Creativity Linked To Mental Illness
Creative People Have Higher Rate Of Many Conditions
POSTED: 10:46 a.m. EDT May 22, 2002
For decades, scientists have known that eminently creative individuals have a much higher rate of manic depression, or bipolar disorder, than does the general population. But few studies have been done to build the link between mental illness and creativity.
Now, Stanford researchers Connie Strong and Dr. Terence Ketter have taken the first steps toward exploring the relationship.
They found healthy artists to be more similar in personality to individuals with manic depression than to healthy people in the general population.
"My hunch is that emotional range, having an emotional broadband, is the bipolar patient's advantage," Strong said. "It isn't the only thing going on, but something gives people with manic depression an edge, and I think it's emotional range."
Strong presented preliminary results of the study Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association Meeting in Philadelphia.
Researchers administered standard personality, temperament and creativity tests to 47 people in the healthy control group, 48 patients with successfully treated bipolar disorder and 25 patients successfully treated for depression.
They also tested 32 people in a healthy, creative control group. This group was comprised Stanford graduate students enrolled in prestigious product design, creative writing and fine arts programs.
Preliminary analysis showed that people in the creative control group and recovered manic depressives were more open and likely to be moody and neurotic than people in the healthy control group. Moodiness and neuroticism are part of a group of characteristics researchers are calling "negative-affective traits" which also include mild forms of depression and bipolar disorder.
Strong said the data are preliminary, and other groups need to be studied. How mood influences the performance of artists and genius scientists will be the subject of future research at Stanford.
"We need to better understand the emotional side of what they do," Strong said.
Now, Stanford researchers Connie Strong and Dr. Terence Ketter have taken the first steps toward exploring the relationship.
They found healthy artists to be more similar in personality to individuals with manic depression than to healthy people in the general population.
"My hunch is that emotional range, having an emotional broadband, is the bipolar patient's advantage," Strong said. "It isn't the only thing going on, but something gives people with manic depression an edge, and I think it's emotional range."
Strong presented preliminary results of the study Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association Meeting in Philadelphia.
Researchers administered standard personality, temperament and creativity tests to 47 people in the healthy control group, 48 patients with successfully treated bipolar disorder and 25 patients successfully treated for depression.
They also tested 32 people in a healthy, creative control group. This group was comprised Stanford graduate students enrolled in prestigious product design, creative writing and fine arts programs.
Preliminary analysis showed that people in the creative control group and recovered manic depressives were more open and likely to be moody and neurotic than people in the healthy control group. Moodiness and neuroticism are part of a group of characteristics researchers are calling "negative-affective traits" which also include mild forms of depression and bipolar disorder.
Strong said the data are preliminary, and other groups need to be studied. How mood influences the performance of artists and genius scientists will be the subject of future research at Stanford.
"We need to better understand the emotional side of what they do," Strong said. Copyright 2002 by Lifewhile.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
