Andy Behrman — American Writer born on December 29, 1962,

Andy Behrman was born 1962 and is an American writer of non-fiction as well as a mental health advocate and national speaker. He is the author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania, a chronicle about his experiences with Manic Depression, published by Random House. "Electroboy" not only details his battle with manic depression but also traces his career dealing forgeries of the art of Mark Kostabi. His story was originally bought by HBO and Tobey Maguire considered the lead role. Behrman was formerly a spokesman for Bristol Myers Squibb until he publicly criticized them for their marketing techniques and began a crusade against Bristol Myers Squibb with a well-known YouTube video titled, "Abilify Kills." Behrman lives with his two daughters in Los Angeles, California. He is working on a sequel to Electroboy, as well as a self-help book for people with manic depression. He graduated from Wesleyan University... (wikipedia)

The guilt I felt for having a mental illness was horrible. I prayed for a broken bone that would heal in six weeks. But that never happened. I was cursed with an illness that nobody could see and nobody knew much about.
My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary material goods and bizarre generosity with family, friends and even strangers.
In my most psychotic stages, I imagine myself chewing on sidewalks and bulging and swallowing sunlight and clouds.
My eating habits are the only behaviour of mine that are still manic. I can't walk by a restaurant, a bakery, an ice-cream store or a candy store without making a purchase; the amount of calories I take in today are at least five times as many as I took before starting on all of this medication.
My ever-present mania meant I was never phased by staying up twenty hours a day or by the different time zones. I was Superman.