Creativity Linked to Mental Illness In Lagre Study

[Isoverity]

Creativity Linked to Mental Illness, Study Confirms

Creative types are thought to be more likely to suffer from mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. A new large-scale study of the Swedish population helps confirm this link.

Last year, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet near Stockholm found that families with a history of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia were more likely to produce artists and scientists. They built on this evidence in a new study, published this month in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, which covers a larger population sample and a wider scope of psychiatric diagnoses.

The researchers used 40-years' worth of data from Sweden's health registry, looking at the anonymous records of almost 1.2 million patients and their relatives. They found certain mental illness — in particular bipolar disorder — are more common among artists and scientists, from dancers and photographers to researchers and authors.

Writers specifically were more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and substance abuse, and they were almost 50 percent more likely to commit suicide than the general population, the study found.

Creative types also were more likely to have family members being treated for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anorexia and autism.

Study researcher Simon Kyaga, a Karolinska Institutet doctoral student, said the results suggest doctors might want to reconsider some approaches to mental illness.

"If one takes the view that certain phenomena associated with the patient's illness are beneficial, it opens the way for a new approach to treatment," Kyaga explained in a statement. "In that case, the doctor and patient must come to an agreement on what is to be treated, and at what cost."

In a British study earlier this year, some people with bipolar disorder said the condition had affected their lives in positive ways, amplifying their internal experiences and enhancing their access to music and art.


http://www.livescience.com/24023-stu...l-illness.html

[Rhuben]

Makes you wonder then whether 'treating' mental illness is holding back progress in the arts and science then if it not only suppresses the bad symptoms but also those which assist creativity and abstract thinking.

I found that when heavily medicated I could barely function beyond the basics like occasionally eating or getting out of bed in the morning. Now I don't take any at all and it's amazing having my head awash with thoughts and ideas again. Have done more in the past 3 months than I achieved in the past 3 years!

"If one takes the view that certain phenomena associated with the patient's illness are beneficial, it opens the way for a new approach to treatment,"

I really hope that something comes of that and it's not just swept under the carpet and ignored.

[Ninja Orange]

This is news? o_O
I remember reading similar research in my clinical psychology class in 2009.

[Morpheus]

I find that my meds take away a lot of my ideas and creativity which is frustrating and heart breaking to me.

since i started my meds, I have barely done anything creative at all. i simply dont get the same ideas i used to get.

I used to draw, paint, write, do scrapbooking, play cello etc. Now i just feel uninspired. so the treatment they have chosen for me has basically taken away what i am good at and in my opinion has lowered my quality of life.

i have paranoid schizophrenia.

[Stellata]

Some of my best writing has been created when I've been most hurting and sorrowful. I don't know so much about the 'mental illness' link, what I do know is that some folks have the capacity to feel more sensitively and more deeply and put this into a form that creates beauty and connection with others.

[Cacoethes]

i used to be able to write poems and stories really well, but years of strong psych drugs such as clozaril seem to have permanently destroyed it.

[whirlpools]

I, too, feel as though my creativity is affected by medication. But it might be the illness itself, actually.

We have a theory in the creative arts group I go to that people with mental health difficulties tend to be more creative perhaps because their brains have had to develop to be more resourceful - to deal with distress, illness, trauma, difficult life experiences. And therefore more imaginative.

[pixiedust_11]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reappear

We have a theory in the creative arts group I go to that people with mental health difficulties tend to be more creative perhaps because their brains have had to develop to be more resourceful - to deal with distress, illness, trauma, difficult life experiences. And therefore more imaginative.

That's interesting, I've often thought it's the case. I too had major problem when on medication to the point that I took myself off of it because I hated not being able to 'feel' in the same, deep, inspiring and creative way that I used to. I would much rather deal with the symptoms than the side-effects.

I'm very much a philosopher at heart and I believe this comes from the fact that I've always been drawn towards meaning in seemingly insignificant things. So yes, I see can see the connection.

[Buttons.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reappear

We have a theory in the creative arts group I go to that people with mental health difficulties tend to be more creative perhaps because their brains have had to develop to be more resourceful - to deal with distress, illness, trauma, difficult life experiences. And therefore more imaginative.

I've seen similar veins of thought to this before, it is an interesting one. However on the other side of this there are studies that on going abuse can cause learning difficulties and other developmental problems and so on, purely because the brain is so busy surviving it doesn't really have the spare energy to focus on anything else, including education and creation.

Personally I think it very much varies from person to person in how they have coped and what they do with those experiences (not saying any way is right or wrong), I even think some have both, for example I have certified learning difficulties which though not necessarily caused by the long term abuse may have been made worse by it, but at the same don't feel my creative works would be half of what they are without those experiences. Very hard one really.

[Isoverity]

People who use their imaginations a lot are the most prone to psychotic illness, and are the most suggestible/hypnotisable. Their grasp on reality is not as firm, and they can be lead to believe a lot of things that aren't true. Their own errant thoughts can even drive them down because their mind falls into their emotional machinery. That's a reason they are often good artists imo. Artists are manipulators who work with thoughts, feelings, images, perceptions etc. A clear mind isn't always as good at juggling these things because it doesn't exist in them but above them. People think artsits suffer because they are more brilliant when they are actually more lost in their thoughts and feelings. Of course their are exceptions but not as much these days. Many people use the arts as a means of having an identity (they even define themselves by what music they listen to) and that wasn't always the case.

[ferretmonster]

I have always said that the most creative minds are 'mad'. I guess they can think outside the box, be inivitive.

From a theatre point of view seeing some of the performance work that goes on you have to wonder how stable the creators minds are sometimes when the you see the bizare, dark and twisted work.

Theres something in what you wrote Isoverity that rings a bell with me, I have studied and performed drama for many years and love being someone else but i also spend a lot of my time in fantasy worlds via reading and sometimes dream of being part of those worlds

[bitomato]

A fine line between stability and uncontrolled creative energy. The latter may result in insomnia and due to illness the inability to follow through on the ideas. It is a great feeling to be awash with thoughts and creative juices- but is any value placed on the end product?

Medication keeps me stable, and it forces me to take a very sobering look at the creative aspect of my life. I do not believe that I have either the confidence or the resilience to deal with the disappointment and unreliability of many of the creative professions.

If you are engaged in work or study, to what degree are you dependant on others for help, or for allowances to be made when you are unwell. I do think as service users we need to push for the right medications, and the ability to cope with issues- possibly taking into consideration our artistic talents. Art, Dance, Music therapy are all aspects of care that are under appreciated. Bibliotherapy takes into consideration poetry writing. Also drama therapy..........

I am wary of any discussion that goes the route of knocking meds. You should never come off meds without a doctor's supervision.