Does Axl suffer from schizophrenia?

[BucketRose]

He wants to tour....he doesn't want to tour....he says he's hard at work on the album....another year passes without an album....he's in the public eye for a stint....then he vanishes without a trace.  He makes Dr. Jeckyll look like a consistent and balanced individual.

What do you think?  Maybe schizophrenia would help explain his ever-revolving goals/focus/intent.  

I'm not trying to rip on Axl in this thread....just trying to see if any of you think that schizophrenia might be the reason for his infamously erratic behavior.

[SlashFan]

I think he has bi-polar disorder, which causes massive mood swings.

That's what I heard also

[Smoke]

I don't think that there is anything medically wrong with him, I just think that he doesn't think the way we do.  In that I mean the way we think about something is common sense.  Like we would never not show up to a concert but maybe he doesn't think thats a big deal at all.  I don't think he realizes what he does sometimes and he doesn't think things through the way a normal person would.  Acts before he thinks.  He is like a lot of talented people.  They have this incredible gift that is unlike anything else but they have faults that they really can't do anything about, which probably came from troubled childhood.  And that is a shame because sometimes that talent is not used up to its potential.  

[SlashFan]

I don't think that there is anything medically wrong with him, I just think that he doesn't think the way we do.  In that I mean the way we think about something is common sense.  Like we would never not show up to a concert but maybe he doesn't think thats a big deal at all.  I don't think he realizes what he does sometimes and he doesn't think things through the way a normal person would.  Acts before he thinks.  He is like a lot of talented people.  They have this incredible gift that is unlike anything else but they have faults that they really can't do anything about, which probably came from troubled childhood.  And that is a shame because sometimes that talent is not used up to its potential.  

Well he's just a person,so he's no different than anyone else and I have read that he does have mental problems,but I don't know for sure,he sure acts like it.

[EvilSmurf]

He's said in interviews that he was diagnosed as a manic depressive (which was the old non-PC name of Bi-Polar Disorder). I've known people with this disorder and it is a very difficult to have to deal with.

I don't think that there is anything medically wrong with him, I just think that he doesn't think the way we do.  In that I mean the way we think about something is common sense.  Like we would never not show up to a concert but maybe he doesn't think thats a big deal at all.  I don't think he realizes what he does sometimes and he doesn't think things through the way a normal person would.  Acts before he thinks.  He is like a lot of talented people.  They have this incredible gift that is unlike anything else but they have faults that they really can't do anything about, which probably came from troubled childhood.  And that is a shame because sometimes that talent is not used up to its potential.  

[BucketRose]

I wouldn't be so quick to accept Axl's self-asserted diagnosis as gospel truth.  Schizophrenia is more debilitating than bipolar....I can't imagine if Axl suffered any symptoms of schizophrenia that he'd go public with it, or mention it in interviews.  It would hurt his image more than its already been hurt...and make him an object of intense media scrutiny, which I'm sure he wouldn't want.

Besides...how many years ago was it that he was mentioning that he was bipolar?  He may have been bipolar 10 years ago....but perhaps he's developed more serious psychological disorders since then.  I think alot of us have become overly familiar with Axl...and therefore, we lose sight of how bizarre his behavior actually is.  I don't think that mood swings can fully account for his bizarre actions...and even if there was something more, I doubt we'd be hearing about it in the media.

[Acquiesce]

I doubt he is a schizo because it would be hard to hide his delusional state from the world for this long of a time. I've heard he was bi-polar (haven't actually seen where he admits to it) and it makes a lot of sense. It would explain his violent temper and his indecisive nature. Feeling good about the tour would probably be when he is in a manic phase while being unable to show up would be the depressive phase. It's a terrible disease and it's likely we'll never see the album unless he finds a way to be get the change in moods under control.  

[matt88]

As i'm not axl i won't jump to any conclusions of what mental ilnesses he may have, but him being schizophrenic wouldn't surprise me but.......i think his problems r just the mental and emotional shit thats happened to him in his life. Like he admits to being physically and sexually abused as a child...u tellin me u wouldn't look at the world differently or b acting weird sometimes, thats my opinion i think his childhood has made him socially withdrawn and it's hard 4 him to trust ppl after whats happened to him

[Pandora]

I suggest you to do a bit more research on schizophrenia before making this hypothesis. If he was a schizophrenic, he would NEVER have made it in his career the way he did, because schizophrenia is a huge handicap in everyday life.  
However, I have studied psychology and it looks quite clear to me that he exhibits the symptoms of bi-polar disorder. It's actually a disease from which a lot of artists seem to suffer  

[pilferk]

He has confirmed, in a couple of interviews, that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.  Do a google on "Axl Rose bipolar" and you should be able to easily turn up at least one of the interviews.

