The
major historical and theoretical trends of the history of the idea of a
correlation between mental illness and sheer brilliance did not initiate only after
the French Revolution. The controversial
connection between insanity and creativity has been an incredible,
indescribable phenomenon since the days of Socrates in Greece.
This
academic discussion of the linking commonalities between creativity and mental
illness will entail details of the number, and quality of, scientific evidence
regarding creative people having a greater likelihood of being diagnosed
mentally ill. More so than non-creative
people; and how artists and writers are more likely to be alcoholics,
clinically depressed, or commit suicide more so than average citizen.
Specifically, within the last few hundred years of Hollywood cinema,
celebrities have gained an embarrassingly, unattractive reputations when
dealing with illicit drugs and alcohol.
Celebrities,
such as, Robert Downey Jr., Drew Barrymore and now Charlie Sheen have, at one
time or another, all been seen publicly in a drunken state. However, this is not the first dangerous
combination of youthful, creative people expressing their inner battle to be
sane. Dr. Arnold M. Ludwig, a
psychiatrist at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, compared the mental
health of famous twentieth century artist and writers with the mental health of
more conservative, traditional professionals.
Ludwig discovered that artists and writers experienced two to three
times the rate of psychosis, suicide attempts, mood disorders, and substance
abuse than did comparably successful people in business, science, and public
life. (Stanger) Although there was a period of time when
being "madness and genius" was considered in style, a cultural trend. The Age of Romanticism was the era of greatly
admired, yet later suspected of dealing with bipolar disorder, Percy Bysshe Shelley,
Edgar Allan Poe, Schumann, and Beethoven.
Other note-worthy, mentally ill “creators” include the highly acclaimed
Russian author Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace),
the Nobel Laureate John Nash, of whom the film A Beautiful Mind was written about and of course there is one of
the most widely and commonly known self-mutilating artists, Vincent Van
Gogh. The introduction of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La
Mancha in Miguel de Cervantes novel began an escalation in the number of
asylums for the insane. When the story
of Quixote was released in the early sixteen hundreds the understanding of the
insane was that they are unable to fully contribute as a member of society and
therefore were unfit to coexist with the rest of society’s members. In the textbook, Interpersonal Communication and Human Relationships, authors Knapp
and Vangelisti said there is wisdom in belief that the most intolerable form of
punishment is isolation (solitary confinement).
Total and complete social exclusion from human contact can leave human
beings feeling devoid of satisfying the impulse to express experiences. Each person has a reservoir of private
experiences that at some point must overflow onto others. (Knapp, 1984) The distinction between the mentally and
criminally insane did not come until much later after the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. All of these
examples are considered to be the greatest, the most influential or best works
ever, but these tasks were accomplished by people who were considered to think
outside-the-box.
Secondly,
the research presented in this discussion will highlight the three main points
of scientific studies regarding the link between bipolar disorder and
creativity. Individuals with bipolar
disorder are not necessarily automatically considered creative people. Also, usually easily recognizable creative
people do not always suffer from mental illnesses or mood disorders. Or any other mental health challenges for
that matter. There are conflicting ideas
about whether mood disorders interfere or promote creativity. In the 2009 online article The Myth of the Mentally Ill Creative Keith
Sawyer called the link between the mentally ill and creative personality traits
as a myth. According to Sawyer there is
no solid scientific evidence affirming the correlation. In fact, Sawyer says there is a large amount
of scientific evidence that creativity is more commonly associated with the
positive moods of the human existence, with happy and healthy lives. In Sawyer’s opinion, severe mental illness
may actually reduce creativity. He
continued to say that in order to see a connection one must first consider the
mentally challenged who are not creative and the creative who are not mentally
ill. Now this point, in particularly,
stood out in my mind because of a conversation in the recently released
blockbuster film Tropic Thunder
between the lead protagonists played by Robert Downey Jr. and Ben Stiller. Robert Downey Jr.’s character says to Ben
Stiller’s character, “You never go full retard” which loosely translated means
you never completely let loose control over your mental comprehension.
On
the opposite side of the argument, noted authors Jason L. Hicks and Richard L.
Marsh believe "creative activity does involve very regular, cognitive
process” and that evidence shows that people use information the same way
whether or not they are creating a novel idea or merely accomplishing a
non-creative task." (Bink & Marsh, 2001, p. 60) Bink and Marsh understood, in detail, the
cognitive process behind creative thinking.
A website specifically intended to aid individuals living with bipolar
disorder, bipolar-lives.com, does openly
discuss the side effects of medication and a hindrance to the creative ability.
