The self-proclaimed 'Bipolar General' is waging war on the stigma of mental illness

One of the biggest problems for Maj. Gen. Gregg Martin was that bipolar disorder seemed to help him at first.

"I was manic most of the year in Iraq ... felt like Superman. Bulletproof, pretty much fearless all over the battlefield," Martin said.

He deployed to Iraq in 2003 as a colonel, in charge of the 130^th Engineer Brigade that paved the way to Baghdad from Kuwait. He led from the front, aggressively, pushing his troops with relentless positivity. In his downtime he favored intense workouts over sleep. His mania fit right in with the American military mystique. His superiors gave him almost nothing but praise.

"I thought that God was rewarding me and giving me this strength and motivation and energy, because I was on kind of a divine mission as an Army officer. So it never occurred to me that there's something wrong with my brain," he said.

Then the pendulum swung. His Iraq tour ended in 2004 and Martin went home despondent. At a post-deployment health screening he spoke openly about depression. The nurse asked him what he did to cope.

"I said, 'Well, I do lots of really intense physical activity, even though it's hard to do because I'm depressed. I listen to really intense rock-and-roll music. I repeat power verses from the Bible and when that doesn't work I drink. I drink a lot, way more than I ever have in my life,' " said Martin. "And they said, you're fine, there's nothing wrong with you."

Military mindset

Bipolar disorder has shed some of its stigma in recent years, with celebrities and politicians going public about their struggles with mental illness. And the military has changed its approach to mental health in the 20 years since Martin's tour in Iraq. But many in the military still fear a mental health