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The Link Between Mental Health and Creativity
The number of creative artists with mental illness seems countless. We've all heard of the supposed connection between creativity and mental disorder. The idea of the tortured artist who remains in his house all day and creates works of brilliance to alleviate symptoms of depression. The artist experiencing mania who writes fifty pages in one day. Is there however, a proven link between creativity and mental illness?
This question is still very disputed amongst scholars and practicing psychiatrists. Several studies do indicate a correlation between mental illness and creativity. For example, Stanford University School of Medicine found that children who were at risk for developing bipolar disorder (because they had ADHD or parents with bipolar disorder) scored significantly higher than other children on a measure of artistic creativity. Similarly, in a study conducted by the University of Toronto and Harvard, highly creative people have a decreased ability to screen out or ignore outside stimuli.
One thing is a fact, hundreds of creative individuals have suffered from various mental disorder, either clinical depression or bipolar disorder. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac, Kate Millett, Georgia O'Keeffe, Eugene O'Neill, Pablo Picasso, Sylvia Plath, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Rothko, Anne Sexton, Paul Simon, and Vincent Van Gogh are just a few.
Essentially, the connection between creativity and mental illness is a fascinating discussion that will, most likely, continue for decades. While more research will be needed to further clarify the correlation between creativity and mental disorder, the popular notion of the tortured artist will endure.
About the author: Molly Callahan is an expert on the field of mental illness. During her spare time, she works on a variety of web projects including ecco sandals and teva flip flops. Molly is expected to finish her first novel in the fall of 2010.
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