Creativity and mental illness?...

“To be ill adjusted to a deranged world is not a breakdown.”
― Jeanette Winterson

Can you imagine?  Swinging from one period of the highest high to another of the lowest of the low?  As I have spoken with people who are bipolar, I am struck by how they sometimes talk about enjoying the experience of being manic.  From the lawyer in my psych hospital experience, to friends, it seems as though there is consensus… the manic phase is almost enjoyable.  And as I read the list of famous individuals who had bipolar disease, I thought about this again.  Was Winston Churchill manic as he handled the darkest days for the British during the time of WWII?  As he worked to inspire his country to fight, was he infused with that high energy?  Was he ignoring risks?  Did he feel like no matter how high he flew, he simply couldn’t fall?  How about the creative process and depression?  I can’t imagine it helping.  For me, it simply saps my energy, but look at all those artists who suffered with depression:   Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Hemingway, Eugene O’Neill, Virginia Woolf, Tolstoy, Hemingway and Sylvia Plath. But then I wonder…did the experience of being depressed enrich what they were capable of seeing and thus enhance their artistic viewpoint?  Was their world view made deeper by the experience of depression?

I have a lovely niece who is bipolar.  She is one of those people who have talked to me about how the experience of being bipolar is almost positive for her sometimes.  She is intelligent, with a wry sense of humor.  I think she is wildly creative. And I love hearing her observations about life, politics, and dealing with mental illness.  Would she be as much fun as she is without her bipolar disorder?  Is her somewhat creative world view dependent on her mental illness?  I don’t know. All of this is basically a musing on how much creativity and mental illness are interrelated.  I have looked up articles on that topic. Even though I can’t seem to find any concrete evidence of overwhelming proof that there is a causal correlation between mental illness and creativity, I have seen studies that do suggest that there is a strong relationship.  I am not sure that I am convinced that it is causal.  I wonder…. 

Does this sound like a silly question?  I don’t know.  Is creativity tied to a quirky world view and willingness to see outside of the box?  I think sometimes it is.  And many of the very creative people I know seem almost ‘off’ to me.  Does this ‘off-ness’ mean that they are mentally ill?  I don’t know. You have to remember that there is a range of severity with the mentally ill. There are people who function very well through periods of depression.  And I believe that creativity is sometimes enhanced by seeing the bad in life. Just look at Charles Dickens.  Who also had a mental illness. But I am also sure that many people who are not mentally ill are creative.  So, what is the connection?  I don’t really know if there is one.  I just wonder about it.  What do you think?