The mad genius fact or fiction?
The belief that genius and mental illness are entwined goes back
many centuries. Scores of influential poets, writers, painters, and
composers fulfilled the image of the mad artist and the
connection between bipolar disorder (also known as manic
depression) and creativity is entrenched in Western cultural
beliefs. The link remains hypothetical and controversial, however,
primarily due to the lack of solid evidence. Some of the arguments
for and against a connection between bipolar disorder and
creativity are examined below.
That fine madness
Men have called me mad, wrote the 19th century poet Edgar Allen
Poe, but the question is not yet settled whether madness is or is
not the loftiest intelligence whether all that is profound does
not spring from disease of thought, from moods of mind exalted at
the expenses of the general intellect.
Poes feeling that genius and insanity are linked is supported by a
wealth of anecdotal evidence. Many prominent artists have written
accounts of their moods that describe bouts of depression followed
by periods of elation, consistent with a diagnosis of bipolar
disorder. It has been claimed that 50% of poets, 38% of musicians,
20% of painters, and many others in creative fields have bipolar
disorder. By contrast, the condition affects just 1% of the
population at large.
High-profile evidence
Recent high-profile evidence comes from Kay Jamison from Johns
Hopkins University in Boston, MA. Jamison, a professor of
psychiatry who is herself afflicted by bipolar disorder, found that
both bipolar disorder and its milder form, cyclothymia, were
significantly more common among British writers and artists than
they were in the general population. Nancy Andreasen, another
proponent of the link between creativity and bipolar illness, found
that creative writers were far more likely to suffer from mental
illness, primarily bipolar disorder, than their counterparts in
other occupations. Andreason, a psychiatrist at the University of
Iowa in Iowa City, IA, also found that the writers first-degree
relatives were more likely to be creative and suffer from a mood
disorder, suggesting a genetic and therefore heritable basis
for the disease.
Enhanced cognitive function
In people with bipolar disorder, the manic and hypomanic phases are
diagnosed on the basis of various symptoms, including flight of
ideas, lowering of inhibitions, and heightened creativity,
sensitivity, and productivity. The potential of such attributes to
enhance artistic creativity is self-evident. Furthermore, mania is
characterized by improvements in memory and cognition that may also
boost creativity. Clinical studies show that individuals in a manic
state tend to rhyme and use alliteration more, and can find more
synonyms and word-associate more quickly than those without bipolar
disorder. The enhanced cognitive state of mania may thus contribute
to a fluency of ideas that is essential to innovation.
Highs and lows
Another theory is that experiencing cycles of depression and mania
facilitates the development of artistic insight by allowing
sufferers to experience extreme emotional lows and highs. This is
illustrated by a quote from Professor Jamison, who wrote: I
honestly believe that as a result of [my illness] I have felt more
things, more deeply; had more experiences, more intensely; loved
more, and have been more loved; laughed more often for having cried
more often; appreciated more the springs, for all the winters...
Depressed, I have crawled on my hands and knees in order to get
across a room and have done it for month after month. But normal or
manic I have run faster, thought faster, and loved faster than most
I know.
Link remains unproven
Critics of the notion that bipolar disorder increases creativity
stress that the link, though widely accepted, is only theoretical:
A causal connection has never been proven. Furthermore, the
biological mechanisms underlying such a link remains speculative
and researchers are far from unified in suggesting a pathway that
explains why creativity and bipolar disorder might tend to coexist.
An obvious argument against a link is that most people with bipolar
disorder are not creative or artistic, while most artists and
creative individuals are not affected by bipolar disorder.
Therefore, the relationship, if one exists, is complex and
influenced by a number of as-yet unidentified factors.
Methodological flaws
There are methodological flaws in many studies examining mental
illness in famous historical figures. For instance, medical
diagnoses based purely on biographical descriptions are unreliable,
meaning that estimates of the prevalence of bipolar disorder among
these figures should be interpreted with caution. It is also
possible that studies based on biographical sources are subject to
significant bias. For example, we tend to know far more about the
private lives of famous individuals than about members of the
general public, who might therefore be more able to hide such
afflictions, in order to avoid social stigma.
Many sources of bias
Although Professor Jamison used systematic methods to eliminate
this sort of bias, her studies have been criticised for focusing on
people who have become socially defined as creative for
example, by winning prizes. Lesser-known artists and writers, who
are in the majority, may not have been included in the research as
nothing is known about their private lives and mental health. The
samples of artists included in studies such as Professor Jamisons
may therefore be unrepresentative. Moreover, eminent artists may
refuse to participate in such research for fear of stigmatization,
skewing the analysis yet further.
No biological basis?
Others have questioned the physiological mechanisms by which
bipolar disorder might enhance creativity, arguing that certain
traits widespread among creative people eccentricity, uneasiness,
propensity to excess, and experimentation could be a reflection
not of an underlying mental illness but of the tolerance by society
of the behavior of high-achieving individuals. In other words,
their success allows them to behave in ways that would not be
tolerated in a member of the general public. Another theory is that
the dramatic mood swings experienced by people with bipolar
disorder make them unsuited to structured occupations such as
business or science. These individuals are thus drawn to more
creative pursuits as they are more accommodating for those who are
emotionally unstable.
Mental wellness, not illness
If there is indeed a link between mental illness and creativity, it
may not be limited to bipolar disorder. Instead, a state of general
unease or tension may be conducive to artistic achievement. This is
supported by evidence that many famous writers tend to be most
productive during the stable periods between manic or depressive
episodes. Other studies suggest that creative abilities tend to be
most likely in people with mild forms of the disease. On the flip
side, Harvard psychiatrist Albert Rothenburg argues that it is
mental health rather than illness that facilitates creativity,
noting that creative individuals in a range of professions are
characterised by emotional stability.
Society versus the individual
Even if a link between bipolar disorder and creativity is proven,
it may be relevant in only a minority of individuals. Some fear
that romanticising such a serious medical condition is dangerous,
placing a burden on sufferers to be creative or even to refuse
treatment. So, although society as a whole benefits from its
so-called mad geniuses, this must be balanced against the cost to
the individual at least one in five sufferers attempt suicide.
Bipolar disorder is now a treatable condition and most patients
report that their quality of life improves after starting
medication.
Famous creatives believed to have suffered from bipolar
disorder:
Writers:
Hans Christian Andersen
William Faulkner
Ernest Hemingway
Charles Dickens
Mary Shelley
Virginia Woolf
Honore de Balzac
Composers:
Hector Berlioz
George Frederic Handel
Gustav Mahler
Sergey Rachmaninoff
Robert Schumann
Irving Berlin
Peter Tchaikovsky
Ludwig van Beethoven
Poets:
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
William Blake
Emily Dickinson
T. S. Eliot
Victor Hugo
John Keats
Edgar Allen Poe
Artists:
Paul Gaugin
Vincent van Gogh
Michelangelo
Adolphe Monticelli
Georgia OKeefe
Jackson Pollock
