Mental Health Matters
Every month CARP Halton will feature a Mental Health article. This segment will explore the link between “madness” and creativity. Is there one?
“The relationship between creativity and mental illness is complex and debated, with some research suggesting a potential link, particularly with mood disorders like bipolar disorder, while others argue that the connection is not strong or that the relationship is more nuanced.”
Links between creativity and mental health have been extensively discussed and studied by psychologists and other researchers for centuries. Parallels can be drawn to connect creativity to major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, autism, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD and ADHD. For example, studies have demonstrated correlations between creative occupations and people living with mental illness. There are cases that support the idea that mental illness can aid in creativity, but it is also generally agreed that mental illness does not have to be present for creativity to exist.
It has been proposed that there is a link between creativity and mental illness. Major depressive disorder appears among playwrights, novelists, biographers, and artists at a higher rate than the general population. Association between mental illness and creativity first appeared in academic literature in the 1970s, but speculation about a link between “madness” and “genius” dates back at least to the time of Aristotle, to whom Seneca attributes the aphorism “No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.” The word “genius” may refer to literary genius, creative genius, scholarly genius, “all around” genius, etc. The Ancient Greeks believed that creativity came from the gods, in particular the Muses (the mythical personifications of the arts and sciences, the nine daughters of Zeus). In the Aristotelian tradition, genius was viewed from a physiological standpoint, and it was believed that the same human quality was perhaps responsible for both extraordinary achievement and melancholy. On this topic, Romantic writers had similar ideals, with Lord Byron having pleasantly expressed, “We of the craft are all crazy. Some are affected by gaiety, others by melancholy, but all are more or less touched”.
Individuals with mental illness are said to display a capacity to see the world in a novel and original way; literally, to see things that others cannot. However, people do not require a mental illness to do so.
There is a popular Indian cultural belief that “deep pain enhances creativity, and creative acts may actually help in healing the wounds. “The healing powers of creativity are seen frequently in everyday life, as artistic outlets are often encouraged as a way to improve well-being. For many people, creativity serves to overcome psychic crises, traumatic events and depression. Creativity can also have an incredible impact on mental health and well-being by not only helping people find meaning and significance but providing an increased sense of purpose.
Wikipedia