The
findings of an extensive study conducted by Dr. Ludwig and his colleagues
resulted in findings proving that “genius does in fact border on insanity, but
that people diagnosed with psychological illness cannot be highly
creative." He said, “Studies
suggest that creative people often share more personality traits with the
mentally ill than “normal” people in less creative pursuits.” Ludwig also went so far as to trace various
types of mental illness to different creative professions: he found that if
you're a poet you're more likely to suffer from mania and psychoses; a musician
or actor, drug abuse; a composer, artist, or non-fiction writer, alcohol
dependence. (Stanger)
Next,
let us take the time to discuss the personality traits of creativity in artists
versus scientists and the commonly shared personality traits between creative
people and the mentally ill, yet considered “normal” people. There are many similar traits between the
creativity that comes from an artistic mind versus the creativity that comes
from a scientific mind. These
personality traits begin with, but are not limited to, being open to
experience, a strong sense of drive, ambition and the ability to produce
literal and physical achievements.
However, the distinguishable differing personality trait in artists
includes a certain type impulsiveness that often leads to a lack of the sense
of right and wrong. Artists most
commonly exert signs of anxiety, artists are said to be extremely emotionally
sensitive sometimes to a point of hostility.
Artists are widely known for nonconforming, being aloof and can often be
unfriendly to those who do not share the same perspective as themselves. The independence exhibited by artists can
often be misread as a lack of warmth originated from the imagination of a
fantasy-oriented individual. In an
article from the Rochester Institute of Technology
entitled, Creative Genius or Psychotic? A
Look at the Strong Positive Correlation between Creativity and Psychoses,
writer Jonathan S. Byrd
says the inclination to fantasize could be equated with having an
"overactive imagination".
On
the opposite end of the spectrum, the creativity that spawns from scientists is
still an attitude of hostility but this time the hostility is derived from a
feeling of dominance and arrogance. It
is said that scientific creativity is evident because scientists independently
act as their own moral compass; their confidence resides within themselves and
their own abilities. Although, no matter
what the motivating factor may be behind the either artistic or scientific
“creativity” the entity created, the byproduct of that creativity, can be
something wonderful, magnanimous…an apparent innovation for the creator. Another interesting point to mention is about
scientists, although they are said to be more self-absorbed they are also said
to be much more flexible in changing the pattern of their thoughts, more so
than artists.
I
believe the true divider between artists and scientists is as simple as one
word: intelligence. In the late 1800s
tests were developed to point out high levels of intelligence in individuals
and again in the nineteenth century intelligence was used as a barometer to
promote the individual’s mental property.
The
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most commonly referred to the
historically popular Age of Reason or period of Enlightenment, were the
leading, distinguishable eras of initial arguments of rationality. The
imagination was held as the “key element of human cognition” according to the
writings of Thomas Hobbes. The
historical significance of the connection between mental illness and brilliance
has been seen in the common, everyday life ever since the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. In my opinion, the
connection between mental illness and brilliance is undeniable. Especially since teachings of this
correlation have been taught since the seventeenth century and has become the
understood and accepted rational today.
Even for those who do not believe in the association. For those of us who were lucky enough to have
lived during these two monumental centuries this association has become “common
knowledge” that these two are intertwined.
As
we [society] have learned more about these creative people and their
accomplishments, we have learned something more mental illnesses and how to
reach the pinnacle of artistic expression that is admired even until these
modern times.
So
in effect, Sigmund Freud’s work led to the thought logic progression of the
belief that great artistic talent is usually linked to mental illness. The fact that this holds true in so many of
our world renowned great artists has also added to this “understanding and
acceptance”. Recently at a Middle School
art fair there was a beautiful painting that stood out from all the other
competitors. When I inquired about the
painting; I was told an autistic student had painted it and my response was,
“Oh”. I knew I had to include that in
this paper. I realized that simply
saying the student is autistic was the answer to my unasked question. The “Oh”
was my acceptance to the response of my unasked question.
The
19th century teachings of Freud aided the thought logic progression
that defined what we refer to as, “Genius artistry.” It was written that: “The phenomenon of
transference in the therapeutic relationship, established its central role in
the analytic process.” This is so
true. Sigmund Freud taught us to define
the thought process. This logical thought progression is the process commonly
used and taught throughout the centuries of our existence. However analyzing
within the logical thought process is how we reason and develop thought and
understandings and this is all attributable to Freud’s breakdown of the Id,
Ego, and Super Ego.
With
definitions and understandings of what mental illness is and what brilliance is
we can now recognize connections that we perceive. Most artists that were deeply depressed
painted beautiful works of art void of the depression altogether, or works that
gave you a new way of looking at the expression of the simplicity of beauty. It seems that since there is something on the
inside that is unhappy these mentally challenged artists produced what was
beautiful and happy to them in outward expressions. It may have been to hide the mental illness,
or to do the opposite of what they felt inside.
Some artists look at their work as the “birth” of an artistic piece and
some do not want to give birth to what is considered ugly, or something they
themselves cannot begin to actually express. They might feel that the feeling
within their mental illness is disgusting or grotesque to them. And that could
be the reason they did not share their grotesque expressions with the
world. On the other hand, battling
mental illness could allow them to be completely self-serving not even aware of
the impact their works would have on the world and they simply created what
they felt during the time of artistic creation,
and it is just that, no other logic was ever involved.
