Creativity and bipolar disorder
Encyclopedia
Mental disorders and creativity
are often considered to be related, particularly in pop psychology.
There is anecdotal evidence for a relationship between creativity and psychosis, particularly schizophrenia
. James Joyce
had a daughter with schizophrenia and had many schizotypal traits. Albert Einstein
had a son with schizophrenia and was also somewhat schizotypal and eccentric. Bertrand Russell
had many family members with schizophrenia or psychosis: his aunt, uncle, son and grand-daughter. Psychotic individuals are said to display a capacity to see the world in a novel and original way, literally, to see things that others cannot.
. The Ancient Greeks believed that creativity came from the gods, and in particular the Muses: the nine daughters of Zeus, the god of arts and sciences. The idea of a complete work of art emerging without conscious thought or effort was reinforced by the views of the Romantic
era. It has been proposed that there is a particular link between creativity and bipolar disorder
, whereas major depressive disorder appears to be significantly more common among playwrights, novelists, biographers, and artists.
, psychological trauma
, substance abuse
, high stress
and other such environmental factors which are associated with developing and perhaps causing mental illnesses. It is thus likely that when creativity itself is associated with positive moods, happiness, and mental health, pursuing a career in the arts may bring problems with stressful environment and income. Other factors such as the centuries-old stereotype
of the suffering of a mad artist help to fuel the link by putting expectations on how an artist should act. It also helps the field to be more attractive to those with mental disorders.
," flights of ideas, speeding up of thoughts and heightened perception of visual, auditory and somatic stimuli.
's book Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament
. Touched With Fire presents the argument that bipolar disorder, and affective disorders more generally, may be found in a disproportionate number of people in creative professions such as actors, artist
s, comedian
s, musician
s, author
s, performer
s and poet
s.
between creativity and bipolar disorder, although the relationship between the two is unclear. Temperament may be an intervening variable
.
Creativity
Creativity refers to the phenomenon whereby a person creates something new that has some kind of value. What counts as "new" may be in reference to the individual creator, or to the society or domain within which the novelty occurs...
are often considered to be related, particularly in pop psychology.
There is anecdotal evidence for a relationship between creativity and psychosis, particularly schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
had a daughter with schizophrenia and had many schizotypal traits. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
had a son with schizophrenia and was also somewhat schizotypal and eccentric. Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
had many family members with schizophrenia or psychosis: his aunt, uncle, son and grand-daughter. Psychotic individuals are said to display a capacity to see the world in a novel and original way, literally, to see things that others cannot.
History
The association between bipolar disorder and creativity first appeared in literature in the 1970s, but the idea of a link between "madness" and "genius" is much older, dating back at least to the time of AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. The Ancient Greeks believed that creativity came from the gods, and in particular the Muses: the nine daughters of Zeus, the god of arts and sciences. The idea of a complete work of art emerging without conscious thought or effort was reinforced by the views of the Romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
era. It has been proposed that there is a particular link between creativity and bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, whereas major depressive disorder appears to be significantly more common among playwrights, novelists, biographers, and artists.
Positive mood, mental illness and creativity
Mood-creativity research reveals that people are most creative when they are in a positive mood and that mental illnesses such as depression or schizophrenia actually decrease creativity. People who have worked in the field of arts throughout the history have had problems with poverty, persecution, social alienationSocial alienation
The term social alienation has many discipline-specific uses; Roberts notes how even within the social sciences, it “is used to refer both to a personal psychological state and to a type of social relationship”...
, psychological trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
, substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
, high stress
Stress (biology)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
and other such environmental factors which are associated with developing and perhaps causing mental illnesses. It is thus likely that when creativity itself is associated with positive moods, happiness, and mental health, pursuing a career in the arts may bring problems with stressful environment and income. Other factors such as the centuries-old stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
of the suffering of a mad artist help to fuel the link by putting expectations on how an artist should act. It also helps the field to be more attractive to those with mental disorders.
