Every feeling, thought, and experience we encounter is viewed from the brain. We create mental frames for what we take to be reality. When our brain attempts to distort this reality, through trauma, addictions, and mental illness, we find creative ways to build new realities. The correlation between mental illness and creativity is often discussed, with the focus usually on whether or not the illness is the cause of original thought.
As a mentally ill person, the ability to create and use art to express my feelings is one of my most valuable coping mechanisms. It allows me multiple means to show my feelings to others, including music, art, and the written word. Recently, I have begun wondering who I would be without my mental illness. Some of my own works I am most proud of have come from times of deep stress and depression, and some have come from times of pure clarity and joy.
A considerable part of our society today involves condemning ideas that deviate from the norm. Both creative thinking and mental illness involve attributes that can be viewed as “different.” Just as in all aspects of living with mental illness, there are advantages and limitations to being an artist with a mental illness. For example, if your thoughts and experiences are already viewed as divergent, you may be more open to creative thinking. Psychologist J.P. Guilford concluded in his studies on creativity that “creative individuals [are] far more likely to exhibit divergent rather than convergent thinking.” He explained that creativity is a form of divergent thinking, influenced by several factors. While divergent thinking may lead to creation, the divergent thinking influenced by mental illness drastically changes how one views life and can have a deep impact on an artist’s work. Positive, welcoming environments with the freedom to take risks have been correlated with higher levels of creative thinking. However, depending on an individual’s experience and circumstances, they may not have the capacity for this mindset. The mental illness may tell the artist that the work isn’t worthy, to give up, and that they will never achieve greatness, therefore convincing the artist that it is not safe to share anything. Depression and suicidal ideation can lean toward rumination on the meaning of life and purpose. While this may lead to more art, often darkness is just darkness, not a creative tool. It is dangerous to ignore it for the sake of art and to leave illness untreated.
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One concern when discussing the work of artists who experience mental illnesses stems from the fact that many people do not understand that mental illness is not black and white. They think it involves either always experiencing symptoms, labelled “insanity,” or experiencing none at all. In Touched with Fire, Kay Redfield Jamison’s book on the connections between Bipolar Disorder and the artistic temperament, she notes, “Lucidity, however, is not incompatible with occasional bouts of madness, just as extended periods of normal physical health are not incompatible with occasional bouts of disease.” Scholars are quick to deny accusations of great artists being mentally ill, as they believe it will take away from the significant effort they put into their works. Jamison supports this, saying “For those who defend against charges of insanity, much of the concern seems to stem from assumptions that ‘mad’ is somehow ‘bad,’ that madness is a fixed condition with no periods of rational thought or experience, that great art cannot come from madness and, therefore, great artists cannot have been mad.”
An artist’s mental illness should add no negative connotations to their work. Artists who are suspected to have experienced mental illness did not necessarily spawn their work in an entirely illness-induced state; they likely worked on it through a time that included many mental states. Jamison also notes, “In order for far-flung or chaotic thoughts to be transformed into art, original and meaningful connections must be made.”Artists have noted that while they conceived an idea during a bout of self-defined “madness,” they fixed and refined the idea while experiencing a clearer mental state.
Another issue when discussing the mental health of an artist is the “tortured artist” trope, which can often lead to misdiagnosis or forced pain for the sake of art. Many poets and scholars imply that great creation comes from great suffering. Younger artists who see this suffering may seek to replicate it if they believe it is the birthplace of great work. All lives have varying emotions and emotional ups and downs, and the “tortured artist” trope is extremely dangerous to reinforce. No one should be encouraged to suffer for the sake of art. As long as we keep reinforcing this trope, those with mental illness may shy away from seeking help if they believe their suffering to be necessary for their art. Since artists are already viewed as different thinkers, they may not consider the fact that their thinking may stem from illness and avoid seeking help. Suffering is not a prerequisite for good work, nor is it necessary for art. If we group suffering and artistic work together, we are making a dangerous connection that is unsafe for all artists, whether or not they have a mental illness.
Simply put, art is the expression of an idea, and our ideas originate from the mind. “We have the most complex tool in the world, our mind, and no manual,” notes Hindu priest Dandapani, who dedicates his life to helping people navigate their brains. There is no correct way to express yourself. No matter the judgement on the content you create, art is a way to convey and work through feelings. From journaling to composing great symphonies, many artists write about how freeing it is to finally finish a work on a particular subject, as if it has taken the feeling away. Art is used as therapy in many areas of health and recovery. Writing fiction can allow you to escape to a new world, plunging yourself into a project is a way to leave behind your emotions for the time being.
With all the discourse surrounding the correlation between art and mental illness, it is crucial to encourage people with mental illnesses to express themselves creatively. If no one with mental health issues ever made art, our world today would be void of so many seminal creations. It is imperative to tell our stories so others feel represented and know they are not alone. Many current representations of mental illness in media involve negative and unrealistic portrayals, and use mental illness as a plot point. When more people with lived experience of mental illness are involved in the creation of media, the stories being portrayed can be more authentic and realistic. Positive representations of mental illness in media influence people to seek help and help people better understand what life is like as someone with a mental illness. These representations are best written by people who have experienced them. No matter how much trouble I have with my illness, it is part of who I am. It has had an undeniable effect on my work and creativity, and has allowed me to experience emotions that have led me to create great work. The emotions connected to living life with mental illness can be vastly different than those experienced by others. Maybe this is why artists who express these feelings in their work are seen as revolutionary. They have gone to the darkest, highest, and farthest places, and have come back to tell the tale. But this does not mean they went there willingly, nor does it mean that suffering is a requirement of good art. As the poet Lord Byron said: “I can never get people to understand that poetry is the expression of excited passion, and that there is no such thing as a life of passion any more than a continuous earthquake, or an eternal fever.”
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