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About
Bipolar
(View Additional Pages Below) |
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On one hand many artists, musicians,
and writers credit their talent and creativity to altered
mood states. On the other hand, bipolar disorder has
cost many lives because of its greatly increased risk
of suicide.
Psychiatrist Kay Jamison
, who herself has bipolar disorder and is considered
a leading expert on the disease, has written several
books that explore this idea, including "Touched with
Fire". Research indicates that while mania may contribute
to creativity (see Andreasen, 1988), hypomanic phases,
such as those experienced in Bipolar
II and cyclothymia, actually contribute more (see
Richards, 1988). This is perhaps due to the distress
and impairment associated with full-blown mania, which
may be preceded by symptoms of hypomania (i.e. increased
energy, confidence, activity) but soon spirals into
a state much too debilitating to allow much creative
endeavor. Make no doubt about it, there is nothing glamorous
or romantic about the suffering that occurs with bipolar
disorder, and in fact people who are experiencing such
mood states are often in the fight for their lives.
That said, many famous and talented people are believed
to have been affected by bipolar disorder, based on
evidence in their own writings and contemporaneous accounts
by those who knew them. Bipolar disorder is found in
disproportionate numbers in people with creative talent
such as artists, musicians, authors, poets, and scientists,
and it has been speculated that the mechanisms which
cause the disorder may be related to those responsible
for creativity in these persons. Many of the historical
creative talents commonly cited as bipolar were "diagnosed"
retrospectively after their deaths and thus the diagnoses
are unverifiable; however, in cases diagnosed in recent
decades there does seem to be at least some correlation
between bipolar disorder and creativity.
There are several possible explanations for the connection
between hypomania and creativity. One is that the capacity
to "disinhibit" repressed, controlled, mental processes
is increased, allowing the emergence of more spontaneous
expressions (see Bogousslavsky, 2005). A reverse example
of this is writer's block, during which creativity is
stifled. Another reason is that hypomania allows for
protracted concentration on activities and high productivity
due to very little need for rest. Finally, as Dr. Jamison
notes in several publications, two aspects of thinking
in particular are heightened in creative thought and
hypomania. The first is the fluency, rapidity and flexibility
of ideas and the other is the ability to combine concepts
into novel connections, especially connections between
opposites or previously unassociated conditions. Thus,
these thinkers are much more likely to be divergent
than convergent thinkers.
Adapted from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder
Click
here for a list of people believed to have
been affected by bipolar disorder. |
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