Conspiracy of psychiatrists. Van Gogh Syndrome, or What did the brilliant artist suffer from?  Vincent van Gogh mental illness

The essence of the Van Gogh syndrome is the irresistible desire of a mentally ill person to perform operations on himself: to inflict extensive cuts, cut off various parts of the body. The syndrome can be observed in patients with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. The basis of such a disorder are aggressive attitudes aimed at injuring and harming oneself.

The Life and Death of Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh, the world famous Post-Impressionist painter, suffered from a mental illness, but modern doctors and historians can only guess which one. There are several versions: Meniere (this term did not exist then, but the symptoms are similar to Van Gogh's behavior) or epileptic psychosis. The last diagnosis was made to the artist by his attending physician and a colleague of the latter, who worked in a shelter. Perhaps it was about negative consequences alcohol abuse, namely absinthe.

Van Gogh began his creative activity only at the age of 27, and died at 37. Za could paint several paintings. The records of the attending physician indicate that in the intervals between attacks, Van Gogh was calm and passionately indulged in the creative process. He was the eldest child in the family and from childhood he showed a controversial character: at home he was a rather difficult child, and outside the family he was quiet and modest. This duality persisted in adult life.

Van Gogh's suicide

Obvious bouts of mental illness began at last years life. The artist either reasoned very soberly, or fell into complete confusion. By official version, hard physical and mental work, as well as a riotous lifestyle, led to death. Vincent van Gogh, as mentioned earlier, abused absinthe.

In the summer of 1890, the artist went for a walk with materials for creativity. He also had a gun with him to scare away flocks of birds during work. After finishing writing "Wheatfield with Crows", Van Gogh shot himself in the heart with this pistol, and then independently got to the hospital. After 29 hours, the artist died from blood loss. Shortly before the incident, he was discharged from a psychiatric clinic, concluding that Van Gogh was completely healthy, and the mental crisis had passed.

ear incident

In 1888, on the night of December 23-24, Van Gogh lost his ear. His friend and colleague Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin told the police that there had been a quarrel between them. Gauguin wanted to leave the city, but Van Gogh did not want to part with his friend, he threw a glass of absinthe at the artist and went to spend the night in the nearest inn.

Van Gogh, left alone and in a depressed psychological state, cut off his earlobe with a dangerous razor. Van Gogh's self-portrait is even dedicated to this event. Then he wrapped the lobe in newspaper and went to brothel to a familiar prostitute to show the trophy and find solace. At least that's what the artist told the police. Officers found him unconscious the next day.

Other versions

Some believe that Paul Gauguin himself cut off a friend's ear in a fit of anger. He was a good swordsman, so it was easy for him to pounce on Van Gogh and cut off the lobe of his left ear with a rapier. After that, Gauguin could throw the weapons into the river.

There is a version that the artist injured himself because of the news about the marriage of his brother Theo. According to biographer Martin Bailey, he received the letter on the day he cut off his ear. Van Gogh's brother attached 100 francs to the letter. The biographer notes that Theo was not only a beloved relative for the artist, but also a significant sponsor.

In the hospital where the victim was taken, they diagnosed him with acute mania. The records of Felix Frey, a mental hospital intern who looked after the artist, indicate that Van Gogh cut off not only his earlobe, but his entire ear.

Mental illness

Van Gogh's mental illness is rather mysterious. It is known that during seizures he could eat his paints, rush around the room for hours and freeze for a long time in one position, he was overcome by melancholy and anger, terrible hallucinations visited him. The artist said that during the period of darkness he saw images of future paintings. It is possible that Van Gogh first saw the self-portrait during an attack.

In the clinic, he was also diagnosed with another diagnosis - “epilepsy of the temporal lobes”. True, the opinions of doctors about the state of health of the artist diverged. Felix Rey, for example, believed that Van Gogh was ill with epilepsy, and the head of the clinic was of the opinion that the patient had brain damage - encephalopathy. The artist was prescribed hydrotherapy - staying in the bath for two hours twice a week, but this did not help.

Dr. Gachet, who observed Van Gogh for some time, believed that the patient was negatively affected by prolonged exposure to heat and turpentine, which the artist drank during his work. But he used turpentine already during the attack to relieve the symptoms.

The most common opinion about Van Gogh's mental health today is the diagnosis of "epileptic psychosis". This is a rare disease that affects only 3-5% of patients. The fact that there were epileptics among the artist's relatives also speaks in favor of the diagnosis. The predisposition might not have manifested if it were not for hard work, alcohol, stress and poor nutrition.

Van Gogh syndrome

The diagnosis is made when a mentally ill person injures himself. Van Gogh syndrome - self-operation or the patient's insistence on the doctor to perform surgical intervention. The condition occurs in dysmorphophobia, schizophrenia and dysmorphomania, as well as some other mental disorders.

