disease; the presence of diffuse neurological symptoms. Clinical features are confirmed by organic changes in the brain related to the intrauterine and birth period, or early childhood. Here it is appropriate to recall the phenomenon (hypothesis) of J. Ballenger, R. Post (1978, 1980) - amygdala kindling ("ignition") in the occurrence of affective disorders. Toxic (metabolic and circulatory disorders and malnutrition) and other irritations (factors), affecting the brain (limbic system and amygdala complex), lead to discharge, which is expressed in the form of convulsive and / or affective manifestations. In the case of Van Gogh, one can probably speak of an increase in organic disorders, a gradual progression of mental disorders, a transition from an affective register to a convulsive and hallucinatory-delusional one. At times, it is permissible to assume the presence of mixed states - the coexistence of depression and mania (irritation, arousal with the affect of melancholy; "anxious hypomania", "smiling (ironic) depression"). In the Parisian period of life, when against the background of drinking alcohol (absinthe, cognac, etc.) for the first time tonic spasms with fluctuations of consciousness appeared, one cannot exclude “raush-mania (depression) - a combination of manic (depressive) states with an obnubilation of consciousness. Mental disorders progress, they make it more and more difficult, and at times make impossible the process of artistic creation, that last opportunity to somehow cling to life, adapt to the environment, get away from numerous and insoluble problems (“... I will never reach those heights, from which the disease overthrew me ... ").

The diagnosis of epilepsy with affective and psychotic disorders is unlikely. This may be evidenced by the late onset of the disease, the appearance of seizures against the background of intoxication and the use of absinthe, the polymorphism of their manifestations and atypicality. Moreover, there are no characteristic epileptic personality changes (to his brother's wife, he seemed to be a "strongly built, broad-shouldered man" with a "cheerful expression and a healthy complexion", "in whose whole appearance one could feel stubbornness"). ON THE. Dmitriev characterizes Van Gogh in this way: "... generally condescending and tolerant of human shortcomings, unforgiving".

Our point of view is that Van Gogh's suicide fits into the clinical picture of his mental disorder. As mentioned above, against the background of a depressed mood, he was often visited by thoughts of his own death and he repeatedly attempted suicide. Van Gogh's suicidal behavior, like mental disorders, is also subject to unfavorable dynamics. Suicidal thoughts, plans are transformed into persistent suicidal intentions and actions. Suicidal behavior of the type of protest is replaced by suicidal behavior of the type of refusal to live. The artist, disillusioned with faith (“... I find this whole system of worship to be disgusting” ...), lost his religious rejection of suicide, was not afraid to discuss this possibility with his brother and those around him, to hatch plans for its implementation. Life gave more and more reasons to reinforce ideas about the complete hopelessness and meaninglessness of their further existence. The last attempt, which ended in a fatal outcome - the result of a firm decision to die, was made at the height of a depressive state and an existential vacuum.

Literature

1. Bleikher V.M., Kruk I.V. Explanatory dictionary of psychiatric terms. - Voronezh: NPO "MODEK", 1995. - 640 p.
2. Van Gogh Vincent. Letters: in 2 volumes / Per. and comment. N. Shchekotova; Ed. I. Luppov and A. Efros. - M.: TERRA, 1994. - T. 1. 432 p.; T.2. - 400 s.
3. Vovin R.Ya., Kühne G.E., Sverdlov L.S. and etc. Secondary prevention of mental illness // Pharmacotherapeutic bases for the rehabilitation of the mentally ill / Ed. R.Ya. Vovina, G.E. Kuehne. - M.: Medicine, 1989. - Ch. 8. - S. 214-242.
4. Dmitrieva N.A. Van Gogh: The Man and the Artist. - M.: Nauka, 1984. - 400 p.
5. Perryusho A. Van Gogh's life. - Per. from fr. - M.: Raduga, 1987. - 383 p.
6. Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov. 4th ed. M.: Sov. Encyclopedia, 1989. 1632 p.
7. Arenberg L.K., Countryman L.F., Berstein L.H., Shambaugh G.T.Jr. Van Gogh had Meniere's disease and not epilepsy // JAMA, 1991. - V. 265, N 6. - P. 722-724.
8. Arnold W.N., Loftus L.S. Xanthopsia and van Gogh's yellow palette // Eye, 1991. - V. 5, Pt. 5. - P. 503-510.
9. Benezech M., Addad M. Van Gogh, the stigmatized man of the society // Ann. Med. Psychol., 1984. - V. 142, N 9. - P. 1161-1171.
10. Berggren L. Drugs and poisons in the life of Vincent van Gogh // Sven. Med. Tidskr., 1997. - V. 1, N 1. - P. 125-134.
11. Bloomer D. The illness of Vincent van Gogh // Am. J. Psychiatry, 2002. - V. 159, N 4. - P. 519-526.
12. Bonkovsky H.L., Cable E.E., Cable J.W. et al. Porphyrogenic properties of the terpenes camphor, pinene, and thujone (with a note on historic implications for absinthe and the illness of Vincent van Gogh // Biochem. Pharmacol., 1992. - V. 43, N 11. - P. 2359-2368 .
13. Hughes J.R. A reappraisal of the possible seizures of Vincent van Gogh // Epilepsy Behav., 2005. - V. 6, N 4. - P. 504-510.
14. Lanthony P. Van Gogh's xanthopsia // Bull. soc. Ophthalmol. Fr., 1989. - V. 89, N 10. - P. 1133-1134.
15. Lee T.C. Van Gogh's vision. Digitalis intoxication? // JAMA, 1981. - V. 245, N 7. - P. 727-729.
16. Lemke S., Lemke C. The psychiatric disease of Vincent van Gogh // Nervenarzt, 1994. - V. 65, N 9. - P. 594-598.
17. van Meekeren F. Psychiatric case history of Vincent van Gogh//Ned. Tridschr. Geneeskd., 2000. - V. 144, N 52. - P. 2509-2514.
18. Mehlum L. Suicidal process and suicidal motives. Suicide illustrated by the art, life and illness of Vincent Van Gogh // Tidsskr. nor. Laegeforen, 1996. - V. 116, N 9. - P. 1095-1101.
19. Montejo Gonzalez A.L. Implication of lead poisoning in psychopathology of Vincent van Gogh // Act. Luso Esp. Neuro Psychiatr. cienc. Afines, 1993. - V. 25, N 5. - P. 309-326.
20. Morrant J.C. The wing of madness: the illness of Vincent van Gogh // Can. J. Psychiatry, 1993. - V. 38, N 7. - P. 480-484.
21. Potter P. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). The Prison Courtyard (1890) // Emerg. Infect. Dis., 2003. - V. 9, N 9. - P. 1194-1195.
22. Rahe R.H. Psychosocial stressors and adjustment disorder: van Gogh’s life chart illustrates stress and disease//J. Clin. Psychiatry, 1990. - V. 52, Suppl. - P. 13-19.
23. Runyan W.M. Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear? The problem of alternative explanations in psychobiography//J. Pers. soc. Psychol., 1981. - V. 40, N 6. - P. 1070-1077.
24. Strick W.K. The psychiatric illness of Vincent van Gogh // Nervenarzt, 1997. - V. 68, N 5. - P. 401-409.
25. Voskuil P.H. Theo van Gogh's medical record // Ned. Tijdschr. Geneeskd., 1992. - V. 136, N 36. - P. 1777-1780.