He doesn't, however, seem to agree with the diagnosis.....

[jarmo]

http://bipolar.about.com/cs/celebs/a/axlrose.htm

Between 1987 and 1991, Axl was arrested several times for assault. At some point he was diagnosed as bipolar and put on lithium; one source says he also underwent anger management therapy. Axl himself has been quoted as saying, "I'm very sensitive and emotional and things upset me and make me feel like not functioning or dealing with people... I went to a clinic, thinking it would help my moods. The only thing I did was to take one 500 question test - ya know, filling in the little black dots. All of a sudden I'm diagnosed manic-depressive. 'Let's put Axl on medication.' Well, the medication doesn't help me deal with the stress. The only thing it does is help keep people off my back because they figure I'm on medication."

It's impossible to say categorically whether Axl Rose is bipolar. Some of his behaviors - explosive anger, alcohol use in youth, substance abuse - could point to this, but could also be signs of post-traumatic stress disorder or other affective disorders. Accounts of his life give information about his childhood that is conflicting at times. Yet certainly he has had a turbulent life, and by all accounts, not a happy one.


/jarmo

[BucketRose]

I'm not talking about if Axl was schizophrenic back during the time that he was launching himself to superstardom....and working hard to become the biggest rockstar in the world.  I'm talking about where his mind has gone during the last few years...and his ever-increasing weirdness.

And yes, I've read the interviews firsthand when they came out...where Axl mentions bipolar...one of them was in RIP magazine around '91, if I remember correctly.

But as I said....that was over 10 years ago.  During these past 10 years....Axl has isolated himself away from the world for most of that time....doing God knows what....thinking God knows what. Who's to know what has become of his mind during the last few years?

[Pandora]

I'm not talking about if Axl was schizophrenic back during the time that he was launching himself to superstardom....and working hard to become the biggest rockstar in the world.  I'm talking about where his mind has gone during the last few years...and his ever-increasing weirdness.

And yes, I've read the interviews firsthand when they came out...where Axl mentions bipolar...one of them was in RIP magazine around '91, if I remember correctly.

But as I said....that was over 10 years ago.  During these past 10 years....Axl has isolated himself away from the world for most of that time....doing God knows what....thinking God knows what. Who's to know what has become of his mind during the last few years?

It's highly unlikely that he would have become a schizophrenic in the last few years, because this disease mostly appears when you're in your 20s. He's a bit too old to develop it now

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

what kind of person would go " yeah, i have Bi POlar disorder, yeah, i'm cool ..."

come on,
stop analysing people
stop trying to find a mystery or a cool drama explanation
life is life
people do stuff because of several reasons that are far more complex and numerous than a simple diagnostic.

all the pshyco, schyzo, analysis, is SHIT.

we're not in a movie. this is not a book were people can be explained in 2 words.

axl is man = complex = we can't analyse.

[Luckyme]

I'm just curious who diagnosed him?  Was it some court appointed shrink?

[Crowebar]

This is another bullshit post put up here out of sheer boredom.

Axl's a human being just like the rest of us and he has his own problems just like the rest of us.

All of this psycho-babble isn't doing us or Axl any good.

Who cares???

Leave the guy alone and if/when the album comes out and if/when you get to see him perform live again, cherish that moment because it just might be the last time you ever see it again.

Remember that.

[Luckyme]

I agree with that!  Kudos!

[2NaFish]

one in five people will suffer some sort of mental illness in their lifetime. There were 5 original members. You do the math.

[Syd Vega]

what kind of person would go " yeah, i have Bi POlar disorder, yeah, i'm cool ..."

come on,
stop analysing people
stop trying to find a mystery or a cool drama explanation
life is life
people do stuff because of several reasons that are far more complex and numerous than a simple diagnostic.

all the pshyco, schyzo, analysis, is SHIT.

we're not in a movie. this is not a book were people can be explained in 2 words.

axl is man = complex = we can't analyse.

reading this is like a relief...way too much blahblah about stuff nobody knows nothing about...

[dave-gnfnr2k]

yes axl is bi polar he used to take meds for it.

[Acquiesce]

I'm not talking about if Axl was schizophrenic back during the time that he was launching himself to superstardom....and working hard to become the biggest rockstar in the world.  I'm talking about where his mind has gone during the last few years...and his ever-increasing weirdness.

And yes, I've read the interviews firsthand when they came out...where Axl mentions bipolar...one of them was in RIP magazine around '91, if I remember correctly.

