Creativity And Bipolar Disorder: What’s The Connection?
Painters, writers, musicians … Many artists said that their experiences of depression allowed them to connect more intensely to the world through their emotions. This internal awareness, this atavistic journey full of contradictory feelings is currently making us wonder if creativity and bipolar disorder are linked.
Above all else, an aspect must be precise. The majority of creative people do not suffer from any mood disorder. If there is something that lies halfway between tradition and romanticism, it is the fact of thinking that a good part of the most recognized artists illustrated this link that many called (and continue to call) “the madness of genius”.
You should know that bipolar disorder is difficult to diagnose. We cannot therefore venture to state 100% that figures like Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf or Ernest Hemingway suffered from it. However, the sad endings of their life do exist, just like the leads they left us in their works.
We often label things. We link genius to madness and bipolar disorder to a gift for being particularly creative. However, none of this is true. Bipolar disorder is not a gift, it is a disease. We cannot forget that the consulting rooms of psychologists and psychiatrists are not full of crazy people. They are frequented by people who feel too much, who connect their emotions in a disadjusted, sometimes uncontrollable way …
Is There A Direct Relationship Between Creativity And Bipolar Disorder? What science says
For those who would like to delve deeper into the relationship between creativity and bipolar disorder, we recommend reading Kay Redfield Jamison. This psychiatrist and professor at Harvard University School of Medicine offers direct, gaunt but revealing testimony about this disease and what it entails. She herself suffers from it. The testimonies given in books like “Un esprit rest” are quite simply enriching from a personal, human and clinical point of view.
When her illness started when she was a teenager, Kay Redfield’s life changed completely. She lived through seasons of manic exhilaration, weeks in the grip of anger, euphoria. She also exhibited psychotic symptoms and great artistic creativity. Then she crossed the threshold of depression and tried to kill herself several times. So while many may think that the only positive thing about bipolar disorder is genius (and stupendous creativity), we cannot forget one thing: a sizable percentage of patients who suffer from this disorder end up leaving their lives. .
No gift can come at such a high price. Kay Redfield knew this and therefore dedicated her professional life to this disease. She sought to understand the relationship between creativity and bipolar disorder. Let’s see what science tells us about this topic.
The first study on creativity and mental disorders
The first empirical study on creativity and its relationship to mental disorders was conducted in the 1970s. The University of Iowa supported the hypothesis that schizophrenia was related to creativity. For this, a large group of renowned artists, writers and musicians was analyzed.
The results were more than revealing. Schizophrenia was unrelated to this ability. It is disorders like major depression and mania that have had a significant result. Half of the people suffered from this disease.
The euphoria of mania and a more connected brain
Dr. Redfield began her studies and research on bipolar disorder in the 1990s. Thus, by collaborating with several hospitals, she was able to discover the following things:
- Very intense moods stimulate the creative process.
- During phases of mania, enthusiasm, energy and self-confidence are higher. The brain changes. There is a greater speed of thought, a greater ability to make associations and generate new ideas.
- People feel more free than ever to go beyond the established order, to experiment, to put aside this gray world. They are ready to bring to life a world that offers more possibilities.
- People with mania or hypomania hardly feel the need to sleep. They are overwhelmed by euphoria, well-being and emotions as intense as they are provocative.
- During this manic and creative phase, people manage to stifle their depressive anxiety. Silencing her gives even more strength to the process of creation.
Please note, not all people with bipolar disorder are highly creative.
All studies on creativity and bipolar disorder emphasize the same point: not all people with this disease are creative. And the majority of people with enormous creative potential do not suffer from, as we have said, mental disorders.
However, it is always interesting to see that the most striking works of art or musical compositions come from people who suffer from this disease. Doctor Kay Redfield Jamison noted the following. People with this diagnosis report that their creativity is much higher during periods of remission or when symptoms are mild or absent.
What is the reason? When they are depressed, they cannot work. During manic or psychotic episodes, their minds go too fast. It is chaotic and inconsistent. Creativity, in order to achieve excellence, above all needs a mind that is awake but also lucid, centered, calm. Chaos, as a base point, is not the ideal place to live or create.
Our thoughts Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Freud, Eliot, Graham, Gandhi, etc. The greatest achievements in the history of mankind are the products of …
