Something has bothered me for long time: the realization that so many creative minds are in reality so deep and so dark. Being a creative person who has encountered depression multiple times, this topic haunts me. This is my exploration of why we are the way we are. Beginning this, I have no answers to any of the questions I am going to ask myself or anyone else. I am also aware that these questions may have no true answers.
Is there really a link between creativity and mental illness? Is that actually what allows artists to create such beauty? On countless occasions I have heard people say things like "She must know real pain to be able to sing like that." Is this stereotype of the tortured artist real?
Beethoven suffered from depression and is even speculated to have suffered from bipolar disorder. He was also an alcoholic. Edvard Munch's mental illnesses were the inspiration for his famous piece of artwork, "The Scream". He even said his sufferings were a part of himself and his art. Vicent van Gogh suffered from multiple mental illnesses, and timelessly remains one of the most famous artists.
We see mental illness and substance abuse in modern creative minds as well. Prince, Elvis Presley,and Michael Jackson all died of drug overdoses. Robin Williams committed suicide. Whitney Houston's death involved cocaine.
All of these artists are examples of how deep illness and substance abuse run in the industry of the arts. Are creative people more likely to be depressed? Have mental illnesses and eating disorders? Turn to drugs and alcohol? Commit suicide? Or is this just a misconception of Western culture? It seems a very daunting task to discover why some people are plagued with mental illness, and some never experience it at all.
Maybe our darkness comes from our ideas. People commonly separate creative and analytical minds, but I see both aspects come together in mine so often. Perhaps we create so many ideas it becomes the natural way we think. Then, maybe these ideas we are endlessly creating start to seem like reality because we are so used to them.
Maybe our darkness comes from our hearts. Whether it is putting emotion into a painting, the words of a song, a poem, etc. we are constantly thinking with our hearts. I don't mean to suggest that creative thinkers don't ever think with their minds, but rather that we sometimes subconsciously let our hearts take control.
Maybe it is our dreams and our fears. As an aspiring writer and performer, I know how difficult it is to cope with your work being rejected or anticipating it's rejection. We desire and strive to be the artists we believe we can be, but along the way we will undoubtedly meet naysayers attempting to cast gloom on all our aspirations. Sometimes the fear of meeting these people who will reject us causes us to become our own naysayers. We get into our own minds and create anarchy.
...?
Disclaimer: I don't have the ability to give a scientific explanation of the relationship between creativity and mental illnesses/substance abuse. I am merely a writer, with a million unanswered questions and ideas to write about.
