Bi-Polar Disorder and Creativity?

Question

Hello. If you are BP and creative could you please give me some suggestions why a link appears to exist (though not in all cases of course) between the two. I am trying to gather as much primary research as possible for my dissertation. I would be very grateful and interested to recieve some quite detailed answers if possible. Thankyou for your time.

Answer 1

I don't know if this helps, seeing as it's a fictional character, but on the HBO show Six Feet Under, "Billy" was a bi-polar artist. It may provide some insight....plus it's a good show.

Answer 2

I don't know about creativity. But my husband is bi-polar and he has done some strange things that one would not find normal. He has stood in the middle of the road. He mumbles and his eyelids flutter. He will get in a vehicle with a stranger and not even know where he is going or who is taking him and doesn't really have a care in the world.. He will strip off his clothes and walk around outside. He calls himself God. He flicks the lights on and off. He speed talks and can't sleep or sit still. He hears things and sees things that aren't there. He calls me the Virgin Mary and then later I am the devil. He can't stop himself at the time.When he is fine he says it is like a movie that he is watching. This can go on and off for up to 3 months at a time. He was in the psych. ward and ripped up his pillow and threw it all over. They strapped him down and medicated him. Later they asked him if he remembered doing it and he said he didn't. My husband was a plasterer by trade and he was creatitive in his work. He also makes a few craft items from time to time. He makes mini rock houses now that he is disabled. He loves stucco work and wishes he could do it again but he can't because he has arthritis so bad.His dad and sister were bi-polar too.

Answer 3

i think when someone is manic they have more "energy" to create something. however, i have had two bi polar friends and one is creative and the other not. i think that creative people have more of a tendency for depression and possibly bi-polar (i am an artist myself and have had depression but never bp.) and when you go through severe ups and downs you need to express it. you understand things in a different way than non-depressed people do, things are more complex and being creative also sometimes takes more complex thinking and analyzing...

Answer 4

http://mednews.stanford.edu/releases/2005/november/bipolar.html

This will tell you what you need to know. Not many studies have been done on the link between creativity and BiPolar. They still don't have all the answers as the brain is a very conplex organ.

Answer 5

I have Bipolar Disorder and I guess I consider myself creative.

I am a writer, I take an interest in media and I am quite good at illustration and painting.

I'm not sure why there is a link. I never really thought about it.

Answer 6

this is pretty simple but i'd imagine it would be hard NOT to be creative if you're constantly on a rollercoaster. I think a lot of creativity is an attempt to achieve balance by capturing an ideal during one moment of time.

Answer 7

Give Kirby the 10 pts. I can't add to the answers. Smart group of people.

Answer 8

i think cuz when you feel the high, you feel like superman, you can do whatever you want. cuz you know how it feels being low and stuck with creative blocks. then when you free yourself, the block has disappeared and there's a want to make up for lost time.

Answer 9

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=bipolar+disorder+and+creativity&spell=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creativity_and_bipolar_disorder