The Freaks and Creativity
"From a part of the brain preternaturally elevated, but not diseased, the mind sometimes discovers not only unusual strengths and acuteness, but certain talents it never exhibited before. Talents for eloquence, poetry, music and painting, and uncommon ingenuity in several of the mechanical arts, are often evolved in this state of madness.", Benjamin Rush, a founder of American Psychiatry and one of the signers of the U.S. Constitution
Many attempts have been made to establish a co-relation between mental illnesses and Creativity, and the most common among them is the Bi-polar disorder.
During the Manic phase there is a great possibility of inspiration because thought process quicken, moods lift, and new associations are generated almost effortlessly. Loss of logical progression in thinking and increased flow of loosely connected ideas are a fundamental aspect of the hypomanic state, and studies show these same trends in the thought processes highly creative individuals. This highlights an interesting question; are people suffering from a mental disorder creative or do creative people eventually become psychologically ill? There are many researches being carried on that subject.
In the 1970s, Nancy C. Andreasen of the University of Iowa examined 30 creative writers and found 80% had experienced at least one episode of major depression, hypomania, or mania.A few years later Kay Redfield Jamison studied 47 British writers, painters, and sculptors from the Royal Academy. She found that 38% had been treated for bipolar disorder. In particular, half of the poets (the largest group with manic depression) had needed medication or hospitalization.
During the manic phase a bipolar person exhibits unusual fluency in language and skill and are observed to often use rhymes and alliterations. The lifestyles of manic-depressives in their manic phase is comparable to those of creative people. Both groups function on very little sleep, restless attitudes, and they both exhibit depth and emotion beyond the norm. During this phase the person feels like he/she is capable of anything and in a way takes risks which would otherwise inhibit the person.
Similarly during the depressed phase, they are gloomy and distressed. Helplessness causes their mind to see noting but darkness and out of this comes creativity. The only way to survive this is to unleash their despondency though creative solutions.
Biologically speaking during both these phases the person’s brain is subjected to extremes. During the Manic phase the bipolar person in many ways shows similar traits to that of a very creative person. And this could be the co-relation between the two, the two simply exist with-out actual dependence on each other.
There is also a brewing question about the type of creativity that may be related to Bipolarity. Studies show that Bipolar disorder affects a high percentage of people in artistic professions, including but not limited to, writers, poets, artists, and musicians . Interestingly, in a more recent study carried out by psychologist James Kaufman, it was found that female poets were more likely than fiction writers to have signs of mental illness, such as suicide attempts or hospitalizations, a phenomenon Kaufman has dubbed "the Sylvia Plath effect"
In1970’s, accoding to Nancy Andreasens study, It was also found that there was a higher prevalence of mental disorder and creativity in the writer's first degree relatives compared to that of the control.
So can this mean that Creativity is not only closely linked to mental illnesses but is also genetic? This Question branches out into a plethora of reason, causes and debates and may even remain unanswered for many years to come. The future holds answers to questions unasked and problems unthought-of.
Albert Einstein said “ I never think of the future, it comes soon enough”.
Aia Hussein : The Mad Gene: Creativity and mental Illness
Bailey, Deborah Smith. "The Sylvia Plath Effect."
Jamison, Kay Redfield. "Suicide and manic-depressive illness in artist and writers." National Forum. Wntr 1993. 73: 28
Kaufman, James C. "The Cost of the Muse: Poets Dies Young." Death Studies. 27: 813-821.
Krishna, HimaBindu. "Bipolar Disorder and the Creative Genius."
