265 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
265 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(word processor parameters LM=8, RM=78, TM=2, BM=2)
|
||
|
|
Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
|
||
|
|
Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
|
||
|
|
PO BOX 1031
|
||
|
|
Mesquite, TX 75150
|
||
|
|
July 9, 1990
|
||
|
|
CREATIVITY AND THE TROUBLED MIND
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
by Constance Holden
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, April, 1987
|
||
|
|
text file courtesy of Double Helix BBS at 212-865-7043
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
"The mind is its own place, and of itself
|
||
|
|
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
So wrote John Milton in PARADISE LOST. Whether or not he suffered
|
||
|
|
from an emotional disorder, Milton sounds like a man who knew firsthand
|
||
|
|
the torments and elations of severe mood swings. If so, he was not
|
||
|
|
unusual.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Speculation on a connection between art and madness has gone
|
||
|
|
on since the ancient Greeks. Now, a small handful of modern studies
|
||
|
|
indicates there may be something to it. In particular, they indicate a
|
||
|
|
striking association between creativity and manic depression, or
|
||
|
|
bipolar illness. The phenomenon appears especially pronounced among
|
||
|
|
writers, particularly poets.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Twentieth-century American poets have supplied poignant evidence
|
||
|
|
for this. Some of the best known -- Robert Lowell, Delmore Schwartz,
|
||
|
|
Randall Jarrell and Theodore Roethke -- were diagnosed as manic-
|
||
|
|
depressive or had histories of such behavior. Quite a few, including
|
||
|
|
John Berryman, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, committed suicide.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Full-blown cases of manic-depression are characterized by episodes
|
||
|
|
of uncontrollable hyperactivity, often accompanied by grandiose
|
||
|
|
delusions, and longer periods of incapacitating, and often suicidal
|
||
|
|
depression.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The genetic component is strong: Among identical twins, whether or
|
||
|
|
not they were raised together, if one twin has the illness, the other
|
||
|
|
is 80 percent likely to suffer from it. Manic depression afflicts at
|
||
|
|
least 1 percent of the population, and, in contrast to most mental
|
||
|
|
illnesses, the rate is considerably higher in the upper social and
|
||
|
|
economic classes.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Psychiatrist Nancy C. Andreasen of the University of Iowa College
|
||
|
|
of Medicine is the first investigator to have used modern psychiatric
|
||
|
|
diagnostic criteria to explore the relationship between mental illness
|
||
|
|
and creativity.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
In the early 1970s, Andreasen completed a study of 15 topflight
|
||
|
|
American writers at the prestigious University of Iowa Writers'
|
||
|
|
Workshop and compared them with others matched for age, education and
|
||
|
|
sex. Ten of the writers had histories of mood disorders, compared with
|
||
|
|
only two from the comparison group. Two of the 10 were diagnosed as
|
||
|
|
manic-depressive, and almost all reported mood swings, including manic
|
||
|
|
or hypomanic (mildly manic) states.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Page 1
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Andreasen has continued the study during the past 15 years,
|
||
|
|
expanding the sample of writers to 30. According to a recent report,
|
||
|
|
the proportion of writers treated for mood disorders has increased to
|
||
|
|
80 percent, compared to 30 percent of the comparison group.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Forty-three percent of the writers had some degree of manic-
|
||
|
|
depressive illness, as compared with 10 percent of the others.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Alcoholism, which is very high among sufferers of manic-
|
||
|
|
depression, afflicted 30 percent of the writers and 7 percent of the
|
||
|
|
comparison group. Two of the 30 committed suicide during the 15 years
|
||
|
|
of the study. "Issues of statistical significance pale before the
|
||
|
|
clinical implications of this fact," Andreasen says.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The data on the writers lend weight to the finding of a 1983
|
||
|
|
investigation conducted in England by psychologist Kay R. Jamison of
|
||
|
|
the University of California, Los Angeles. Jamison surveyed 47 of the
|
||
|
|
top British artists and writers, questioning them about their mood
|
||
|
|
states and their treatment history.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Thirty-eight percent of the total had sought treatment for mood
|
||
|
|
disorders -- a rate of about 30 times that of the general population.
