Some of the greatest writers struggled with mental health problems, and here are just a few you may or may not have heard about-

1. David Foster Wallace

Everyone who knew of Wallace knew he had depression, even though he never hinted at in his writing. In his home in Claremont, California he hung himself on his outside patio. His wife Karen Green found him, and a manuscript that would later be published as The Pale King.

2. Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath hid nothing in her poetry, which might be why her suicide is one of the most infamous. She attempted suicide a few times during her college years, but succeeded when she was 30. With two children in the other room, she inhaled carbon dioxide fumes from placing her head inside her oven.

3. Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s father shot himself in the head, and Hemingway admitted that he would probably go the same way. Leading up to his suicide, his mind was rapidly deteriorating, and he underwent electro-shock therapy. After many sessions, he stopped, saying that how could he be a writer anymore if his memory was erased and his mind jumbled. In June, Hemingway used his favorite shotgun and killed himself the way he said he eventually would. His sister, brother, and granddaughter committed suicide as well.

4. Anne Sexton

Because of manic episodes, a therapist encouraged her to take up poetry, where she immediately found success. After Sylvia Plath’s suicide, Sexton wrote two poems, Wanting to Die and Sylvia’s Death, that spoke as almost a farewell to her lost friend. 10 years after Sylvia’s suicide, Sexton locked herself in the garage with the car engine turned on, while wearing her mother’s fur coat.

5. Kurt Vonnegut

His mother committed suicide in 1944, so it’s possible he was born with some type of mental illness himself, or was on some level desensitized. His writing was darkly humorous, taking hints from his favorite author, Mark Twain. He attempted suicide in 1984. His son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

6. Edgar Allen Poe

With a life filled with personal and devastating tragedy, Poe became a figure of dark writing. His obsession with alcohol, drugs, and imagining death led to an attempted suicide. His death however, is still up for debate. Some say he overdosed, others say he had rabies. However, all records of his death were lost.