[Psychiatric disorder of Sylvia Plath]

Sylvia Plath was one of the most famous American poets in the twentieth century. Plath was diagnosed with depression after her first suicide attempt when she was 20 years old. Her major depression (without psychotic symptoms) recurred several times. Plath never had a manic episode, but there were probable hypomanic periods in her life. She died by violent suicide when she was 30. Sylvia Plath took a bottle of sleeping pills and stuck her head in a gas oven. Several factors may have contributed to Plath's psychiatric disorder and suicide. The author reviews the etiological factors and course of psychiatric disorder based on the Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath and the literature. Her family history was positive and her premorbid personality was vulnerable to depression. There were histrionic, narcissistic and borderline features in her personality. The probable diagnoses of Plath were bipolar II. affective disorder and mixed personality disorder.