Golenkov A.V. Vincent van Gogh: pathographical sketch. [Electronic resource] // Medical psychology in Russia: electron. scientific magazine 2011. N 1..mm.yyyy).

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Vincent van Gogh is one of those artists whom experts unanimously classify as mentally ill. On this occasion, a huge number of works have been written, the authors of which are psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, art historians and culturologists, and even Wikipedia, when asked for “mentally ill artists”, gives information about him.

Researchers have debated diagnoses, suggesting that Van Gogh had bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or epilepsy aggravated by alcohol abuse. But all these diagnoses are only interpretations of a unique ensemble of texts written by Vincent van Gogh himself.


Few artists, having taken up a pen, have left us observations, diaries, letters, the significance of which would be comparable to their contribution to the field of painting.


But Van Gogh's letters are a stunning, unique document stretching for hundreds of pages, a dialogue with the addressees of the letters, but also with oneself, God, the world.


Without the need for intermediaries and translators, Vincent van Gogh himself talks about his experience of experiencing a mental disorder, presenting his readers as an amazing, thinking, hardworking and very sensitive person who, in between attacks of a terrible illness, was much healthier than most of his interpreters and diagnosticians. .


The artist’s heart-wrenching story about the experience of experiencing a mental disorder begins on January 2, 1889, in a letter addressed to his brother Theo, from the psychiatric hospital in the French city of Arles, where Vincent ended up after the well-known incident with his ear cut off.


“In order to dispel all your fears about me, I am writing you a few words from the office of Dr. Ray, who is already familiar to you, who is practicing in the local hospital. I will stay in it for another two or three days, after which I expect to safely return home. I ask you one thing - do not worry, otherwise it will become a source of unnecessary worries for me.


By the way, as a token of gratitude for the help that Mr. Rey provided to Van Gogh during bouts of illness, the artist painted his portrait. Contemporaries claimed that the portrait turned out to be very similar to the model, but Felix Rey was indifferent to art. Van Gogh's painting lay in the attic, then for some time they closed a hole in the chicken coop, and only in 1900 (10 years after the artist's death) was the painting found in Dr. Ray's yard. The work was acquired by the famous Russian collector Sergei Shchukin and kept in his personal collection until 1918. Leaving for immigration, the collector left the painting at home, so it ended up in the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin in Moscow.


After this first hospitalization, Vincent van Gogh will write to his brother Theo: “I assure you that the few days I spent in the hospital turned out to be very interesting: life should probably be learned from the sick. I hope that nothing special happened to me - just, as happens with artists, I found a temporary eclipse, accompanied by high fever and significant loss of blood, since an artery was cut; but my appetite was immediately restored, my digestion is good, the loss of blood is replenished every day, and my head works more and more clearly.


In a letter to his brother Theo dated January 28, 1889, Vincent van Gogh offers his answer to the question of interest to many about the connection between genius and insanity, art and psychopathology: “I won’t say that we artists are mentally healthy, especially I won’t say this about myself - I something saturated with madness to the marrow of bones; but I say and affirm that we have at our disposal such antidotes and such medicines, which, if we show a little goodwill, will be much stronger than the disease.


On February 3, 1889, Vincent van Gogh makes a curious observation about the inhabitants of the city of Arles - no, not the patients of the local psychiatric hospital, but ordinary citizens: “I must say that the neighbors are exceptionally kind to me: here, after all, everyone suffers from something - some with a fever, some with hallucinations, some with insanity; therefore, everyone understands each other perfectly, as members of the same family ... However, it should not be assumed that I am completely healthy. Local residents suffering from the same disease told me the whole truth: the patient can live to old age, but he will always have moments of eclipse. Therefore, do not assure me that I am not sick at all or will not get sick again.


From the artist’s letter to his brother dated March 19, 1889, we learn that the inhabitants of Arles turned to the mayor of the city with a statement signed by some of the townspeople that Van Gogh did not have the right to live in freedom, after which the police commissioner ordered the artist to be hospitalized again. “In a word, for many days now I have been sitting alone under lock and key and under the supervision of ministers, although my insanity has not been proven and is generally unprovable. Of course, in the depths of my soul I am wounded by such treatment; it is also clear that I will not allow myself to be indignant aloud: to make excuses in such cases means to plead guilty.


On April 21, Vincent van Gogh informs his brother Theo of his decision, after leaving the hospital, to settle in an asylum for the mentally ill in Saint-Remy-de-Provence: “I hope it will be enough if I say that I am absolutely unable to look for a new workshop and live there alone… My capacity for work is gradually being restored, but I am afraid of losing it if I start to overexert myself and if, moreover, the entire responsibility for the workshop falls on me… I am beginning to console myself with the fact that now I begin to consider madness as a disease like any other ".


Vincent van Gogh's stay in a psychiatric hospital, and later in an asylum for the mentally ill, was financed by the artist's brother, Theo. In addition, Theodore provided Vincent with a livelihood for more than 10 years, gave money for rent and atelier, for canvases, paints and running costs. “I don’t know of such a medical institution where they would agree to admit me free of charge on the condition that I would paint at my own expense, and give all my work to the hospital. This is - I will not say big, but still injustice. If I found such a hospital, I would move into it without objection.


Before leaving Arles for the insane asylum of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, Vincent van Gogh writes the following letter to his brother: “I must look at things soberly. Of course, there are a whole bunch of crazy artists: life itself makes them, to put it mildly, a little crazy. Well, of course, if I manage to go back to work, but I will remain touched forever.


Vincent Van Gogh spent a year in the shelter of Saint-Remy-de-Provence (from May 1889 to May 1890), the director of the shelter allowed the artist to work and even provided a separate room for the workshop. Despite repeated seizures, Vincent continued to paint, seeing this as the only means of combating the disease: me for painting…”


In Saint-Remy-de-Provence, the artist paints landscapes depicting the views from the window of the studio and the garden, and when Vincent was allowed to leave the shelter under supervision, the surroundings of Saint-Remy also appeared on his canvases.


Despite three severe seizures that put Vincent out of action for many weeks, he painted more than 150 paintings this year, made more than 100 drawings and watercolors.


From a letter from Van Gogh to his sister: “It is true that there are several seriously ill people here, but the fear and disgust that madness inspired in me before have significantly weakened. And although you constantly hear terrible screams and howls, reminiscent of a menagerie, the inhabitants of the shelter quickly get to know each other and help each other when one of them has an attack. When I work in the garden, all the patients come out to see what I'm doing, and, I assure you, behave more delicately and more politely than the good citizens of Arles: they do not interfere with me. It is possible that I will stay here for quite some time. I have never experienced such peace as here and in the Arles hospital.


Vincent van Gogh's desire to work, despite his illness, to continue painting and not give up, causes sincere admiration: “Life passes and you can’t turn it back, but it’s for this reason that I work sparing no effort: the opportunity to work is also not always repeated. In the case of me - and even more so: after all, a stronger than usual attack can forever destroy me as an artist.


It is important to note that Van Gogh was probably the only resident of the shelter who was in business: “Following the treatment used in this institution is very easy even if you move from here, because absolutely nothing is done here. Patients are left to vegetate in idleness and console themselves with tasteless, and sometimes stale food.


At the end of May 1890, Theo invited his brother to move closer to him and his family, to which Vincent did not object. After spending three days with Theo in Paris, the artist settled in Auvers-sur-Oise (a small village not far from Paris). Here Vincent works, not allowing himself a minute of rest, every day a new work comes out from under his brush. Thus, over the last two months of his life, he creates 70 paintings and 32 drawings.


