!88: The Relationship Between Creative Artists and Some Mental Illness

!±8± The Relationship Between Creative Artists and Some Mental Illness

It's very common to see creative artists who also suffer from mental illness. The connection between mental disorder and creativity is well established and publicized. We've seen so many movies that feature brilliant geniuses tormented by their own challenges in the mental realm, and many of these lead to demise and destruction over time.

When it comes to the world of art, we also have an idea of the creative artist as a tortured soul, ensconced all day in a garret creating brilliant work to stave off the inevitable breakdown. We hear all about the author who writes a bestseller in a manic haze, fifty pages a day. Then, he'll go years without the ability to follow up on his success due to some kind of a mental block or illness, only to produce yet another stunning work once again.

Are these stories isolated cases that have been publicized until they loom large, making it seem common, or is there actually a real and proven link between madness and creativity?

Practicing psychiatrists and scholars can't seem to agree. There are studies that show a correlation, or a statistically significant link, between mental illness and creativity. This might seem odd at first since one has to wonder why the two should be linked. After all, there are plenty of brilliant, creative minds that are mentally stable all the same, aren't there?

One such study, conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, showed that children who had higher risk for development of bipolar disorder (from having ADHD or parents with the disorder) had significantly higher scores on measures of artistic creativity than did children who were not at elevated risk. This intriguing finding has medical professionals exploring further.

Another study, conducted jointly by the University of Toronto and Harvard, found that very creative people are less able to disregard external stimuli. They are more distractible, and thus work best in quiet and isolated conditions.

Here is a fact: we know of hundreds of famous, even world-renowned, creative people who have various mental disorders such as bipolar disorder or depression. Some major artists, writers, and musicians are in this number, people who are household names because of their art.

We won't resolve the debate over the link between madness and creativity any time soon. We will likely continue to discuss this matter for decades to come. Until researchers come up with the irrefutable proof to establish the causal link, or disprove it entirety, the popular image of the tortured artist will continue to fascinate us all.