Creativity and mental illness 862058 222498600 2008-06-29T17:42:17Z Hthu 7394021 Expanded citation from [1] {{expert-subject|Medicine}} {{expand|date=February 2007}} [[Mental illness]] and [[creativity]] are popularly considered to be related, particularly in the case of [[bipolar disorder]]. Although the association between bipolar disorder and creativity first appeared in literature in the 1970s, the idea of a link between "madness" and "genius" is much older, dating back at least to the time of Aristotle, and reinforced by the views of the [[Romantic movement]].<ref name="simonton2005"> {{cite web|url=http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=164902206|title=Are Genius and Madness Related? Contemporary Answers to an Ancient Question|author=Dean Keith Simonton|publisher=Psychiatric Times|date=June 2005|accessdate=2007-02-20}}</ref><ref name="beverage2001"> {{cite web|url=http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1282252 |title=A disquieting feeling of strangeness?: the art of the mentally ill |author=Allan Beveridge |publisher=Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine |date=2001 |accessdate=2007-02-20}}</ref> == Creativity and bipolar disorder == There is a common belief, although without empirical basis, that many famous historical figures gifted with creative talents have been affected by bipolar disorder. Creativity and psychopathology share a common set of traits. As a consequence, creators will commonly exhibit symptoms often associated with mental illness. The frequency and intensity of these symptoms will vary according to the magnitude and domain of creative achievement. At the same time, these symptoms are not equivalent to out-and-out psychopathology. <ref name="simonton2005"/> Many of these have been retroactively "diagnosed" as suffering from bipolar disorder after their deaths based on letters, correspondence, contemporaneous accounts, or other material, most notably in [[Kay Redfield Jamison]]'s book ''[[Touched with Fire|Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament]]''.<ref name="TWF">{{cite book|title=Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament|author=Kay Redfield Jamison|pulisher=Free Press|isbn=978-0684831831}}</ref>. ''Touched With Fire'' presents the argument that bipolar disorder may be found in a disproportionate numbers of people with creative talent such as [[artist]]s, [[comedian]]s, [[musician]]s, [[author]]s, [[performer]]s, [[poet]]s, and [[scientist]]s. Several recent clinical studies have also suggested that there is a positive [[Correlation_does_not_imply_causation|correlation]] between creativity and bipolar disorder, although it is unclear what the relationship is between the two.<ref name="santosa2006"> Santosa et al. Enhanced creativity in bipolar disorder patients: A controlled study. ''J Affect Disord.'' 2006 Nov 23; PMID 17126406. </ref><ref name="rihmer2006"> Rihmer et al. Creativity and mental illness. ''Psychiatr Hung.'' 2006;21(4):288-94. PMID 17170470. </ref><ref name="nowakowska2006">Nowakowska et al. Temperamental commonalities and differences in euthymic mood disorder patients, creative controls, and healthy controls. ''J Affect Disord.'' 2005 Mar;85(1-2):207-15. PMID 15780691. </ref> Temperament may be an [[intervening variable]].<ref name="rihmer2006"/> A 2005 study at the Stanford University School of Medicine showed for the first time that a sample of children who either have or are at high risk for bipolar disorder score higher on a creativity index. Children with bipolar parents who were not bipolar themselves also scored higher.<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051109092005.htm Children Of Bipolar Parents Score Higher On Creativity Test, Stanford Study Finds<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> == See also == * [[List of people believed to have been affected by bipolar disorder]] * [[Outsider Art|Art Brut]] == References == {{reflist}} [[Category:Psychological theories]] [[Category:Creativity]]