In Auvers-sur-Oise, the artist is supervised by Dr. Gachet, who was a specialist in heart disease and a great lover of art. About this doctor, Vincent writes: “As far as I understand, one cannot count on Dr. Gachet in any way. In the first place, it seems to me that he is even more ill than I am, at least not less; such are the things. And if the blind lead the blind, won't they both fall into the ditch?


Collapsed ... On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh will die, having shot himself in the chest, he will die in the presence of Dr. Gachet, who has been called. In the artist's pocket they will find the last letter addressed to Theo van Gogh, which ends like this: "Well, I paid with my life for my work, and it cost me half my mind, it's true ..."


The death of his elder brother would turn into a disaster for Theodor Van Gogh: after an unsuccessful attempt to organize a posthumous exhibition of his brother’s paintings, Theo showed signs of insanity, his wife decided to place the patient in a psychiatric hospital, where he would die on January 21, 1891.


The joint work of the brothers will be highly appreciated posthumously, and it seems incredible injustice that none of them lived to see the day when world fame and recognition came to Vincent van Gogh.

Vincent van Gogh is one of those artists whom experts unanimously classify as artists of the mentally ill. On this occasion, a huge number of works have been written, the authors of which are psychiatrists and psychoanalysts, art historians and culturologists, and even Wikipedia, when asked for “mentally ill artists”, gives information about him.

Researchers have debated diagnoses, suggesting that Van Gogh had bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or epilepsy aggravated by alcohol abuse. But all these diagnoses are only interpretations of a unique ensemble of texts written by Vincent van Gogh himself.

1. Few artists, having taken up a pen, left us observations, diaries, letters, the significance of which would be comparable to their contribution to the field of painting.

2. But Van Gogh's letters are a stunning, unlike anything document, stretching over hundreds of pages, it is a dialogue with the addressees of letters, but also with oneself, God, the world.

3. Without the need for intermediaries and translators, Vincent van Gogh himself talks about his experience of experiencing a mental disorder, presenting his readers as an amazing, thinking, hardworking and very sensitive person who, between bouts of a terrible illness, was much healthier than most of his interpreters and diagnosticians.

4. The artist's heart-wrenching story about the experience of experiencing a mental disorder begins on January 2, 1889 in a letter addressed to his brother Theo, from the psychiatric hospital in the French city of Arles, where Vincent ended up after the well-known incident with his ear cut off.

5. “In order to dispel all your fears about me, I am writing you a few words from the office of Dr. Ray, who is already familiar to you, who is practicing in the local hospital. I will stay in it for another two or three days, after which I expect to safely return home. I ask you one thing - do not worry, otherwise it will become a source of unnecessary worries for me.

6. By the way, as a token of gratitude for the help that Mr. Rey provided to Van Gogh during bouts of illness, the artist painted his portrait. Contemporaries claimed that the portrait turned out to be very similar to the model, but Felix Rey was indifferent to art. Van Gogh's painting lay in the attic, then for some time they closed a hole in the chicken coop, and only in 1900 (10 years after the artist's death) was the painting found in Dr. Ray's yard. The work was acquired by the famous Russian collector Sergei Shchukin and kept in his personal collection until 1918. Leaving for immigration, the collector left the painting at home, so it ended up in the collection of the State Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin in Moscow.

7. After this first hospitalization, Vincent van Gogh will write to his brother Theo: “I assure you that the few days I spent in the hospital turned out to be very interesting: life should probably be learned from the sick. I hope that nothing special happened to me - just, as happens with artists, I found a temporary eclipse, accompanied by high fever and significant loss of blood, since an artery was cut; but my appetite was immediately restored, my digestion is good, the loss of blood is replenished every day, and my head works more and more clearly.

8. In a letter to his brother Theo dated January 28, 1889, Vincent van Gogh offers his answer to the question of interest to many about the connection between genius and insanity, art and psychopathology: “I won’t say that we artists are mentally healthy, especially I won’t say this about myself - I am saturated with madness to the marrow of bones; but I say and affirm that we have at our disposal such antidotes and such medicines, which, if we show a little goodwill, will be much stronger than the disease.

9. On February 3, 1889, Vincent Van Gogh makes a curious observation about the inhabitants of the city of Arles - no, not the patients of the local psychiatric hospital, but ordinary citizens: “I must say that the neighbors are exceptionally kind to me: here, after all, everyone suffers from something - who fever, some with hallucinations, some with insanity; therefore, everyone understands each other perfectly, as members of the same family ... However, it should not be assumed that I am completely healthy. Local residents suffering from the same disease told me the whole truth: the patient can live to old age, but he will always have moments of eclipse. Therefore, do not assure me that I am not sick at all or will not get sick again.

10. From the artist’s letter to his brother dated March 19, 1889, we learn that the inhabitants of Arles turned to the mayor of the city with a statement signed by some of the townspeople that Van Gogh did not have the right to live in freedom, after which the police commissioner ordered the artist to be hospitalized again . “In a word, for many days now I have been sitting alone under lock and key and under the supervision of ministers, although my insanity has not been proven and is generally unprovable. Of course, in the depths of my soul I am wounded by such treatment; it is also clear that I will not allow myself to be indignant aloud: to make excuses in such cases means to plead guilty.

11. On April 21, Vincent van Gogh informs his brother Theo of his decision, after leaving the hospital, to settle in an asylum for the mentally ill in Saint-Remy-de-Provence: “I hope it will be enough if I say that I am decidedly unable to look for a new workshop and to live there alone... My capacity for work is gradually being restored, but I am afraid of losing it if I start to overexert myself and if, moreover, all the responsibility for the workshop falls on me... I am beginning to console myself with the fact that now I begin to consider madness the same disease as any other."

12. Vincent van Gogh's stay in a psychiatric hospital, and later in an asylum for the mentally ill, was financed by the artist's brother, Theo. In addition, Theodore provided Vincent with a livelihood for more than 10 years, gave money for rent and atelier, for canvases, paints and running costs. “I don’t know of such a medical institution where they would agree to admit me free of charge on the condition that I would paint at my own expense, and give all my work to the hospital. This is - I will not say big, but still injustice. If I found such a hospital, I would move into it without objection.

13. Before leaving Arles for the insane asylum of Saint-Remy-de-Provence, Vincent van Gogh writes the following letter to his brother: “I must look at things soberly. Of course, there are a whole bunch of crazy artists: life itself makes them, to put it mildly, a little crazy. Well, of course, if I manage to go back to work, but I will remain touched forever.

14. Vincent Van Gogh spent a year in the shelter of Saint-Remy-de-Provence (from May 1889 to May 1890), the director of the shelter allowed the artist to work and even provided a separate room for the studio. Despite repeated seizures, Vincent continued to paint, seeing this as the only means of combating the disease: me for painting…”

15. In Saint-Remy-de-Provence, the artist paints landscapes depicting views from the window of the studio and the garden, and when Vincent was allowed to leave the shelter under supervision, the surroundings of Saint-Remy also appeared on his canvases.

16. Despite three severe seizures that put Vincent out of action for many weeks, he wrote more than 150 paintings this year, made more than 100 drawings and watercolors.

