James Madison

The next one on the list of mentally ill US presidents was actually, as many described it, the smallest and frailest of them all. When James Madison was young, it is believed that he felt deeply insecure about himself and had a hard time becoming fully independent from his family.

Madison soon developed a harsh depression, which caused him to have awful feelings of inertia. He often contemplated an early death. To make matters even worse, the death of his college roommate and best friend did nothing but deepen his depression. His doctor prescribed him a lot of horseback riding and walking, which, as we now know, did nothing to improve his condition.

John Quincy Adams

John Quincy Adams was the son of John Adams, but he was also the 6th President of the United States. Among all the other mentally ill US presidents, John Quincy Adams was even more troubled, as he suffered from various brain diseases like essential tremors, cerebrovascular disease, and even depression.

Alcoholism and depression ran in his family’s bloodline. To make matters worse, two of his sons tragically died too early from alcohol abuse. As Adams was increasingly plagued by internal conflicts, he was perceived by many of those around him as dour, aloof, and even angry.

Many believed he was hiding behind an iron mask, given that he never showed how he felt about anything. One of the few things that brought him joy was swimming, and that’s one of the reasons why he took daily excursions to the Potomac River at 5 a.m. every morning.