Author: Major General Gregg F. Martin, PhD, US Army (Ret.)
For Mental Health Awareness Month, 2026
Mental Health IS health. Be aware of it and learn about it. Take a Psychological First Aid course. Talk about it with family, friends, and colleagues. Normalize the conversation, and live it.
Here are some thoughts, practices, and lessons learned that have worked for me during my lifetime of lived experience with serious mental illness.
If In Doubt, Go See a Mental Health Professional
When I rocketed into full-blown mania in 2014 as a two-star general — President of National Defense University — I was fired, forced to retire, ordered to get a psychiatric evaluation, and hospitalized.
The good news is that out of this mental health crisis and devastation, I finally got a proper diagnosis twelve years after onset in the Iraq War (Bipolar Disorder Type 1, psychosis, and PTSD), and eventually the right meds two years after the diagnosis (for me, Lithium and Lamictal).
On the day I was diagnosed at Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Washington, DC, I was in horrible condition — suicidal and broken of mind, body, and spirit — but I thanked and hugged my doctor, and did not resist the diagnosis.
“Thank you, doctor. Now that I have clarity on my condition, I have a target with a face on it that I can do battle with.”
Don’t deny it, or try to wish it away. Embrace it.
I decided to OWN my diagnosis — right then and there — and to Learn, Fight, and Win.
Own It
Embrace your condition — no shame or embarrassment. It’s okay to not be okay.
Learn
Learn all about your condition — online, videos, books, non-profit organizations, peer support, medical professionals, conferences, discussions. Become an expert on your condition.
Fight
Develop your recovery strategy, then go into battle — with meds, therapy, and healthy living (diet, exercise, sleep, water, low stress). Anchor into the 5 P’s:
Win
Create a recovery that’s built to last. Build your new life. Manage your condition step-by-step, day-by-day. Choose to adopt an Attitude of Gratitude in all circumstances, especially when times are hard.
Own your condition — then Learn, Fight, Win.
A New Life of Meaning and Purpose
Finally, imagine and create your own new life of meaning and purpose.
Out of crisis, near death, and devastation, I’ve been reborn with a new Life Mission:
“Sharing my bipolar story to help stop stigma, promote recovery, and save lives.”
I speak, write, lead, teach, confer, advise, coach, and encourage. I’ve moved from darkness to light, from death to life. This new life is my best life.
My bipolar disorder is not going to go away, but I know how to manage it, and leverage the superpowers that it gives me — creativity, compassion, energy, drive, ingenuity, strength, and more. I love my new life of purpose, health, community, and joy. My bipolar and mental health tribes are amazing, inspiring, and global — many of my best friends, battle buddies, and closest colleagues. I love them.
I am grateful for my mental, physical, and spiritual health, and for the hope and faith that fuel me.
About the Author
Major General Gregg F. Martin, PhD, US Army (Ret.) is an Airborne-Ranger-Combat Engineer and Strategist. He commanded a brigade of 10,000-plus troops in the Iraq War, was Commander of Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, and President of the National Defense University. He holds degrees from West Point, the Army and Naval War Colleges, and a PhD from MIT.
Married to an amazing wife, he is the father of three sons — two are Army Special Forces veterans, and one is an artist. Two of his sons live with bipolar disorder.
He is a Bipolar Thriver and “Expert by Lived Experience,” author of Bipolar General: My Forever War with Mental Illness, and a leading character in the new film BrainStorm.
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