Bipolar disorder
There is a range of types of bipolar disorder. Individuals with Bipolar I Disorder experience severe episodes of mania and depression with periods of wellness between episodes. The severity of the manic episodes can mean that the person is seriously disabled and unable to express the heightened perceptions and flight of thoughts and ideas in a practical way. Individuals with Bipolar II Disorder experience milder periods of hypomania during which the flight of ideas, faster thought processes and ability to take in more information can be converted to art, poetry or design.Creativity and psychopathology
Many famous historical figures gifted with creative talents may have been affected by bipolar disorder. Ludwig van Beethoven, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway,Isaac Newton, and Robert Schumann are some people whose lives have been researched to discover signs of mood disorder. In many instances, creativity and psychopathology share some common traits, such as a tendency for "thinking outside the boxThinking outside the box
Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking....
," flights of ideas, speeding up of thoughts and heightened perception of visual, auditory and somatic stimuli.
Creativity and the emotions of bipolar disorder
Many people with bipolar disorder may feel powerful emotions during both depressive and manic phases, potentially aiding in creativity. Because (hypo)mania decreases social inhibition, performers are often daring and bold. As a consequence, creators commonly exhibit characteristics often associated with mental illness. The frequency and intensity of these symptoms appear to vary according to the magnitude and domain of creative achievement. At the same time, these symptoms are not equivalent to the full-blown psychopathology of a clinical manic episode which, by definition, entails significant impairment.Posthumous diagnosis
Some creative people have been posthumously diagnosed as suffering from bipolar or unipolar disorder based on biographies, letters, correspondence, contemporaneous accounts, or other anecdotal material, most notably in Kay Redfield JamisonKay Redfield Jamison
Kay Redfield Jamison is an American clinical psychologist and writer whose work has centered on bipolar disorder which she has suffered from since her early adulthood...
's book Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament
Touched with Fire
Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament is a book by the American psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison that examines the relationship between bipolar disorder and artistic creativity...
. Touched With Fire presents the argument that bipolar disorder, and affective disorders more generally, may be found in a disproportionate number of people in creative professions such as actors, artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
s, performer
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
s and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s.
Positive correlation
Several recent clinical studies have also suggested that there is a positive correlationCorrelation does not imply causation
"Correlation does not imply causation" is a phrase used in science and statistics to emphasize that correlation between two variables does not automatically imply that one causes the other "Correlation does not imply causation" (related to "ignoring a common cause" and questionable cause) is a...
between creativity and bipolar disorder, although the relationship between the two is unclear. Temperament may be an intervening variable
Intervening variable
An intervening variable is a hypothetical internal state that is used to explain relationships between observed variables, such as independent and dependent variables, in empirical research.- History :...
.
The 2005 Stanford study
A 2005 study at the Stanford University School of Medicine measured creativity by showing children figures of varying complexity and symmetry and asking whether they like or dislike them. The study showed for the first time that a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder tend to dislike simple or symmetric symbols more. Children with bipolar parents who were not bipolar themselves also scored higher dislike scores.See also
- List of people affected by bipolar disorder
- List of people with depression
- Art BrutOutsider ArtThe term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
- Mad scientistMad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
- Sylvia Plath effectSylvia Plath effectThe Sylvia Plath effect is a term coined by psychologist James C. Kaufman in 2001 to refer to the phenomenon that poets are more susceptible to mental illness than other creative writers. Kaufman's work further demonstrated that female poets were more likely to suffer from mental illness than any...
- Tortured artistTortured artistThe tortured artist is a stock character and real-life stereotype who is in constant torment due to frustrations with art and other people. Tortured artists feel alienated and misunderstood due to the perceived ignorance or neglect of others who do not understand them and the things they feel are...
- EccentricityEccentricityEccentricity or eccentric may refer to:* Off-center* Eccentricity , odd behavior on the part of a person, as opposed to being "normal"* Eccentricity of a vertex in a graph...
External links
- The 'Sylvia Plath' effect by Deborah Smith Bailey from American Psychological Association
- The Myth of the Mentally Ill Creative blog entry about creativity and mental illness by a professor of psychology and creativity scientist Keith Sawyer
- A journey into chaos: Creativity and the unconscious by Nancy C Andreasen, Mens Sana MonographsMens Sana MonographsThe Mens Sana Monographs is an open-access peer-reviewed medical journal-cum-monographic series. It is Devoted to the Understanding of Medicine, Mental Health, Mind, Man and their Matrix. The Mens Sana Monographs (MSM) is an open-access peer-reviewed medical journal-cum-monographic series. It is...
, 2011, 9(1), p42-53.