17. From a letter from Van Gogh to his sister: “It is true that there are several seriously ill people here, but the fear and disgust that madness inspired in me before have significantly weakened. And although you constantly hear terrible screams and howls, reminiscent of a menagerie, the inhabitants of the shelter quickly get to know each other and help each other when one of them has an attack. When I work in the garden, all the patients come out to see what I'm doing, and, I assure you, behave more delicately and more politely than the good citizens of Arles: they do not interfere with me. It is possible that I will stay here for quite some time. I have never experienced such peace as here and in the Arles hospital.

18. Vincent van Gogh's desire to work, despite his illness, to continue painting and not give up, is sincerely admired: “Life passes and you can’t turn it back, but it’s for this reason that I work sparing no effort: the opportunity to work is also not always repeated. In the case of me - and even more so: after all, a stronger than usual attack can forever destroy me as an artist.

19. It is important to note that Van Gogh was probably the only resident of the shelter who was engaged in business: “Following the treatment used in this institution is very easy even if you move from here, because absolutely nothing is done here. Patients are left to vegetate in idleness and console themselves with tasteless, and sometimes stale food.

20. At the end of May 1890, Theo invited his brother to move closer to him and his family, to which Vincent did not object. After spending three days with Theo in Paris, the artist settled in Auvers-sur-Oise (a small village not far from Paris). Here Vincent works, not allowing himself a minute of rest, every day a new work comes out from under his brush. Thus, over the last two months of his life, he creates 70 paintings and 32 drawings.

21. In Auvers-sur-Oise, the artist is supervised by Dr. Gachet, who was a specialist in heart disease and a great lover of art. About this doctor, Vincent writes: “As far as I understand, one cannot count on Dr. Gachet in any way. In the first place, it seems to me that he is even more ill than I am, at least not less; such are the things. And if the blind lead the blind, won't they both fall into the ditch?

22. Collapsed ... On July 29, 1890, Vincent van Gogh will die, having shot himself in the chest, he will die in the presence of the summoned Dr. Gachet. In the artist's pocket they will find the last letter addressed to Theo van Gogh, which ends like this: "Well, I paid with my life for my work, and it cost me half my mind, it's true ..."

23. The death of his elder brother will turn out to be a disaster for Theodore Van Gogh: after an unsuccessful attempt to organize a posthumous exhibition of his brother’s paintings, Theo will show signs of insanity, his wife will decide to place the patient in a psychiatric hospital, where he will die on January 21, 1891.

24. The joint work of the brothers will be highly appreciated posthumously, and it seems incredible injustice that none of them lived to see the day when world fame and recognition came to Vincent van Gogh.

The material was prepared with the support

Among all the eponymous terms of mental psychopathology, one of the most famous, perhaps, is Van Gogh's syndrome.

The essence of the deviation lies in the irresistible desire to perform surgical operations on oneself: to cut off parts of the body, to inflict cuts. This syndrome can be observed in various mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia.

The basis of the disorder is auto-aggressive attitudes aimed at injuring and damaging one's own body. This syndrome is often compared with dysmorphomania, which consists in pathological dissatisfaction with one's appearance. Persons suffering from this deviation are obsessed with the idea, by all means, to correct an imaginary physical defect in any way: on their own or with the help of surgical intervention.

The concept of the syndrome and its signs

Van Gogh syndrome is a mental disorder associated with the desire to independently perform surgical operations on oneself with amputation of body parts. This syndrome also manifests itself in forcing the medical staff to carry out such manipulations. The most famous person suffering from this psychopathology was Vincent van Gogh, after whom the syndrome is named. The well-known act of the great genius shocked the public with its madness and cruelty. The famous artist amputated his ear and sent it in a letter to his beloved. There are many versions about what happened: some believe that Van Gogh was injured by his friend, others say that the artist used opium and, under the influence of a drug, committed this crazy act. And yet, many facts indicate that the genius suffered from a mental disorder, presumably manic-depressive psychosis, and cut off his ear during an exacerbation of the disease. Whatever it was, but today there are many people with Van Gogh syndrome.

Often the syndrome accompanies any mental disorder. Sometimes such self-mutilations are demonstrative in nature, for example, a modern Russian artist, probably suffering from this deviation, constantly holds actions, allegedly with political overtones, in which he either cuts off part of his body or inflicts cuts and other injuries. This syndrome occurs in the following psychopathologies:

• schizophrenia;
• hypochondriacal delirium;
• pathomymia;
• hallucinosis;
• dysmorphomania;
• dysmorphophobia;
• affective insanity;
• eating disorders;
• epilepsy with psychotic seizures;
• impulsive attraction.

Most often, the syndrome affects persons with dysmorphomania, schizophrenia and hypochondriacal delusions. Under dysmorphomaniac delirium understand the conviction of a person in his non-existent imaginary physical deviation. Often such crazy ideas lead to the removal of body parts, self-operation. An impulsive act can also cause self-harm, such a loss of control is terrible in its consequences, since in a state of passion a person can do horrific things. So, a Chinese woman, suffering from shopping addiction, reacted to her husband's next dissatisfaction by amputating her own finger. The woman was taken to the hospital on time, the finger was saved. The conclusion of psychiatrists sounded like "impulsive attraction against the background of addictive behavior."

The basis of the syndrome is self-damaging behavior and auto-aggression. Self-injurious behavior refers to a series of actions aimed at causing harm to one's own body. Among the main causes of auto-aggression are:

• inability to adequately respond to life's difficulties and resist stress factors;
• demonstrative behavior;
• depression;
• impulsive behavior, violation of self-control.

With self-damaging behavior, accessible areas of the body most often suffer: arms, legs, chest and abdomen, genitals. According to statistics, women are most susceptible to auto-aggressive behavior, and men are most susceptible to the syndrome of the famous artist. The female sex is more prone to cutting, deep wounds than to amputation of body parts. Men with this syndrome often injure themselves in the genital area.

The development of the syndrome can be influenced by many factors:

• genetic predisposition;
• alcohol and drug addiction;
• socio-psychological aspect;
• diseases of the internal organs.

The genetic factor fundamentally influences the development of mental disorders and syndromes. According to historical facts, Van Gogh's mother's sister suffered from epilepsy, and the artist's siblings suffered from psychopathologies: from mental retardation to schizophrenia.

The use of alcohol and drugs affects the level of personality control. When a person is disposed to auto-aggressive behavior, a decrease in volitional qualities and self-control can lead to self-mutilation. The famous French artist, who had his ear amputated, drank alcohol, absinthe and smoked opium, which probably served as a trigger for the development of self-injurious behavior.

Socio-psychological influence plays an important role in the formation of auto-aggressive behavior. Often a person inflicts damage on himself due to the inability to survive psycho-emotional stress, daily conflicts and stress. A patient suffering from outbreaks of self-injurious behavior claimed that by injuring himself, he "eclipsed the mental pain of the physical."

Sometimes the desire to perform a surgical operation on one's own body can be caused by the painful course of a disease. A person suffering from a mental disorder, constantly experiencing pain in any organ or part of the body, is likely to injure himself in order to get rid of the pain. One of the versions of the sensational amputation of Van Gogh is the assumption that the artist was tormented by unbearable pain after suffering otitis media.

Treatment of the syndrome

Therapy of the syndrome involves the treatment of the underlying mental illness, against which outbreaks of auto-aggression appear. Various antipsychotics, tranquilizers, and antidepressants are used to reduce the overwhelming desire and obsessive thoughts of mutilation. In the presence of Van Gogh's syndrome, mandatory hospitalization is indicated in order to reduce the risk of damage.

