The link between mental illness and creativity. Myth?

Creativity
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I have been discussing on another forum on music, about the link between creativity and mental health.

The musician Buddy Benson, had schizophrenia, and psychiatists claim it might have led him to invent jazz. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1430337.stm

However, I see a problem with this viewpoint… Trying to correlate creativity and mental illness seems to be a very simplistic.

A) Mental illness can strike anyone. The likelihood of a person encountering mental health issues during their lifetime is 1 in 4. Blame it on nature or nurture, it is basically random. Any age, any gender, any class, any profession. There are creative geniuses that have done amazing things, sane and insane. I expect the 1 to 4 ratio still applies here.

B) It is very easy to stereotype both creatives and the mentally ill as being a bit ‘whacky’, and therefore being ‘kinda’ the same thing, but its really not that simple.

I work in a creative setting, even though my illness gets in the way, my natural creativity still manages to shine through now and then. Some people have tried to argue that mental illness somehow makes you more creative - I believe that is completely false! In my opinion, the horse pulls the cart, not the other way round.

Those individuals who are mentally ill and yet still manage to overcome their problems and create amazing work should be revered for that fact alone, and not remembered for being unwell.

Buddy Bolden has become one of these people. Like John Nash, Van Gogh, he shouldn’t be remembered for being mentally ill. First and foremost, he should be remembered for being a great musician. Do we remember Barry White because he had diabetes? No. So I ask you, why is mental health any different?

I’d like to hear your views / theories as I have had nothing but opposition on other forums!

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I believe mental illness makes you more creative, but not necessarily schizophrenia. Moreso bi-polar people because it makes the symptoms more manageable. Not saying there aren’t many schizophrenic writers and musicians of the past, but nowadays I’d be too paranoid to be in Justin Biebers shoes. ( bad example I know but he’s damn famous). We are very sensitive and would be too paranoid. Hell it happened to Syd Barrett in the early 70’s.

I believe when I’m off my meds and drinking I become more creative, but that’s a price I’m not willing to pay. id rather be on my meds and sober than at my creativities peak. When I was on LSD which pretty much induces schizophrenic symptoms in you was when i wrote my greatest poetry and writings.

Substance abuse and mental illness are great causes of creativity I believe…but only if you have it innately. If you were mentally ill and grew up your whole life working on a farm you probably wouldn’t write a very good book any time soon. Idk my 3 cents.

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I don’t believe that mental illness can cause or is related to creativity. The person might have some talent but she is broken up in herself to be creative, whole, in the real sense of the word. My contribution, as well.

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It didn’t make me creative in a way that was useful to me. Unless I start writing fiction, that is.

10-96

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The problem here is in people’s perception of what it means to be “creative”.

The dictionary definition is “relating to or involving imagination or original ideas.” To which I’d say anyone who’s had florid delusions or hallucinations would say, yes they were “creative” in that sense. People with mental illnesses generally think differently than “normal” folk, so you could say they’d be likely to have more “creative” thoughts.

However, it’s the rare person with or without a mental illness that can harness their creativity and make something useful, relevant, intelligible, tangible, and lasting. It takes direction, drive, focus and clarity of vision and thought to create something. And that’s where thinking differently or unconventionally falls down for the mentally ill. You have to conquer avolition, disordered thinking and a host of other negative symptoms to create something useful from a myriad of creative ideas. Normals might suffer a lack of original ideas, but when it comes to organizing and producing them and making them known-- they have a distinct edge.

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I read an article in SZ Magazine about an art gallery that just showed art by people with schizophrenia. But if there is a link why are there so few famous schizophrenic artists? There’s been millions of schizophrenics in history. How many are successful artists?

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I think there’s been more successful actors and musicians with confirmed sz than artists. These are professions that favor the young, which became famous before they developed sz.

It takes a lot of time and self-promotion to be a successful artist, and putting yourself out there as sz or bp, probably doesn’t make things any easier.

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Definitely uses the same side of the brain.

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Unfortunately, history will not be too kind in only noting a creative genius as that, but instead will make especially accurate the amount of conflict, darkness or madness the artist went through, thus Sylvia Plath.

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As I understood it, the Greeks thought that genius was a separate entity to itself.

That is you weren’t a genius, you HAD a genius.

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Interesting…

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I certainly feel less creative now.

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Crazy is a relative concept. So is genius at times.

If it goes against the grain…It’s crazy. If it works out you’re a Genius. ie the world isn’t flat, The earth doesn’t orbit the sun.

Although always liked a Darynda Jones, First Grave on the Right quote…Genius has its limitations. Insanity…not so much

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I’m a good cook.

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Grandiose moods allow me to come with a ton of zany ideas. Many out there ones and some that are actually quite good. I do think I am able to connect unrelated things together so that is helpful in finding solutions to problems where some one else may not look.

Other then that it’s just mayhem

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I used to be creative. Drew and painted a lot. But not now. Meds take the creativness out of me. Or maybe it’s the illness itself?

I was very creative while psychotic. Drew perfect pictures of my sister’s kids. Now I just can’t get the right feeling in the pictures.

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Being eccentric can help creativity , but unfortunately schiz is just too far. Look to the media , arts , etc can you think of any with a DX of schiz that has produced anything consistent or indeed anything that has being popular.

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Unfortunately, my creativity came right when my schizophrenia did too. I got into drawing and writing and I still write, don’t really draw anymore, lost a bit of my ability to draw. Being mentally ill is not recommended, however. It is a stereotype that we are all writers, artists, mathematicians, geniuses, ect.

I am quite bright, but I was bright before schizophrenia too. I went to a prestigious secondary school and graduated with honors and all of that good ■■■■■■■■. I spoke French, now I can’t remember much of it, but I know how to politely say that I am very sorry, that I am an American and that I prefer to speak English in a pretty good accent. I became more creative, sure, but I had lots of other things that people value before the illness. One of my closest friends in high school was French, he basically tutored me, I also spent time around the exchange students and talked with them, I knew dirty French words from my aforementioned friend and I could tell jokes with the exchange students. I was a Renaissance sort of guy, I was good at all subjects, took art, spoke French, did well in sciences, was not the best at math, excelled in English literature, was a martial artist (don’t get me started on that whole story) and was planning on doing Naval ROTC and going into SEALs.

Then I got hit by a ■■■■■■■ train and now I am an advanced psychology student in college.

I am creative- I come up with thesis ideas very quickly, good ideas. I also write science fiction which is grounded in psychology. Psychological science fiction. Like extreme environments and unethical actions and people’s reactions and adaptations to them. A lot of what I write is influenced by a social psychology class I took last year, I like group dynamics and schemas, stereotypes, ect, I also like the taboo things like mental illnesses, sex, narcissism, masturbation, war, drugs and alcohol, yeah I basically write under the influence of what I have both learned and experienced. And I sometimes write on coke. Diet coke.

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I’m really funny, does that count as creativity?

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