Van Gogh's syndrome is caused by the presence of hallucinations, impulsive cravings, and delusions. The patient is convinced that some part of the body is so ugly that it causes unbearable physical and moral suffering to the owner of the deformity and causes horror in those around him. The only solution the patient finds to get rid of his imaginary defect in absolutely any way. In this case, there is actually no defect.

It is believed that Van Gogh cut off his ear, suffering severe migraines, dizziness, pain and tinnitus, which drove him into a frenzy, nervous strain. Depression and chronic stress could lead to schizophrenia. Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Dumas son, Nikolai Gogol and Ernest Hemingway suffered from the same pathology.

In modern psychiatry

Van Gogh syndrome is one of the most famous psychopathologies. Mental deviation is associated with an irresistible desire to perform operations on oneself with amputation of body parts or forcing medical personnel to carry out the same manipulations. As a rule, Van Gogh's syndrome is not a separate disease, but accompanies another mental disorder. Most often, pathologies are affected by patients with dysmorphomania and schizophrenia.

The cause of Van Gogh's syndrome is auto-aggression and self-damaging behavior as a result of depression, demonstrative behavior, various self-control disorders, the inability to resist stress factors and adequately respond to everyday difficulties. According to statistics, men are more likely to suffer from the syndrome, but women are more susceptible to auto-aggressive behavior. Female patients are more likely to inflict cuts and wounds on themselves, and men, as a rule, injure themselves in the genital area.

Provoking factors

The development of Van Gogh's syndrome can be affected whole line factors: genetic predisposition, drug and alcohol addiction, various diseases internal organs, socio-psychological aspects. The genetic factor plays a major role. According to contemporaries, Van Gogh's sisters suffered from mental retardation and schizophrenia, and the aunt suffered from epilepsy.

The level of personality control is reduced under the influence alcoholic beverages and narcotic substances. If the patient is disposed to auto-aggressive behavior, then a decrease in self-control and volitional qualities can lead to serious injuries. The consequences of Van Gogh's syndrome in this case are deplorable - a person can lose too much blood and die.

An important role is played by socio-psychological influence. Most often, the patient injures himself due to the inability to cope with everyday stresses and stresses, conflicts. Patients often claim to replace in this way heartache physical.

In some cases, the desire to independently perform a surgical operation is caused by the severe course of a disease. A person who suffers from a mental disorder and constantly experiences pain is more likely to injure himself in order to get rid of the discomfort. It was stated above that Van Gogh's amputation was an attempt by the artist to get rid of insurmountable pain and constant tinnitus.

Treatment of the syndrome

Therapy of Van Gogh syndrome involves identifying the underlying mental illness or the causes of the obsessive desire to injure oneself. To remove an obsessive desire, antipsychotics, antidepressants and tranquilizers are used. Hospitalization required. With Van Gogh syndrome, schizophrenia or other mental illness, this will help reduce the risk of damage.

Psychotherapy will be effective only if the syndrome manifests itself against a background of neurosis or depressive disorder. More effective is cognitive-behavioral therapy, which will establish not only the causes of the patient's behavior, but also suitable ways to confront outbreaks of aggression. The process of recovery in Van Gogh syndrome with dysmorphomania with the dominance of auto-aggressive attitudes is difficult, because the patient is not able to achieve positive results.

Treatment is long and not always successful. Therapy in general can come to a standstill if the patient has a stable state of delirium.

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."

Vincent Van Gogh. "View of Arles with Irises". 1888

Illness and death

Van Gogh was the eldest child in the family and already in childhood his contradictory character was manifested - at home the future artist was a wayward and difficult child, and outside the family he was quiet, serious and modest.

In him, and in subsequent years of his life, duality was manifested - he dreamed of a family hearth and children, considering this " real life”, but devoted himself entirely 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.

According to the official version, hard work, both physical and mental, and a riotous lifestyle led to his death - Van Gogh abused absinthe.

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

Vincent Van Gogh. Dedicated to Gauguin. 1888

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 Ray believed that Van Gogh was suffering 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, the most correct diagnosis is considered - 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.

Affective insanity

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.

Vincent Van Gogh. "Sunflowers", 1888.

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 physician, 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.

Meniere's disease

Features of the disease: constant ringing in the head, then subsiding, then intensifying, sometimes accompanied by hearing loss. The disease usually develops at the age of 30-50 years. As a result of the disease, hearing impairment can become permanent, and some patients develop deafness.

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

Van Gogh syndrome

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.

Vincent Van Gogh. "With a bandaged ear", 1889.

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.

Vincent Van Gogh. " Starlight Night", 1889.

