Here are some of the risks to creativity from bipolar illness and depression

Carol Forsloff — Mental health scientists have long known that there is a higher percentage of visual artists and musicians with bipolar disorder and depression than the normal population.  But is this just a tragedy for the social order and those who suffer from the illness or are there benefits that can teach us about ourselves and bring compassion , understanding and art appreciation as well?

Even great scientists and politicians, who brought high creativity to their endeavors, have also been categorized with bipolar disorder or depression. Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin looked at life out of unique life’s lenses. As a result  of Darwin’s perception, we have an understanding about how man and all nature evolved. And as a result of Lincoln’s deep feelings about himself, and his integration of those feelings with all humanity, the Great Emancipator forged the documents and the government strength to win a civil war over slavery and abolish the institution of slavery as an institution in the United States.

Experts tell us that creative people with bipolar disorder and depression may be drawn to the arts or other ventures where innovation is the mechanism for generating ideas that are outside what many would describe as the ordinary boundaries of performance.

The American Journal of Psychiatry from 1987 found that in 30 creative writers, there was a higher rate of bipolar disorder. They also were found to have higher IQs. A study in the  Journal of Affective Disorders in 2007 also found a higher percentage of creative skills in bipolar patients than those without a diagnosed mental disorder. Some mental health experts maintain that creative people are drawn to the arts and certain sciences because in looking for ways to ease their personal pain, or to understand themselves and their universe, they use their perceptions to uncover new pathways, new ideas and new ways to express their art. In doing so, they become leaders and often great contributors to the culture.

Those individuals with bipolar disorder have periods of both mania and depression. In their heightened states, great mood swings can occur; yet often it is within that uptick of mood that creativity can abound, as demonstrated by great works of art done during these episodes.  And while researchers continue to look for medications and cures for these episodes, some researchers wonder if in doing so we will eliminate that mechanism for creative advancement at the same time. In other words, our cure, or our need to make “them” like “us” may in fact reduce a level of creativity in our culture that brings value to our culture for generations.