Psychotherapy is effective only when the syndrome is a manifestation of self-damaging behavior on the background of a depressive disorder or neurosis. The most effective is cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, which establishes not only the causes of the client's self-harm, but also ways to counter the outbursts of auto-aggression. The psychotherapist studies in detail the degree of auto-aggressive attitudes, if they prevail, then the cognitive-behavioral approach is not always effective. With the dominance of auto-aggressive beliefs, the process of personal recovery is hampered by the inability of the client to achieve the desired results.

Treatment of the disease is a rather complex and lengthy process and is not always successful. For example, this syndrome is much easier to treat in schizophrenia than in dysmorphomania and epilepsy. If the patient has persistent delusions, treatment may even come to a standstill due to the complexity of pharmacotherapy.

shocking facts

The American artist A. Fielding was so obsessed with the idea of ​​achieving spiritual enlightenment that she drilled a hole in her skull. Before the operation, the woman repeatedly turned to surgeons with persistent requests for trepanation, which supposedly would help her look at the world differently.

Some people are greatly influenced by the fantastic world of computer games, movies and books. Fantastic elven theme drove many fans of this genre crazy. Several cases of self-operated auricles are known to resemble the pointed ears of elves.

To date, amputation of fingers as a sign of protest (political, social) or devotion is considered a common occurrence. Such a pathological manifestation of emotions is mainly demonstrative in nature and indicates mental disorders. This phenomenon is most common in eastern countries such as Japan, China due to the inheritance of the ancient "yubitsume" technique, which was used in criminal communities. The procedure involved amputating part of the finger as a sign of non-compliance with the rules of the mafia community.

van gogh syndrome

Van Gogh's syndrome (symptom) (Abram H.S., 1966) manifests itself when the patient either operates on himself or insists on a certain operation. Occurs in schizophrenia, dysmorphophobia, dysmorphomania. It is named after the world-famous Dutch and French post-impressionist artist, who allegedly suffered from this mental disorder and, during an exacerbation of his illness, had his ear amputated.

In fact, Van Gogh cut off part of his ear at the moment of clouding his mind after a quarrel with Gauguin (according to another version, Gauguin did this during a quarrel (duel) with Van Gogh over a woman), but be that as it may, the legend gave the usual the name of the syndrome.

What is Van Gogh Syndrome?

It is known for certain that absinthe was consumed in large quantities by Picasso and Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Verlaine .... Poets sang of him, and artists left us portraits of his lovers and lovers. For example, Picasso painted the famous painting "Absinthe Drinker", Edgar Degas - the painting "Absinthe", which can be seen today in the Louvre, etc. "Green Fairy", "Emerald Magician", "Blood of Poets" - this is how writers called absinthe and artists, assuring that this potion expands consciousness and promotes the flight of creative imagination ... It seemed to stimulate the creative process. However, in the 50s of the XIX century, concerns began to appear about the results of its chronic consumption. It was believed that chronic absinthe consumption led to a syndrome called absenteeism, which was characterized by addiction, hyperexcitability and hallucinations. This concern about the health effects of absinthe was reinforced by the widespread belief in Lamarck's theory of heredity. In other words, it was believed that any traits acquired by absinthe users would be passed on to their children. The association of absinthe with the bohemian lifestyle also added to fears about its effect, as happened with marijuana in America. Subsequently, absinthe was banned in many countries at the beginning of this century. So we cannot now enjoy this mysterious amorphic consciousness. Why is everything so bad and why was it banned?

Definitely, one of the main components is alcohol. However, another candidate is monoterpine (monoterpene), thujone, which is considered a convulsant. The mechanism of action of thujone (alpha-thujone) is not known, although the structural similarity between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active ingredient in marijuana) has led to speculation that both substances have similar sites of action on the brain. The essence from which absinthe is produced contains from 40 to 90% thujone. Thus, thujone is the best candidate for the second active component of absinthe. Indeed, thujone has long been thought to be a neurotoxic cause of absenteeism.

True, the symptoms of absenteeism seem similar to alcoholism. Hallucinations, insomnia, tremors, paralysis and convulsions may also be seen in cases of alcoholism. This suggests that the "absinthe" syndrome could be caused by alcohol.

Suicides, murders, destruction of personality - in many of these tragedies the "green fairy" was involved, as absinthe was called for its color and the strange state that occurs when intoxicated. The basis of the drink is wormwood, which grows throughout the northern hemisphere. Van Gogh consumed absinthe in such quantities that by the end of his life his body was completely destroyed: hallucinations, impaired consciousness, convulsions, problems with the kidneys and digestion - what doctors today call "Van Gogh's syndrome". The end of the artist is known: first he cut off his ear, and later shot himself. He was 37 years old.

Van Gogh Syndrome, or What was the disease of the brilliant artist?

"AiF" tells about the life and mysteries of the great artist.

The world famous Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853. But he became an artist only at the age of 27, and died at 37. His productivity was incredible - he could paint several paintings in a day: landscapes, still lifes, portraits. From the notes of his attending physician: "In the intervals between attacks, the patient is completely calm and passionately indulges in painting."

Illness and death

In him, and in the following years of his life, duality was manifested - he dreamed of a family hearth and children, considering this "real life", but devoted himself completely to art. Obvious bouts of mental illness began in the last years of his life, when Van Gogh either experienced severe bouts of insanity, or he reasoned very soberly.

The artist died on July 29, 1890. Two days earlier, in Auvers-sur-Oise, he went out for a walk with drawing materials. He had a pistol with him, which Van Gogh bought to scare away flocks of birds while working in the open air. It was from this pistol that the artist shot himself in the region of the heart, after which he independently reached the hospital. 29 hours later, he died from blood loss.

It is worth noting that Van Gogh shot himself after his mental crisis seemed to have been overcome. Shortly before this death, he was discharged from the clinic with the conclusion: "He recovered."

Versions

There is a lot of mystery in Van Gogh's mental illness. It is known that during the attacks he was visited by nightmarish hallucinations, melancholy and anger, he could eat his paints, rush around the room for hours and freeze in one position for a long time. According to the artist himself, in these moments of stupefaction he saw images of future canvases.

At the mental hospital in Arles, he was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. But the opinions of doctors about what was happening to the artist differed. Dr. Felix Rey believed that Van Gogh suffered from epilepsy, and the head of the psychiatric clinic in Saint-Remy, Dr. Peyron, believed that the artist suffered from acute encephalopathy (brain damage). In the course of treatment, he included hydrotherapy - a two-hour stay in the bath twice a week. But hydrotherapy did not alleviate Van Gogh's illness.

At the same time, Dr. Gachet, who observed the artist in Auvers, claimed that Van Gogh was affected by a long stay in the sun and turpentine, which he drank while working. But Van Gogh drank turpentine when the attack was already beginning to relieve his symptoms.

To date, epileptic psychosis is considered the most correct diagnosis - these are a rather rare manifestation of the disease, which occurs in 3-5% of patients.

Among Van Gogh's relatives on the mother's side were epileptics. One of his aunts suffered from epilepsy. Hereditary predisposition might not have manifested if it were not for the constant overstrain of mental and spiritual forces, overwork, poor nutrition, alcohol and severe shocks.

Among the records of doctors there are the following lines: “He had seizures of a cyclical nature, repeated every three months. In the hypomanic phases, Van Gogh again began to work from sunrise to sunset, painted with rapture and inspiration, two or three paintings a day. Based on these words, many diagnosed the artist's illness as a manic-depressive psychosis.