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

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

Syndro m Van-G oh ha (by the name of the patient - Dutch artist XIX V. Van Gogh) - the infliction of crippling injury to a mentally ill person (cutting off a part of the body, extensive incisions) or presenting insistent demands to the doctor to perform a surgical intervention on him, due to the presence of hypochondriacal delusions, hallucinations, impulsive drives.

Vincent van Gogh. Self-portrait (a fragment of a picture)

He lived a life of poverty. Recognition came to him after his death, and today tens of millions of dollars are given for his paintings.

Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853. Vincent's father was Theodor van Gogh, a Protestant pastor, and his mother was Anna Cornelia Carbentus, the daughter of a venerable bookbinder and bookseller from The Hague. He was the eldest child in the family, who from childhood showed his inconsistency: his family remembered him as a wayward and difficult child, and outside the family he was quiet, serious, sweet and modest.

At first he studied at a village school, then at home, with a governess, and at the age of 11 he was sent to study at a boarding school. The isolation from his family made a depressing impression on him, which was reflected in the whole later life. At the age of 15, he quits boarding school and returns home.

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 theology and from 1878 was a preacher in the mining district of Borinage ( in Belgium)

Van Gogh became an artist at the age of 27. In 1885, the world saw the famous painting "Potato Eaters". It is written in dark shades and, like in other paintings, the central object is a person with his emotions and experiences.

In 1886, Van Gogh moved to Paris, where he painted a whole collection of paintings, among them the most famous "Poets' Garden". new period creativity is marked by a change in style. The colors become brighter, the plots more cheerful. This period is characterized by the technique of pointillism - small short strokes of iridescent colors.

Still life . Vase with irises. May 1890

Van Gogh was a very prolific artist - he could paint several paintings in a day. These are landscapes, and still lifes, and portraits, and genre painting.The late period of creativity, which began after moving from Paris to the south of France, is very controversial, but at the same time the most fruitful.The bright nature of Provence inspired the artist to write very lively and colorful landscapes. But at the same time, a disease matured in the soul of the artist, which eventually led to his death.During periods of crisis, Van Gogh paints paintings that convey the oppressive feeling of hopelessness that gripped the artist. His productivity was incredible. " In the intervals between attacks, the patient is completely calm and passionately indulges in painting. ", - stated the attending physician.
Van Gogh shot himself on July 27, 1890, after his mental crisis seemed to have been overcome. Shortly before that, he was discharged from the clinic with the conclusion: “ recovered ».

During the attacks, he was visited by nightmarish hallucinations, melancholy and anger. He could eat his own paints, rush around the room for hours and freeze in one position for a long time. According to him, in these moments of stupefaction, he saw images of future canvases.

The culmination of the illness, during which he often had unbearable headaches, was that he launched a glass of absinthe into the head of the no less great Gauguin, and then attacked him with an open razor. By the way, on the same evening
By the way, according to another version: Vincent van Gogh's earlobe was cut off by his friend Paul Gauguin - so

consider Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans.
According to their version, on the night of December 23-24, 1888, Van Gogh attacked Gauguin in a fit of rage when he told a friend that he was going to leave Arles. Gauguin, a good swordsman, cut off Van Gogh's left earlobe with a rapier, after which he threw the weapon into the river. The conclusions of art historians are based, among other things, on the study of police protocols, on which the generally accepted version was based: Van Gogh cut off his own ear with a razor in a state of mental arousal.
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' shot himself in the head. According to another version, the shot was in the stomach, after which he painted another painting. .

In mental illness Ban Goga a lot of mystery.
Psychiatrists who are trying to restore the clinical picture are now recognized as the correct diagnosis, made by Dr. Ray and confirmed by Dr. Peyron in the Saint-Paul asylum: epileptic psychosis (we used to call it: other conditions that meet the criteria for organic psychosis but do not take the form of confusion, non-alcoholic Korsakoff's psychosis, or dementia; now called: unspecified psychotic disorders due to epilepsy) .
Among relatives Van Goga the mother had 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. Colossal constant overstrain of mental and spiritual forces, chronic overwork, poor nutrition, alcohol, combined with severe moral upheavals that have fallen to the lot Van Goga in excess - all this was more than enough for the potential predisposition to the 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 Gog deified Paul Gauguin, whom he invited to live in his studio. And it is generally accepted that he also made an attempt on Gauguin, during the next attack.

VanGog was examined by three doctors, and they all came to different opinions.
Dr Ray believed that Van Gog suffers from epilepsy.
The head of the psychiatric clinic at Saint-Remy, Dr. Peyron, believed that Van Gog 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 the disease. Van Goga.
Dr. Gachet, who was watching Van Gog in Auvers was not a sufficiently qualified doctor. He claimed that on Van Gog was allegedly affected by long exposure to the sun and turpentine, which he drank while working. But turpentine VanGog drank when the attack was already beginning, in order to relieve his symptoms.

