“There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.” —Salvador Dali
The romantic notion that mental illness and creativity are linked is so prominent in the public consciousness that it is rarely challenged.Do you have to be crazy to be a good artist? The artist Jackson Pollack claimed that the only time he felt truly sane was when he was making art. Yet there is a strong belief among some artists that being neurotic fuels creativity.
It has been said that artists might have mental health issues, but so do plumbers and doctors. Mental health issues strike many of us. Healthcare workers and caregivers may experience depression due to stressful working conditions and long hours; teachers can experience depression due to challenging parents, misbehaving kids and low pay. Office politics and lack of control make office work challenging for many. The legal profession is also difficult, especially in the first 10 years of practice. In fact, in one often-cited 1990 Johns Hopkins study lawyers led the nation with the highest incidence of depression amongst 100 occupations[i]. In addition to the general issues of office work, the long hours and adversarial nature of the profession itself is thought to be a significant contributing factor.
Artists experience long periods alone and are under-appreciated; success is unpredictable and fleeting for most. Domestic relationships are often challenging. Artists might feel that they are neglecting their loved ones and when inspiration strikes at irregular hours a partner might feel abandoned and second best. The work can be especially difficult when artists feel creatively blocked. It can be difficult to get past a creative block, but often simply becoming aware of when, how, and why a creative block develops can help a person work to address the creative block. Some may fear that their work or ideas will not be appreciated and hold back out of fear of rejection or failure. Fear of the unknown may also be a factor in the development of creative blocks. While creative blocks are often periods when an artist is working things out, it can mean not using their hands or physical being, which in turn leads to depression. One’s inner critic, useful in the creative process, can sometimes come to dominate certain aspects of feelings or behavior.
Collectively, this relationship between creativity, creative blocks, and mental health issues have fueled the common perception that creativity is enhanced by mental illness – a supposition that has been challenged by recent research findings and summarized in this intriguing Scientific American blog.
In fact, positive mood does not inhibit creativity. Creativity research suggests that people are most creative when they are in a positive mood and that mental health issues such as depression or schizophrenia actually decrease creativity. Likewise, Inc Magazine proclaimed in early 2017 that “Happy people are creative people.”
[i] Eaton, W.W. (1990). Occupations and the prevalence of major depressive disorder. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 32 (11), 1079-1087.
