Creativity and Mental Illness Essay - 2384 Words

Creativity and Mental Illness Men have called me mad, but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence--whether much that is glorious--whether all that is profound--does not spring from disease of thought--from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect. Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night - Edgar Allen Poe When you are insane, you are busy being insane - all the time... When I was crazy, thats all I was. - Sylvia Plath Is creative genius somehow woven together with madness? According to the dictionary, to create is to bring into being or form out of nothing. Such a powerful, mysterious, and even†¦show more content†¦His creative break with the prevailing assumption that all molecules were based on two-ended strings of atoms came in a blazing flash of insight: I turned my chair to the fire and dozed. Again the atoms were gamboling before my eyes.... [My mental eye] could distinguish larger structures, of manifold conformation; long rows, sometimes more closely fitted together; all twining and twisting in snakelike motion. But look! What was that? One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail, and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes. As if by a flash of lightning I awoke. (2). Like Kekule, people recognized for their creative genius often depict moments of inspiration as an electrifying convergence of rational and irrational thought. If there is an edge to be found between the rational and the irrational; between the known and the unknown; between the conventional and the innovative, and if this edge is where creativity takes place, it makes sense that a creative mind runs the risk of going too far. As Koestler has put it, skin-divers are prone to fall victim to the rapture of the deep and tear their breathing tubes off(8). Artists Ernest Hemmingway, Virginia Woolf, CharlesShow MoreRelatedCorrelations between Creativity and Mental Illness Essay1604 Words   |  7 PagesSeveral scientific studies have demonstrated correlations between creativity and mental illness, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Even though the association between bipolar disorder and creativity first appeared in literature in the 1970s, the idea of a link between madness an d genius is actually much older. It goes back at least to the time of Aristotle and the Ancient Greeks, when it was believed that creativity came from the gods, and in particular the Muses, the mythical personificationsRead More Kay Redfield Jamisons Touched With Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temeprament994 Words   |  4 PagesKay Redfield Jamisons Touched With Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temeprament In Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, Kay Redfield Jamison explores the compelling connection between mental disorders and artistic creativity. Artists have long been considered different from the general population, and one often hears tales of authors, painters, and composers who both struggle with and are inspired by their madness. 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Not only are they trying to inform readers, but they are alsoRead MoreA Brilliant Madness about John Forbes Nash Essay1458 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"To some extent insanity is a form of conformity; people are always selling the idea that people who have mental illness are suffering. But it’s really not so simple†¦I think mental illness or madness can be an escape also† (qtd. in â€Å"John Forbes Nash†). To many â€Å"normal† people, the terms â€Å"insanity† or â€Å"madness† portray a negative connotation-- the unfortunate one s â€Å"suffer† from mental illness. However, brilliant mathematician and Nobel laureate John Forbes Nash, who has paranoid schizophrenia, cherishesRead MoreEssay about Bipolar Disorder: Illness and Treatment693 Words   |  3 Pagespopular evidence that suggest that there is relationship between creativity and mental dysfunction. There are a significant number of famous individuals known for their creative capacity that had suffered from mental illness. Is believed that individuals with psychological problems often have the capacity to see and interpret the world in a unique and original manner, in other words they can see what others can’t. The link between creativity and bipolar disorder are mentioned for the first time in literature