I
really feel that with the works of Salvador Dali. His works depict a positive and a negative force
in competition with each other. Some of
his works are so well depicted that you can literally feel the forces battling
to see which one overcomes the other.
Salvador Dali’s works also depict extremes, long noses and extended
buttocks on some of his caricatures.
Dali was noted to have commented that, this is his expression of the
depression he experiences. His work has
to include the loss of balance because he was without balance in his life. He said he could not leave this out of his
works and feel that he had expressed himself.
His mental illness, or lack of balance as he put it, was an accepted
part of him. Dali seemed to have a sense
of peace with the fact that he suffered from mental illness. He accepted his mental illness as also what
defined him as his self. Dali was definitely
described as an outside the box thinker along with so many mental greats of all
the past centuries.
In
conclusion, thinking outside the box may possibly be a creative boost in both,
a career or personal life. However, why
a correlation between the mentally ill and the creative exists is still being widely
researched and may allude to certain points, but nothing can be said for
sure.
The
19th century teachings of Freud aided the thought logic progression
that defined what we refer to as, “Genius artistry.” It was written that: “The phenomenon of
transference in the therapeutic relationship, established its central role in
the analytic process.” This is so true. Sigmund Freud taught us to define the thought
process. This logical thought progression is the process commonly used and
taught throughout the centuries of our existence. However analyzing within the
logical thought process is how we reason and develop thought and understandings
and this is all attributable to Freud’s breakdown of the Id, Ego, and Super
Ego.
With
definitions and understandings of what mental illness is and what brilliance is
we can now recognize connections that we perceive. Most artists that were deeply depressed
painted beautiful works of art void of the depression altogether, or works that
gave you a new way of looking at the expression of the simplicity of
beauty. It seems that since there is
something on the inside that is unhappy these mentally challenged artists
produced what was beautiful and happy to them in outward expressions. It may have been to hide the mental illness,
or to do the opposite of what they felt inside.
Some artists look at their work as the “birth” of an artistic piece and
some do not want to give birth to what is considered ugly, or something they
themselves cannot begin to actually express. They might feel that the feeling
within their mental illness is disgusting or grotesque to them. And that could
be the reason they did not share their grotesque expressions with the world. On the other hand, battling mental illness
could allow them to be completely self-serving not even aware of the impact
their works would have on the world and they simply created what they felt
during the time of artistic creation, and it is just that, no other logic was
ever involved.
I really feel that with the works of Salvador
Dali. His works depict a positive and a
negative force in competition with each other.
Some of his works are so well depicted that you can literally feel the
forces battling to see which one overcomes the other. Salvador Dali’s works also depict extremes,
long noses and extended butts on some of his caricatures. Dali was noted to have commented that, this
is his expression of the depression he experiences. His work had to include the loss of balance
because he was without balance in his life.
He said he could not leave this out of his works and feel that he had
expressed himself. His mental illness,
or lack of balance as he put it, was an accepted part of him. Dali seemed to have a sense of peace with the
fact that he suffered from mental illness.
He accepted his mental illness as also what defined him as his
self. Dali was definitely described as
an outside the box thinker along with so many mental greats of all the past centuries.
Many
of the Great artists that did struggle with mental illness were also noted for
being able to look at things and perceive them differently. What they saw, and what the average “normal”
person saw, was very different, sometimes very simplistic and at times so
extremely complicated. Though it was
recognizable it was from a completely different perspective; a perspective that
the “normal thinkers” had not considered.
Some of the time working from definitions, and understandings, can cause
us to limit our investigations of matters and be content with out truly
searching out a matter. The term,”
outside the box” is a phrase used to describe the thinker that does not hold on
to the understood without allowing their thoughts to be limited to only what is
known and understood, and/or defined.
They are open enough in their thinking to just allow thoughts to proceed
beyond what they think they already know, and explore what else it can be , or
become. I feel mentally ill people have
the ability to allow their thoughts to just be, or become whatever they
are. They seem to have the ability to
quite the analytical thinking, and even the logical thinking, and create
without definition or understanding.
Why
the link? I am convinced the link exist
because of the mentally ill person has some capabilities of the mind in
thoughts that we the “normal” thinkers don’t have. To create or recreate works that their mind
sees, just the way they see them, is what a mentally ill person does and a
person without mental illness does the same.
In artistic expressions the mentally ill can only produce what they see
in their minds eye. The link is the
sight. Non-conforming, not understood
expressions, but the skew they see in their mind eye vision. Once translated to a physical work, then we
“normal” thinkers can study the concept, use the logical thought progression
and incorporate new knowledge into our analytical thinking process and voila,
we understand.
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