The paintings themselves serve as material for hypotheses. Van Goga . Particular attention of researchers is attracted by the picture "Starlight Night"

.

Some of them argue that an excessive passion for green, red and white paints speaks of the artist's color blindness. However, while working on this picture, Van

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, recurring every three months. In hypomanic phases Van gog 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 on the grave Vincent Van Goga it is precisely these ill-fated thujas that grow, whose dope completely ruined the artist.

Among other versions about the disease Van Goga There has been another one recently. 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 ringing in the ears with Meniere's disease, and even in combination with depression, that brought Van Goga to madness 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.

Journal "Medical Psychology in Russia";

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

Email: [email protected]

Annotation. Mainly according to foreign literature the development and course of Vincent van Gogh's mental disorders 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 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. studied at school Fine Arts Antwerp (1885 - March 1886), then moved to Paris (1886 - February 1888). visited there private school, got acquainted with the art of the Impressionists, studies the technique of Japanese engraving and "synthetic paintings by 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 that makes 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 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 worthless, finished man, accused him of immorality because he fell in love with a 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, later with difficulty reproduced what happened to him. dramatic events.

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 was clouded again ...

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 sadness. 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 the 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", "Melancholy" and others - 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, a 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 (foxglove) and / or santonin. P. lanthony two specific features in Van Gogh's paintings, he interprets it 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 conditions, as is known, appeared against the background of chronic malnutrition and alcoholism, with the use of large doses of absinthe, causing typical convulsive conditions.

Very peculiar is the opinion about lead poisoning contained in oil paints, and other toxic substances . 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 a diagnosis of an organic mental disorder due to cerebral damage or a somatic disease (F.06) or an 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 the process more and more difficult, and at times impossible. artistic creativity, that last opportunity to somehow cling to life, adapt to the environment, get away from numerous and insoluble problems (“... I will never reach the 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).

All elements of the description are necessary and comply with GOST R 7.0.5-2008 "Bibliographic reference" (entered into force on 01.01.2009). Date accessed [in the format day-month-year = hh.mm.yyyy] - the date when you accessed the document and it was available.

If in a simple way - an irresistible desire to perform surgical operations on oneself, for example, cut off parts of the body or inflict cuts in an attempt to get rid of a far-fetched physical defect. Most often, this syndrome manifests itself in schizophrenia, hallucinosis, manic-depressive psychosis and other diseases.

The basis of the disorder is formed by internal attitudes towards self-mutilation, often combined with dissatisfaction with one's appearance. Accordingly, persons affected by this syndrome strive in every possible way to get rid of an imaginary defect on their own or with the help of competent physical intervention.

Obviously the most famous person, who suffered from this ailment, is Vincent van Gogh, who shocked the public by amputating his ear and sending it to his beloved. At the same time, there is a version that the ear was deprived of the artist by his friend during one of the quarrels. And another possible confluence of events - Van Gogh could be under the influence of drugs. However, the scientific community still agrees on the idea that the artist has this deviation.

A similar syndrome appears in demonstrative self-mutilation, for example, as during a performance domestic artist Pavlensky on Red Square.

More soft form, so to speak, - self-damaging behavior and auto-aggression. In this case, accessible parts of the body most often suffer: arms, legs, chest and abdomen, genitals. However, amputation does not occur. Reasons for this behavior include the following:

• demonstrative behavior,
• Depression,
• impulsive behavior,
• Violation of self-control
• Inability to adequately respond to stress and setbacks.

According to statistics, women are more susceptible to auto-aggression, and men are more susceptible to Van Gogh syndrome. Because of which this disorder can develop? There are many reasons for this:

• genetic predisposition,
• social influence,
• Diseases of the internal organs,
• Alcohol or drug addiction.

Therapy of the disorder involves, first of all, the treatment of the disease itself, which caused the development of the syndrome. Antipsychotics and antidepressants are used to reduce the uncontrollable desire to injure oneself. In the event that Van Gogh syndrome is diagnosed, hospitalization is necessary in order to reduce the risk of injury. It is worth saying that this is always a long and complicated process, the effect of which is not guaranteed.

Now for some hard facts.

The American artist A. Fielding urged the doctors to perform a trepanation in order to be able to look at the world differently. She was so obsessed with the idea of ​​enlightenment that she had an obsession with drilling a hole in her skull. Which is exactly what she did.

At a time when the elven race became one of the phenomena of the gaming industry, many people began to self-mutilate their ears in an attempt to achieve their pointed form, like virtual characters.

Finally, the brutal practice of amputating fingers as a political or other protest is now spreading. This practice is most common in Eastern countries, influenced by the ancient technique of yumitsume (amputation of part of the finger as punishment for non-compliance with the rules of the mafia community).