The symptoms of manic-depressive psychosis include thoughts of suicide, unmotivated good mood, increased motor and speech activity, periods of mania and depressive states.

The reason for the development of psychosis in Van Gogh could be absinthe, which, according to experts, contained an extract of wormwood alpha-thujone. This substance, getting into the human body, penetrates into the nervous tissue and the brain, which leads to disruption of the process of normal inhibition of nerve impulses. As a result, a person experiences seizures, hallucinations, and other signs of psychopathic behavior.

"Epilepsy plus insanity"

Van Gogh was considered insane by Dr. Peyron, a French doctor, who in May 1889 stated: "Van Gogh is an epileptic and a lunatic."

Note that until the 20th century, the diagnosis of epilepsy also meant Meniere's disease.

The discovered letters of Van Gogh show the most severe attacks of dizziness, typical for the pathology of the ear labyrinth (inner ear). They were accompanied by nausea, uncontrollable vomiting, tinnitus, and alternated periods during which he was completely healthy.

According to one version, the story of the cut off ear (the painting "Self-portrait with a cut off ear") is the result of an unbearable ringing.

The diagnosis of "Van Gogh's syndrome" is used in the case of a mentally ill person inflicting crippling injury on himself (cutting off part of the body, extensive incisions) or presenting insistent demands to the doctor to perform surgical intervention on him. This disease occurs in schizophrenia, dysmorphophobia, dysmorphomania, due to the presence of delusions, hallucinations, impulsive drives.

It is believed that suffering severely from frequent bouts of dizziness, accompanied by unbearable noise in the ears, which drove him into a frenzy, Van Gogh cut off his ear.

However, this story has several versions. According to one of them, Vincent van Gogh's earlobe was cut off by his friend Paul Gauguin. On the night of December 23-24, 1888, a quarrel broke out between them and, in a fit of rage, Van Gogh attacked Gauguin, who, being a good swordsman, cut off Van Gogh's left earlobe with a rapier, after which he threw the weapon into the river.

But the main versions of art historians are based on the study of police protocols. According to the interrogation protocol and according to Gauguin, after a quarrel with a friend, Gauguin left home and went to spend the night in a hotel.

Upset Van Gogh, left alone, cut off his earlobe with a razor, after which he went to a brothel to show a piece of an ear wrapped in a newspaper to a familiar prostitute.

It is this episode from the artist's life that is considered a sign of a mental disorder that led him to suicide.

By the way, some experts argue that an excessive passion for green, red and white paints speaks of Van Gogh's color blindness. The analysis of the painting "Starry Night" led to the emergence of this hypothesis.

In general, researchers agree that the great artist suffered from depression, which, against the background of ringing in the ears, nervous strain and abuse of absinthe, could lead to schizophrenia.

It is believed that Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Dumas son, Ernest Hemingway, Albrecht Dürer and Sergei Rachmaninov suffered from the same disease.

Van Gogh syndrome

What is Van Gogh Syndrome? This is the infliction by a mentally ill person of crippling injury to himself (cutting off a part of the body, causing deep cuts) or an insistent demand to perform a surgical intervention on him, due to the presence of hypochondriacal delusions, hallucinations, impulsive drives.

Illness and art

The history from which this syndrome takes its name occurred long ago. So long ago that only an experienced necromancer can verify it, and we can only be content with versions and conjectures. Vincent van Gogh, a 19th century Dutch painter, suffered from chronic mental illness. How exactly - also remains a mystery. According to one version, he had schizophrenia, according to another, more likely, epileptic psychosis, according to the third, the harmful effects of absinthe abuse, and according to the fourth, Meniere's disease.

Epileptic psychosis - such a diagnosis was made by Van Gogh by his doctor Felix Rey along with his colleague Dr. Theophile Peyron in the Saint-Remy-de-Provence shelter at the monastery of Saint-Paul-de-Musol. There, the artist was treated from May 1889 to May 1890, when the symptoms of his illness became especially pronounced: a depressed state with a feeling of melancholy, anger and hopelessness, fits of rage and senseless impulsive actions - for example, once he tried to swallow the paints with which he painted.

... The efforts of doctors could not save the artist from the painful experiences that tormented his soul. Having finished painting the painting "Wheat Field with Crows", on July 27, 1890, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest, and after 29 hours he was gone.

One way or another, on the night of December 23-24, 1888, Van Gogh cut off his left earlobe. As his friend and art colleague Paul Gauguin told the police, there was a quarrel between him and Van Gogh: Gauguin was going to leave Arles, where he stayed with Van Gogh for some time, but the latter did not like this idea. Van Gogh threw a glass of absinthe at his friend, Gauguin went to spend the night at the nearest hotel, and Van Gogh, left at home alone and in the most deplorable state of mind, cut off his earlobe with a dangerous razor. Then he wrapped it in a newspaper and went to a brothel to a familiar prostitute to show the trophy and seek solace. So, at least, Gauguin told the police.

Causes of the syndrome

Why do patients with Van Gogh syndrome persistently and purposefully harm themselves? There are several reasons for this.

First of all, this is a dysmorphomaniac delusion, that is, a firm conviction that one's own body or some part of it is so ugly that it causes disgust and horror in others. The owner of this "ugliness" at the same time experiences unbearable moral and physical suffering. And the patient considers that the only logically correct solution is to get rid of the hated defect in any way: destroy it, cut it off, amputate it, cauterize it, undergo plastic surgery. And this despite the fact that in fact there is no defect or ugliness at all.

Hypochondriacal delusions can lead to similar conclusions and consequences. It seems to the patient that some organ, part of the body or the whole organism is seriously (perhaps even fatally or incurably) ill. And he really feels exactly how it all hurts, and these feelings are painful and unbearable, he wants to get rid of them at any cost.

Impulsive drives, as the name implies, are in the nature of a sudden push: it is necessary, period! Neither criticism nor counter-arguments simply have time to connect: a person jumps - and acts. Chick and you're done.

Hallucinations, especially imperative, that is, commanding ones, can also force the patient to deprive himself of a body part, inflict deep wounds on himself, beat himself up, or even come up with some more sophisticated self-torture. By the way, the epileptic psychosis that Van Gogh probably suffered from can just be accompanied by hallucinations, delusions, as well as impulsive drives and corresponding actions.

case from practice

I have a guy on the site named, say, Alexander, and just with the Van Gogh syndrome. It has been observed for a long time, about ten years, - schizophrenia. The symptoms have been the same for many years: paranoid (that is, hallucinations and delusions) with suicidal and self-mutilating tendencies, repeated attempts to cripple and commit suicide. And all this in the absence of criticism of their aspirations and experiences, with a meager and short-term effect of drug treatment. With all this, the guy is calm, quiet, always polite, correct - well, just a good boy.

He distinguished himself several years ago. I ended up in the hospital after another such attempt - it seems that I swallowed Azaleptin. Prior to that, he had undergone a course of treatment, things were already on the mend - at least, so it seemed to everyone. Shortly before his discharge, he was sent home on medical leave (again, it was Easter). Sasha returned late and accompanied by his mother, with an extract from the surgeon in his arms. It turns out that at home the patient closed himself in the bathroom and with nail scissors, having opened the scrotum, removed his testicle. Coming out of the bathroom, he clarified with his mother:

- Did I do everything right?

