Author: Tursunova Balkadisha
Translator: Tursunova Balkadisha
Editor: Aigerim Akhmetova
Alcohol withdrawal syndrome is a condition of a person after a long term use of alcoholic beverages, which manifests itself in a bad mood, withdrawal, short temper, irritation and aggression.
Specialists at the University medical center Groningen in the Netherlands conducted a psychiatric examination based on medical records and hundreds of letters written by Vincent van Gogh, mostly to his beloved brother Theo. It turned out that the artist probably experienced two episodes of delirium(confusion) caused by alcohol withdrawal.
It has long been known that in the course of a quarrel, the post-impressionist artist cut off his left ear. Van Gogh himself described his act as "a simple attack of the artist's madness", and later - "mental or nervous fever". Now this study, conducted in the Netherlands, has examined his mental state. An analysis of all his emails revealed that the artist experienced two episodes of delirium caused by alcohol withdrawal after cutting off his ear.
Also, after studying the life of the great artist, it became known that he suffered from bipolar disorder and a borderline state of personality, but his alleged diseases were never diagnosed.
However, van Gogh, according to Professor of psychiatry Willem Nolen, could "downplay or even embellish certain things" in his letters. So although the letters contain a lot of information, we must remember that he did not write them to his doctors, but to ... family members and other relatives to inform them, reassure them, or do something.
Despite the small amount of information available, we very much hope that this study will not be the last in the study of the artist's life, health and art.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54780434