|
||
|
|
Writers experienced the most problems, and of these, poets topped the
|
||
|
|
list -- with half od them reporting psychiatric intervention (drugs
|
||
|
|
and/or hospitalization) for depression and/or mania.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Almost two-thirds of the playwrights had been treated for mood
|
||
|
|
disorders, mainly with psychotherapy. The rate for biographers was 20
|
||
|
|
percent, and for artists the incidence was 13 percent.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
One-third of the 47 reported that they suffered from severe mood
|
||
|
|
swings, particularly the poets and novelists. Jamison reports that the
|
||
|
|
biographers, the least likely to be associated with "creative fire,"
|
||
|
|
reported no history of mood swings or elated states.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
More data on contemporary artists may be forthcoming from a study
|
||
|
|
being conducted in Paris involving exhaustive personal interviews with
|
||
|
|
about 50 artists, writers and musicians.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Psychiatrist Hagop S. Akiskal of the University of Tennessee is
|
||
|
|
collaborating in this study, which will compare information from
|
||
|
|
recognized creative individuals with that from a comparison group
|
||
|
|
matched for age, sex, background and achievement in nonartistic areas.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Akiskal has already looked at 750 of his patients in the U.S. who
|
||
|
|
are diagnosed with depression, manic-depression and schizophrenia to
|
||
|
|
see if any subgroups showed different levels of creativity.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
He found those with sever manic-depression showed high rates of
|
||
|
|
antisocial behavior, including violent crimes. But among those with
|
||
|
|
more moderate versions of the illness, he found that 9 to 10 percent
|
||
|
|
were creative artists and writers.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Although most investigators believe that creative achievement
|
||
|
|
occurs despite, not because of, emotional illness, Jamison says that
|
||
|
|
"intense creative episodes are, in many instances, indistinguishable
|
||
|
|
from hypomania."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The similarities suggest that mild mania can supply intense energy
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Page 2
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
as well as a way of seeing reality that, filtered through a creative
|
||
|
|
mind and a discerning intellect, can be highly conducive to artistic
|
||
|
|
productivity.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
There are many elements that mood states have in common, sometimes
|
||
|
|
including a sense of spiritual enlightenment that is reminiscent of
|
||
|
|
certain mystical states. Some other commonalities are:
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Both artists and manic-depressives tend to be highly sensitive to
|
||
|
|
stimuli both from the outside and from within. Andreasen calls this an
|
||
|
|
"extremely fine-tuned" nervous system, sensitive to a wide range of
|
||
|
|
stimuli, including pain.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
She has speculated that this results from "input dysfunction" or
|
||
|
|
"a defect in the cognitive mechanisms which filter stimuli."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
DISINHIBITION.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Psychologist Ralph Tarter of the University of Pittsburgh says a
|
||
|
|
"fundamental breakdown in inhibitory mechanisms" is characteristic of
|
||
|
|
most psychopathological conditions.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
This breakdown, which can also be stimulated by alcohol or drugs,
|
||
|
|
leads to farfetched connections, and -- as is true in many artists --
|
||
|
|
easier access to unconscious material. Manic thinking flows freely,
|
||
|
|
and includes man loose and novel associations.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
ABSORPTION.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Hypomania is associated with superior powers of concentration.
|
||
|
|
Harvard neurologist G. Robert DeLong, who studies children with early
|
||
|
|
signs of manic-depression, says that these children have significantly
|
||
|
|
richer imaginations than most. They show an "unusual intensity of
|
||
|
|
focus" when engaged in creative tasks, which results in impressive
|
||
|
|
feats of memory and highly detailed drawings. They can become lost in
|
||
|
|
fantasies for hours on end.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
What of the emotionally ill -- are they more creative than
|
||
|
|
average? There is only one modern study that explores this connection,
|
||
|
|
conducted in Denmark by psychiatrist Ruth L. Richards and psychologist
|
||
|
|
Dennis R. Kinney of Harvard Medical School's McLean Hospital.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Richard's and Kinney's subjects were 17 manic-depressives, 16
|
||
|
|
cyclothymics (who suffer from milder forms of the illness) and 11 of
|
||
|
|
their relatives with no psychiatric history. Of 33 people studied for
|
||
|
|
comparison, 15 were illness-free, while the other carried other
|
||
|
|
psychiatric diagnoses. Creativity was assessed by evaluating
|
||
|
|
individuals' jobs and avocational activities.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
The researchers found that creativity was significantly higher
|
||
|
|
among the study subjects -- manic-depressives, cyclothymics and their
|
||
|
|
relatives -- than among the comparison group.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Cyclothymics and relatives of manic-depressives showed the highest
|
||
|
|
levels of creativity. The researchers' conclusion: "Creativity can be
|
||
|
|
enhanced, on the average, in subjects showing milder and perhaps
|
||
|
|
'subclinical' expressions of potential bipolar liability."
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Page 3
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
From these studies it appears that a tendency toward manic-
|
||
|
|
depression may facilitate access, in creative individuals, to a
|
||
|
|
richness and intensity of experience that is not shared by the rest of
|
||
|
|
us.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
More systematic investigation into their mental troubles would
|
||
|
|
perhaps give us a less romanticized view of geniuses, but it would add
|
||
|
|
to our understanding of how the morbid and the extreme among us have
|
||
|
|
enlarged our perceptions of reality.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(Constance Holden writes for SCIENCE magazine. Some of the research
|
||
|
|
mentioned here will appear in MANIC-DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS [Oxford
|
||
|
|
University Press])
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
If you have comments or other information relating to such topics as
|
||
|
|
this paper covers, please upload to KeelyNet or send to the Vangard
|
||
|
|
Sciences address as listed on the first page. Thank you for your
|
||
|
|
consideration, interest and support.
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Jerry W. Decker.........Ron Barker...........Chuck Henderson
|
||
|
|
Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
|
||
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
|
If we can be of service, you may contact
|
||
|
|
Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 484-3189
|
||
|
|
--------------------------------------------------------------------
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
Page 4
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
|