The wound healed quickly enough: help was provided in a timely manner, first by the line team, then by the surgeon, and then by psychiatrists. After a year of remission, the second testicle was removed at home in the same way. Then there were more suicidal attempts, hospitalizations, stubborn treatment with no hope of an effect. He recently came to the hospital to surrender himself:

“Otherwise I’ll do something with myself again, and I’m already tired of fighting with her,” the sufferer admitted.

- Well, with her. You do not understand? Who do I do everything for? For her. She asked me to cut it off - I cut it off. She asked to jump from a height - I jumped (it was the case, for a long time then the bones grew together). I do everything as she asks, but she does not come to me.

Having not found out from Alexander the name of the beautiful and dangerous stranger, who had been tormenting him for so many years with promises of unearthly bliss in return for inhuman suffering, I sat down to write a referral to the hospital.

Treatment of Van Gogh Syndrome

How to treat the syndrome? First of all, it is necessary to establish what disease caused it in this particular case. And all efforts should be directed to her treatment, as well as to the subsequent rehabilitation of the patient. The prognosis of treatment for various etiologies of the syndrome is ambiguous: for example, for paroxysmal-progressive schizophrenia, which caused the development of the syndrome, the prognosis is more favorable and predictable than for epilepsy with psychotic episodes. The easiest way to cope with hallucinations: adequate drug therapy helps here. It is much more difficult to work with delusions, and it does not matter whether they are dysmorphomanic or hypochondriacal: delusional constructions are always more resistant and resistant to medications and psychotherapy than hallucinations. Impulsive cravings are not much more amenable to therapy, not least because of their unpredictability: trouble can happen suddenly, when it seems that a person has already achieved a stable remission.

That is why patients with Van Gogh syndrome are always the object of the closest attention of psychiatrists. Both because of the danger of manifestations of the syndrome itself, and because of the complexity of its treatment.

van gogh syndrome

Van Gogh Syndrome The Van Gogh Syndrome) manifests itself when the patient either operates on himself or insists on a certain operation.

The syndrome is named after the world-famous Dutch and French post-impressionist artist, who allegedly suffered from this mental disorder and, during an exacerbation of the disease, had his ear amputated.

According to one version, Van Gogh cut off part of his ear at the time of an exacerbation of mental illness (in the Arles hospital he was diagnosed with "hysterical clouding of consciousness against the background of general delirium"), according to another, Paul Gauguin did this during a quarrel (duel) with Van Gog because of the prostitute Rachel), but be that as it may, the legend gave the usual name to the syndrome.

In the psychiatric literature, addiction to self-operation was first described by Menninger, who described the obsessive desire of some neurotic and psychotic patients for surgical operation.

Van Gogh syndrome occurs in schizophrenia, dysmorphophobia, dysmorphomania.

Van Gogh syndrome

Van Gogh's syndrome (symptom) (Abram H.S., 1966) manifests itself when the patient either operates on himself or insists on a certain operation. Occurs in schizophrenia, dysmorphophobia, dysmorphomania. It is named after the world-famous Dutch and French Post-Impressionist artist, who suffered from this mental disorder and, during an exacerbation of his illness, had his ear amputated.

In fact, Van Gogh simply cut off part of his ear at the moment of clouding his mind after a quarrel with Gauguin (according to another version, Gauguin did this during a quarrel (duel) with Van Gogh over a woman), but be that as it may, the legend gave the usual the name of the syndrome.

Links

Notes

1. Abram H.S. "The van Gogh Syndrome: an unusual case of polysurgical addiction". PMID.
2. Who cut off Van Gogh's ear? // KP.RU
3. Labor: Van Gogh lost his ear in a duel
4. Who cut off Van Gogh's ear?

• Supplement the article (the article is too short or contains only a dictionary definition).

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See what "Van Gogh Syndrome" is in other dictionaries:

Van Gogh syndrome - (named after the sick Dutch artist of the 19th century Van Gogh) inflicting crippling injury on himself (cutting off part of the body, extensive incisions) by a mentally ill person or presenting insistent demands to the doctor to perform a surgical operation on him ... ... Big Medical Dictionary

VAN GOGH SYNDROME is a psychopathological symptom complex in which patients with an imaginary illness or without any motivation operate on themselves or insist on performing various operations. More common in schizophrenia. Described by the American psychiatrist H ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

Syndrome - This term has other meanings, see Syndrome (meanings). Syndrome (Greek σύνδρομον, σύνδρομο concomitant; δρομο road) is a set of symptoms with a common pathogenesis. In medicine and psychology, the term syndrome refers to the association ... ... Wikipedia

Application. Some problems of streamlining modern medical terminology - The centuries-old history of the emergence and development of medical terminology outlined above, which has many multilingual sources, as well as the examples of complex relationships between the etymology, structure and semantics of terms, is probably ... ... Medical Encyclopedia

dysmorphophobia - A painful belief in the presence of physical changes or illness, often bizarre in nature, and based on somatic sensations, which leads to hypochondriacal preoccupation. This syndrome is most often observed in schizophrenia, ... ... Great psychological encyclopedia

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Vdovin, Igor Vladimirovich - Igor Vdovin Full name Igor Vladimirovich Vdovin Date of birth November 13, 1974) (38 years old) Country ... Wikipedia

Van Gogh syndrome

Vincent van Gogh is a famous post-impressionist who was famous not only for his art, but also for self-amputation of his ear. He cut off the lower half of his left ear with a razor and took it to a brothel to be watched. He sustained severe blood loss and was found unconscious by the police in his bed the next morning. This incident gave rise to what today is sometimes referred to as Van Gogh syndrome, which has now become an all-encompassing term for self-mutilation, especially in connection with self-amputation of body parts.

Intentional self-harm is defined as the intentional and direct infliction of injury to body tissues without suicidal intent. There are various types of intentional self-harm: self-cutting, bloodletting, biting, burns, self-amputation, etc. In most cases, acts of self-mutilation are recorded among persons suffering from schizophrenia. Very often this is due to a delusional belief (for example, the person believes that their hand is evil, so it must be cut off) or in response to an auditory hallucination command (voices telling the person to harm himself). Also, many patients with schizophrenia are often insensitive (to varying degrees) to pain and less susceptible to physical discomfort than normal people.

This behavior (self-mutilation) is observed in 10-15% of healthy children, especially between the ages of 9 and 18 months. But if such behavior persists after the age of 3 years, then it is already considered a pathological condition requiring the intervention of specialists. This behavior is common in adolescents, the mentally ill, and women. Self-harm is also often associated with addictive behavior, suicide attempts, and metabolic syndromes (Lesch-Nyhan syndrome and Munchausen syndrome). The most severe acts of self-mutilation officially recorded in the medical literature are unilateral and bilateral enucleation of the eyes (removal of the eyes), self-amputation of various parts of the body, including hands, chest, ear, penis and testicles, and the most severe case recorded to date is the removal of almost entire face of a person suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Some researchers have also noted that during the act of self-mutilation, these people were in a state that is called "psychotic analgesia." Research suggests that this lack of pain may be due to the blunted affect that is characteristic of schizophrenia.

Van Gogh Syndrome. Happening

Damaged right ear on day 1

Right ear 2 weeks later

Left ear after 2 weeks

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Van Gogh syndrome

Syndrome o m Van Gogh (after the patient - the Dutch artist of the 19th century Van Gogh) - the infliction of crippling damage to himself by a mentally ill person (cutting off part of the body, extensive incisions) or presenting persistent demands to the doctor to perform a surgical intervention due to the presence hypochondriacal delusions, hallucinations, impulsive drives.