But as I said....that was over 10 years ago.  During these past 10 years....Axl has isolated himself away from the world for most of that time....doing God knows what....thinking God knows what. Who's to know what has become of his mind during the last few years?

Axl may seem weird, but his behavior is nothing compared to someone actually suffering from schizophrenia. He wouldn't be able to control himself when he enters a psychotic phase. It's not something you could hide from the public.  Without medication, the disease would most likely progressively worsen. There's no way he'd be able to be working on this album and play live.

I don't understand why people get so upset over this discussion. Axl apparently admitted he has a disease - there is no reason to get worked up over that. We're not saying it to be rude or to make fun of him. In fact, I think it actually makes him seem more human and it allows us to begin to understand.

Being someone with a mental illness, it makes me feel like less of a freak knowing someone like Axl could be going through the same thing.  

[Doc Emmett Brown]

I think he's just an insecure person.   I dont know anything about mental disorders so I cant say.
But insecurity can make people do some weird shit - you're constantly trying to prove something to yourself, fill a never-ending hole in your life.  I've felt that way, but I dont have to perform in front of 10000 people when I'm upset.

I really wish he'd make up with the ex-Gunners.  Even if they dont get back together as a band again, I'm sure it'd take away some of the bitterness..sigh..

[BucketRose]

The greatest thing about this thread is the irony...how you people can point out that it would be impossible to determine Axl's mental condition...yet everything else in the GnR world is completely left to conjecture, and yet you seek to fool yourselves that you can "know" things about Axl and GnR with something resembling a concrete certainty.

As far as I'm concerned, this whole Internet community and this whole Internet fanbase serves as nothing but a futile stab in the dark to try and figure out what is going on in the world of GnR.  This whole venture of trying to follow the "happenings" in the GnR world is as useful and engaging as watching your fingernails.  One bogus, "unnamed source," thread after another....yet people keep trying to believe that there is some basis in reality behind the rumor...and then when rumor is unanimously dismissed as bogus, then everyone is on to the next rumor to dissect and prove false.  We know its all bullshit before we investigate a thread...yet we go thru the cycle of disproving it anyway.

Ok, enough distraction....go back to trying to determine the definite about a band that it is impossible to determine anything about for sure.  Maybe GnR fans have an intense fascination with enigmatic bands/frontmen....I really don't know.  But it is a good way to kill some time on the Net, thats for sure.

Now I can sit back and wait for a chuckle...when I can read the reply of someone who has actually taken offense to something I wrote in this post...and they'll tell me off or "diss" me.  Man....I fucking love reading shit like that.  

[SlashFan]

The greatest thing about this thread is the irony...how you people can point out that it would be impossible to determine Axl's mental condition...yet everything else in the GnR world is completely left to conjecture, and yet you seek to fool yourselves that you can "know" things about Axl and GnR with something resembling a concrete certainty.

As far as I'm concerned, this whole Internet community and this whole Internet fanbase serves as nothing but a futile stab in the dark to try and figure out what is going on in the world of GnR.  This whole venture of trying to follow the "happenings" in the GnR world is as useful and engaging as watching your fingernails.  One bogus, "unnamed source," thread after another....yet people keep trying to believe that there is some basis in reality behind the rumor...and then when rumor is unanimously dismissed as bogus, then everyone is on to the next rumor to dissect and prove false.  We know its all bullshit before we investigate a thread...yet we go thru the cycle of disproving it anyway.

Ok, enough distraction....go back to trying to determine the definite about a band that it is impossible to determine anything about for sure.  Maybe GnR fans have an intense fascination with enigmatic bands/frontmen....I really don't know.  But it is a good way to kill some time on the Net, thats for sure.

Now I can sit back and wait for a chuckle...when I can read the reply of someone who has actually taken offense to something I wrote in this post...and they'll tell me off or "diss" me.  Man....I fucking love reading shit like that.  

I agree with most of this,but what do you mean"you people"

[BucketRose]

Axl people    

[Doc Emmett Brown]

As far as I'm concerned, this whole Internet community and this whole Internet fanbase serves as nothing but a futile stab in the dark to try and figure out what is going on in the world of GnR.

What do you expect? After all this is a msg board for GNR fans and 'Axl people'.

If you posed the question: "Does Axl jerk off in the shower?", expect to get more futile stabs in the dark.

I got one for you: Does Axl see dead people?  

[starchild_666]

I have a friend with this problem... he's cool person, but something happens and he just goes crazy - speaks unreal things, hides at home and other shits. He had a rockband, but he was fired because it wasn't possible for a band to deal with his problems...
I really understand Axl... he just isn't able to do anything...

