Don't Stop Me: My Life with Bipolar Disorder

Kristinn Rúnar Kristinsson is a 32-year-old Icelander and a lifelong resident of Kópavogur. Ever since he first opened up about his struggles with mental illness in 2014, he has worked to raise awareness about the subject of mental health in Iceland. Kristinn has traveled widely with his lecture series My Rollercoaster Life, which is primarily geared toward teenagers, and he has also written extensively about mental health, a subject that lies close to his heart. Described as a “sociable loner” by friends, Kristinn was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2009, although his symptoms began in 2002 with a severe depressive episode. In this book, his first, Kristinn focuses on the mania aspect of bipolar disorder. Allergic to sugar-coating—especially regarding his own experiences— Kristinn recounts his manic episodes, which at once strain the imagination and tickle the reader’s sense of humor. Since 2009, he has experienced four major manic episodes, has wound up in the back of a police vehicle on three separate occasions, and has been admitted to the emergency psych ward five times.

"Dressed in gym clothes—shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers—I walked past the stage and the Parliament building to the statue of Jón Sigurðsson. A friend of mine, Jóhann Fannar Sigurðsson, spotted me and was about to say Hello when I brushed him off, remarking that I needed to tend to some “unfinished business.” This business to which I referred entailed stripping off my clothes and striking a triumphant pose in the nude next to the statue of Jón Sigurðsson. It was my way of showing solidarity with the #freethenipple movement. Intensely focused, the attending crowd faded into a blur for the duration of my performance, which lasted probably around 15 seconds. Retaining some grip on reality, I knew that I would probably need to complete my exhibition in a hurry so as to enjoy my moment without being arrested. Having finished, I quickly dressed again and disappeared into the crowd. As I walked away, I was accosted by a woman who asked if I intended to perform other such acts on that day. I told her that I hadn’t considered it, and she advised that I should refrain from doing so. I sensed a certain hostility toward the #freethenipple movement, and so I told her to shut the hell up and be on her god damn way. She called the cops."

An excerpt from Chapter 4, entitled Bipolar and Bare at the Austurvöllur Square, where Kristinn tried, in a desperate manner, to show solidarity with women at the #freethenipple event in downtown Reykjavík.

Translators: Ragnar Tómas Hallgrímsson

Release date

Audiobook: 25 November 2021