Vincent's love for painting began when he started working as a dealer in his uncle's art and trading company.

Soon he suffered a failure in love. Disappointment affected the work - he lost interest in it and turned to the Bible. Life has changed dramatically. Van Gogh was a bookseller, and from 1869 to 1876 served as a commission agent for an art trading firm in The Hague, Brussels, London and Paris. And in 1876 he worked as a teacher in England.

After that, he became interested in issues of theology and since 1878 he was a preacher in the mining district of Borinage (in Belgium)

By the way, according to another version: Vincent van Gogh's earlobe was cut off by his friend Paul Gauguin - Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans believe so.

That is what Gauguin told the police.

According to the interrogation protocol, after a quarrel with a friend, Gauguin left home and went to spend the night at a nearby hotel. Left alone, frustrated, Van Gogh cut off his earlobe with a razor, after which he went to a brothel to show a piece of an ear wrapped in a newspaper to a familiar prostitute. Subsequently, this episode from the life of the artist was considered a sign of a mental disorder, which led him to suicide. Once, having made the last stroke of the painting "Crows in a wheat field", he shot himself in the head. According to another version, the shot was in the stomach, after which he painted another painting Link

For psychiatrists trying to reconstruct the clinical picture, the diagnosis made by Dr. Rey and confirmed by Dr. Peyron in the St. Paul asylum is now recognized as the correct diagnosis: epileptic psychosis (we used to call it: other conditions that satisfy the criterion of organic psychosis, but do not take the form of confusion consciousness, non-alcoholic Korsakov psychosis or dementia; and now called: unspecified psychotic disorders in connection with epilepsy).

Among Van Gogh's relatives on the mother's side were epileptics; one of his aunts suffered from epilepsy.

Mental illness then befell both Theo and Willemina - apparently, the roots lay in heredity.

But, of course, hereditary predisposition is not something fatal - it could never lead to illness, if not for stimulating conditions. The colossal constant overstrain of mental and spiritual forces, chronic overwork, poor nutrition, alcohol, combined with severe moral upheavals that Van Gogh suffered in excess - all this was more than enough for the potential predisposition to disease to be realized.

Fatal duality haunted the artist throughout his short life. It really seemed like two people got along in it. He dreamed of a family hearth and children, calling it "real life." However, he devoted himself entirely to art. He wanted to become a priest, like his father, and he himself, breaking all the rules, began to live with "one of those women whom priests curse from the pulpit." With him, especially in recent years, there were strong attacks of insanity, the rest of the time he reasoned very soberly.

Van Gogh was examined by three doctors, and they all came to different opinions.

Dr. Ray believed that Van Gogh suffered from epilepsy.

The head of the psychiatric clinic in Saint-Remy, Dr. Peyron, believed that Van Gogh suffered from acute encephalopathy (brain damage). In the course of treatment, he included hydrotherapy, that is, a two-hour stay in the bath twice a week. However, hydrotherapy did not alleviate Van Gogh's illness.

Dr. Gachet, who observed Van Gogh at Auvers, was not a sufficiently qualified doctor. He claimed that Van Gogh was allegedly affected by long exposure to the sun and turpentine, which he drank while working. But Van Gogh drank turpentine when the attack was already beginning, in order to relieve its symptoms.

The material for the hypotheses are the paintings of Van Gogh themselves. Particular attention of researchers is attracted by the painting "Starry Night"

Gog knew exactly what he was doing. The sketches made during the work on the painting show that the artist very carefully calculated the ratio of colors on the canvas, trying to achieve the effect he needed. Vincent was well aware of the uniqueness of his manner of writing, which was ahead of its time and therefore inaccessible to the understanding of many people.

In a letter to Émile Bernard from Arles, he wrote: "An artist who has in advance a complete and final idea of ​​​​what he is going to write in his head cannot be proud of his work."

“His seizures were cyclical, repeated every three months. In the hypomanic phases, Van Gogh again began to work from sunrise to sunset, painted with rapture and inspiration, two or three paintings a day, ”wrote the doctor. Therefore, many diagnosed the artist's illness as a manic-depressive psychosis.

According to one version, the cause of the artist's death was the destructive effect of absinthe, to which he was not indifferent, like many other people of a creative warehouse. This absinthe, according to experts, contained an extract of wormwood alpha-thujone.

This substance, entering the human body, penetrates into the nervous tissue, including the brain, which leads to a disruption in the process of normal inhibition of nerve impulses, in other words, the nervous system “breaks down”. As a result, a person experiences seizures, hallucinations, and other signs of psychopathic behavior. It should be noted that the alkaloid thujone is contained not only in wormwood, but also in thuja, which gave the name to this alkaloid, and in many other plants. Ironically, it is these unfortunate thujas that grow on the grave of Vincent van Gogh, whose dope completely ruined the artist.

Among other versions of Van Gogh's illness, another one has recently appeared. It is known that the artist often experienced a condition accompanied by ringing in the ears. So, experts have found that this phenomenon is accompanied by severe depression. Only the professional help of a psychotherapist can get rid of such a state. Presumably, it was the ringing in the ears with Meniere's disease, and even in combination with depression, that drove Van Gogh to insanity and suicide.

A similar version: Cyclic schizophrenia - it is believed that Nikolai Gogol, Mikalojus Čiurlionis, Alexander Dumas son, Ernest Hemingway, Albrecht Durer, Sergei Rachmaninov suffered from the same disease. In general, a schizophrenic creates a world unlike the one where most people live. What an ordinary person laughs at can cause anger in a schizophrenic. Incompatible things coexist in his head, the antagonism of which he is not aware of. Often he endows everything that happens with an unusual, often sinister meaning and believes that only he can comprehend this meaning.

Van Gogh syndrome

Scientists first described the Van Gogh syndrome in 1966. As you might guess, with such a mental disorder, a person operates on himself or wants to do it, and also inflicts crippling injuries on himself, not only in the form of cut off parts of the body, but also in the form of incisions. The syndrome also manifests itself in the fact that the patient insists on a certain surgical operation, although in fact it is not required.

The syndrome, named after the famous artist, occurs primarily in schizophrenia, dysmorphomania and dysmorphophobia. Dysmorphomania is manifested in the fact that the patient is convinced of the presence of an imaginary physical defect. This disease is a serious consequence of dysmorphophobia, which manifests itself at the level of delirium. This disease often begins in adolescence, when a person pays too much attention to some insignificant defect in his appearance and physique.

There are several reasons for the development of Van Gogh syndrome. This is the aforementioned dysmorphomaniac nonsense, when a person is sure that his own body or part of it causes disgust or horror in others. At the same time, the patient experiences unbearable suffering and sees the only solution to get rid of the defect in any way. Another reason is hypochondriacal delirium, during which a person feels that a part of his body is seriously ill and requires emergency surgery. In this case, the person physically feels pain.

It is worth noting that there are still many mysteries in the mental illness of Van Gogh himself. It is known that he committed suicide after he was discharged from the clinic with a conclusion about his recovery. Modern psychiatrists agree that the artist suffered from an unspecified mental disorder due to epilepsy. According to another version, the artist suffered from cyclic schizophrenia, which also affected many famous people (Nikolai Gogol, Albrecht Dürer, Ernest Hemingway, Sergei Rachmaninov and others).