[Where is Hassan Nasrallah ?]

babble babble bitch bicth
 

[Dizzy]

For the record, bipolar disorder (a.k.a. manic depression) is an emotional disorder, not a mental disorder.  There is a clinical difference.  An emotional disorder affects one's emotions.  A mental disorder affects one's mind state.  Schizophrenia is a mental disorder.

[Cornell]

I read long ago that he was bi-polar, but more recently they believe that he has ADHD.  I have experience with people with ADHD and have done a lot of reading on it, and it seems that he can fit the bill to me.

[Pandora]

I got one for you: Does Axl see dead people?  

Now THAT would be worrisome  

[badgirl]

dude, do you know anything about schizophrenia?? changing one's mind is hardly a symptom...
and the answer is obviously no.

[Rebecca Duff Rose]

All Axl needs is some love!
He's had a very hard life but has achieved so much!
Thats why its not very nice to pick on him and be nasty about him and his new band!
We are his fans and should support him through thick and thin!

[carmiedisco12]

Yes Rebecca I agree that Axl needs love and that he has had it rough, but on the other hand the amount of people that have had it worse than Axl Im sure would suprise you.
He needs love for sure and stability , but he also needs to stop obsessing over his own personal pain and spend a month in Somalia or somewhere so he realises that as bad as he may have had it, it's a LOT worse for a large % of the people out there and he should just get over it cos he's 40 something now and the poor axl was hurt as a kid thing is getting old. Especially as so many of his fans  were abused as kids and we found positive lifes with much less 'love' than Axl got.

[Doc Emmett Brown]

Especially as so many of his fans  were abused as kids and we found positive lifes with much less 'love' than Axl got.

very good point...

Maybe if he was a father he would get over himself.  He should at least get a dog or something.

And someone is going to reply "How do you know he doesnt have a dog?  "
 

[shaun]

Good call dude ... Slash seems like a happy man, he has lots of pets... Cats, Snakes, even an Aliagtor!!!  

Axl seems to have a thing about Dophins, so maybe he should splash some ca$h and have a huge fish tank built in his backyard and throw in a couple of dophins  

...then again, Slash dose have porn star girl friend. Blond, big boobs n`all that kind of thing  

[Dizzy]

...then again, Slash dose have porn star girl friend. Blond, big boobs n`all that kind of thing  

I hope nobody tells his pregnant wife about that....

[//JK75]

YES HE IS

[shaun]

...then again, Slash dose have porn star girl friend. Blond, big boobs n`all that kind of thing  

I hope nobody tells his pregnant wife about that....

Ooops, maybe that should have read, did rather than dose  

[jet]

As far as I'm concerned, this whole Internet community and this whole Internet fanbase serves as nothing but a futile stab in the dark to try and figure out what is going on in the world of GnR.

That's what forums are made for  

[Axl4Prez2004]

Hmmm, part of me thinks yes...but the other half says hell no!

[Rebecca Duff Rose]

No he isn't! He isn't!

Axl's got two dogs anyway right, but he needs his family, a special wife who can look after him!

I know he's fourty-two but memories still exist in your head!
And I know life's hard but still, things that have happened to you concern you for the rest of your life.

Its hard for him because of press reports picking on him, they are all bullies! It's hard to be famous, so much to be expected of you!

[erose]

yes axl is bi polar he used to take meds for it.

you mean you think he is...  

just because he took a written test and got meds doesn't mean jack shit...

he's a classic case, no biggie... sure he has had a turbulent child hood, but there are alot of people who have had it alot worse... his status tho allows him to carry out a few of his thoughts regular people would have to put on ice unless they wanted to face serious jail time... thts what i think...

[Freya]

I'm no shrink, but it seems evident to me that it is highly likely that Axl suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder.  It is a mental disorder that can co-exist with a mood disorder like Bipolar disease.

BPD Symptoms are as follows: (with my editorial)

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:  

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.
(how many of Axl's songs are about being abandoned?)

A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. This is called "splitting."  (People are seen as all good or all bad, which Axl does, he's either very loyal or he hates your guts)


Following is a definition of splitting from the book I Hate You, Don't Leave Me by Jerry Kreisman, M.D. From page 10:  
The world of a BP, like that of a child, is split into heros and villains. A child emotionally, the BP cannot tolerate human inconsistencies and ambiguities; he cannot reconcile anther?s good and bad qualities into a constant coherent understanding of another person. At any particular moment, one is either Good or EVIL. There is no in-between; no gray area....people are idolized one day; totally devalued and dismissed the next.

Normal people are ambivalent and can experience two contradictory states atone time; BPs shift back and forth, entirely unaware of one feeling state while in the other.  

