Case Study Thelonious Monk Monk was first hospitalized in 1957 at Bellevue in NYC It was an involuntary admission He was considered a danger to himself and others so was held for observation ID: 632000
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“BLUE MONK”: MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND THE JAZZ PRESS 1945-1959Slide2
Case Study: Thelonious MonkSlide3
Monk was first hospitalized in 1957 at Bellevue in NYC.
It was an involuntary admission
He was considered “a danger to himself and others” so was held for observation
It felt like a prison to Monk
Conditions were overcrowded: 650 patients were jammed into the 630-bed facility
After three weeks, a physician who was a family friend successfully negotiated Monk’s release
He was released without a diagnosis
He was “fortunate” to have escaped being misdiagnosed as a “paranoid schizophrenic” as were some of fellow jazz musicians Including Charles Mingus and Bud Powell.
Paranoid schizophrenic was a label often applied to black patients and nonconformist artists.Slide4
DIAGNOSIS
Nearly twenty years later, Monk was accurately diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
His depressive symptoms included:
Falling asleep at the piano
Staring into space, lost in thought, seemingly unable to recognize people around him
Not leaving his home for weeks at a time
His symptoms of hypomania included:
Staying awake for 2-3 days at a time
Frenetic pacing
Going without eating so as not to interrupt other activitiesSlide5
‘MAD MONK’: REPRESENTING MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE JAZZ PRESS
Many friends, colleagues, and journalists interpreted Monk’s symptoms as his trademark eccentricities.
Although some speculated that his “madness” was intrinsic to his creative genius, his bipolar disorder interfered with Monk’s ability to create and retain jobs.
It also negatively impacted his family.Slide6