Retired Maj Gen Gregg Martin is a mental health advocate. He was able to utilize the positive aspects of bipolar disorder to be a strong leader in the U.S. Army. But as the years went by the disease took over and it prohibited his ability to lead and was forced to resign. He was able to get correctly diagnosed and then find healing and help on his path to recovery through the Department of Veteran Affairs. Today, he is a mental health advocate, world wide speaker, and recently published his first book, Bipolar General.

Mental Health Advocate

Gregg joined the Army because it was a family tradition. He didn’t know where he would serve or what branch he would join. But he knew he would serve in the U.S. Military. He ended up learning about Westpoint the Army’s military academy and applied. He was accepted and graduated in 1979. The 1979 class was the final class of all male cadets. He had the opportunity to go back to Westpoint while serving and shared about the positive changes that he has seen. One being women being included in the classes and the second being the ability for cadets to have specific major focuses.

Mental health journey

He also shared about his mental health journey. He has always been someone with high energy and a drive to get things done. This really helped him in his career. But when he deployed to Iraq in 2003, the stress caused the inlining precondition to bipolar disorder to come to the surface. He was able to use the positive aspect of his mental illness to make quick decisions and meet the demands of leading a brigade during war. But when he came home, he found himself stuck in a deep depression. He would swing back and forth between highs and lows and then in 2014 he began to lose his grip on reality.

He was ultimately fired from his position and forced to retire from military service. Luckily, he was able to find help through the VA and was able to find that lithium allowed his brain chemistry to regulate. But it was a tough and long process to find healing and get to where he is today.

Bipolar General

He decided to write his story after his mother died. He wrote everyday for a year. Then when he had a completed first draft he sent it out to get feedback. Next, he worked to edit and trim down the story and then worked to find a publisher. His publisher is the U.S. Naval Institute. His book was published in September 2023.