When the idealized person finally disappoints (as we all do, sooner or later) the borderline must drastically restructure his one-dimensional conceptionalization. Either the idol is banished to the dungeon, or the borderline banishes himself in other to preserve the all-good image of the other person.


Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self.  

Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating).

Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior.  

Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).  

Chronic feelings of emptiness.  

Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights).  

Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms.  

[PeterCoffin]

I would think everyone has Borderline Personality Disorder then. That one would seem very easy to diagnose, as most people would at least think "wow... that stuff sounds like me at least sometimes."

All except the suicide and anger stuff, I could very easily say I am Borderline Personality Disordered. Although, I am fairly certain I am not. I also am supposedly ADD and ADHD, but I really don't believe in that stuff - people just have different tastes as to what they actually want to be doing. If you are doing something you don't like, you probably won't pay much attention to it.

I would just say Axl is Axl and leave it at that. When you say something about Axl Rose, people know what you mean. Hell, they should just make a new one and call it Axl Rose Syndrome.

[Freya]

I would think everyone has Borderline Personality Disorder then.

No.  Of course, everyone has feelings similar to those at sometime, especially teenagers.  But this is prolonged through life and it is intense.  It is life debilitating, put it that way.  If those symptoms aren't Axl, I'll eat my hat.  

[MadmanDan]

Look at this from this angle: If he wasn't a little screwed up in the head,he wouldn't had written so incredible music. Every genius in history was a little fucked upn in the head!

[Slashly]

Well, he moght be a little crazy, but schizofrenic??come on!!!
He just need some one to tell him when he is wrong(the oposite thing to paul tobias).
A wife could help
but he isn?t sick

[Fuckin' Gunner]

Well, he moght be a little crazy, but schizofrenic??come on!!!
He just need some one to tell him when he is wrong(the oposite thing to paul tobias).
A wife could help
but he isn?t sick

Maybe Beta tell him what's going wtong, isnt her his "mother"?

[Dizzy]

you mean you think he is bipolar...  

just because he took a written test and got meds doesn't mean jack shit...

You don't get diagnosed with bipolar by taking a written test.  Chemical tests of your brain and catscans are involved.  I know, I've suffered from bipolar for two decades.  You don't just get diagnosed by accident.  Axl has bipolar, and my saying so is not criticism of him.  It's the way he is.

[Mattman]

I read in Q magazine not too long ago in a story about the making of Appetite For Destruction that Axl had been identified when he was young as suffering from a mild form of psychosis.

PSYCHOSIS

Psychotic disorders include severe mental disorders which are characterized by extreme impairment of a person's ability to think clearly, respond emotionally, communicate effectively, understand reality, and behave appropriately. Psychotic symptoms can be seen in teenagers with a number of serious mental illnesses, such as depression, bi-polar disorder (manic-depression), schizophrenia, and with some forms of drug and alcohol abuse. Psychotic symptoms interfere with a person?s daily functioning and can be quite debilitating. Psychotic symptoms include delusions and hallucinations.

Delusion: A false, fixed, odd, or unusual belief firmly held by the patient. The belief is not ordinarily accepted by other members of the person?s culture or subculture. There are delusions of paranoia (others are plotting against them), grandiose delusions (exaggerated ideas of one's importance or identity), and somatic delusions (a healthy person believing that he/she has a terminal illness).

Hallucination: A sensory perception (seeing, hearing, feeling, and smelling) in the absence of an outside stimulus. For example, with auditory hallucinations, the person hears voices when there is no one talking.

[The Red Scare]

Stop being a bunch of silly billies.  He's not schizo.

[matt88]

I'm pretty sure he's got manic depression or bipolar disease which i think thats whhat its called now

[Dizzy]

I'm pretty sure he's got manic depression or bipolar disease

Bipolar disorder.  A disorder is not a disease.

[Izzy]

I'll be honest, its these ''Is Axl crazy?'' threads that keeps me coming back for more

Leave the poor guy alone. Just because he doesn't act as we want doesn't make him a deranged lunatic.

[Slashly]

I'll be honest, its these ''Is Axl crazy?'' threads that keeps me coming back for more

Leave the poor guy alone. Just because he doesn't act as we want doesn't make him a deranged lunatic.

Right, Izzy.Lets just live the guy alone.If he is crazy,schizofrenic,maniac,depresive, I dont care.
I wouldnt mind I he had all that problems together. If he would  put the damn chinece democracy out so that we could love it or hate it, I would?t mind any problem he has had , will have or doesn?t have.


P.S: Althought  Beta could do her thing in there, good idea Fucking Gunner!!