I live with bipolar disorder.
My life has been a roller coaster ride for 30 years.

Now I speak publicly about it, for those affected and their loved ones.

“A Roller Coaster Life” (German: "Achterbahnleben") is the public, ongoing story of a life with bipolar disorder (I’m manic-depressive) - told not in retrospect, but right in the midst of the ups and downs. I’m Nikolas Migut: journalist, social entrepreneur, and, since 2016, founder and first chairman of StrassenBLUES. Here, I speak openly about mania, depression, and everything in between - honestly, vulnerably, and consistently focused on finding solutions. Through stories, initiatives, and a growing community, I want to create a space that shows: Living with the diagnosis bipolar disorder isn’t an exceptional situation - it’s something you can shape. For those affected, for loved ones - like my wife Milena - and for everyone who wants to understand and empathize. I’m convinced that stigma loses its power when we stop staying silent. Stay hopeful.

The Project

Nikolas Migut
Nikolas Migut

Contents

the project, news and contacts

The Project

Events

Community

Blog

Nikolas Migut in front of a portrait by Anita Rée

Sep | 2026

Anita Rée: What Exclusion Destroys, Belonging Can Make Up For

She paints herself. A direct gaze. A hand on her cheek, almost like a question. Anita Rée created this self-portrait in Hamburg in 1930.

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Nikolas Migut holding the book 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf.

Sep | 2026

Virginia Woolf. Would she have survived today?

She, too, led a life full of ups and downs. Virginia was the daughter of a famous man. She grew up in a house where Thomas Hardy and Henry James were regular visitors.

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Nikolas Migut in the museum in front of a self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh.

Sep | 2026

“La tristesse durera toujours”—Sadness will last forever.

Those were Vincent’s last words. Passed down by his brother Theo, who was there—as always.

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Help

TelefonSeelsorge

available around the clock, free of charge, and anonymously, for acute crises and when things just get too much

BApK

free telephone and email counseling specifically for family members and close friends of people with mental illness.

DGBS

a nationwide self-help network for people with bipolar disorder, family members, and professionals, featuring a group directory and informational materials.