Is there a link to depressed peolple and...?

Question

is there a link between depressed people and creativity?
if so- who? and why?

just wondering

Answer 1

There have been studies done on this topic. Scientists believe that the gene linked to clinical depression is somehow linked to the creativity gene. It's strange, but things like this happen.

Answer 2

Being a depressive, it is well known that creativity and depression go hand in hand. (Not all the time but a lot of it). People who are depressed tend have over active brains, this does not mean intelligence although there have been plenty of depressive geniuses in the past and present.
I think at the moment the one with the best known profile is Stephen Fry, he has just done a series on depression, well mostly manic depression but alot of the same characteristics apply to all forms of depression. A lot of the people I went to the psychiatric clinic with were creative, albeit in the way they dressed to their creative tales of who they had spent last night with.
Art and writing are a good way to get the feelings out that are jumbled up around your head. So there are a lot of creative depressives out there. Everyone needs an outlet for their feelings and their dark thoughts better it is art than someone they love.
I think depression is more accepted these days in society as nearly everyone has someone in the family who suffers from some sort of depression. I have always been open and honest about mine.

Answer 3

My own observations of depression and creativity reveal a connection related to introversion, or, an inordinate amount of turning inward to the conceptual cantons of the mind. It is incorrect, though, to say that depression in of itself fuels creativity. The depression may not be the causitive variable, that is, depression is also directly correlational with solitude, and, solitude in itself IS required for individual creative processes. Also, it is illogical to say that creativity rises only from depression. People who are not depressed do create and what they create is actually more eternal than are the creations of depressed people, in the long run. Morbid thought has it's market.

Answer 4

In most of Northern California"s mental health facilities there are posters of various famous people who suffered from mental illness and led highly productive and successful lives. ie: Beethoven, Einstein, Mozart, Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde, etc. and so on...I think that it is more of a link between creative people and mental illness than the illness causing the creativity per se. Creativity sometimes stems from heightened awareness which has been linked to many mental illnesses and sometimes creativity results from some sort of suffering or trauma and the brain stimulates the imagination and other faculties to come up with productive ways to express feelings and emotions derived from such experiences. Mental illness has also been associated with the pros and cons of many world leaders and their success or failure may have been attributed to one or more symptoms of their illness.

Answer 5

There is a definite link with depression and creativity. I watched a very good 2 part documentary presented by Stephen Fry a while ago.

Answer 6

i do not know if depression is linked with creativity, however people who might dwell on an issue might tend to over think, leading them open to go beyond the normal pattern of reason. People who are above average intelligence are more likely to have vivid imaginations that could lead to creativity.

Answer 7

All I know is musicians who do not have any - actual - depression make awful, trite, trivial, shallow music.

So I would say yes, and the reason being is that those with depression tend to have more life-experience and are world-weary, whereas the before-mentioned lived very sheltered lives.

Answer 8

Interesting question ... perhaps depressed people look along different lines ...... look at Spike Milligan, a classic manic depressive but a brilliant creator of humour and wit. It could be said that depression leads to inward thinking leads to creation via that quiet dark place where contemplation lives .......... who knows? Great question though !

Answer 9

yes for sure creativity and depression bi polar add autism all go hand in hand john ennon had adhd so that says it all s does robbie williams natasha and daniel bedingfield roobin williams and billy connelly oh and me and im ver y creative when im in the mood did you not see the documentary on stephen fry and bi polar now that was amazing thereason is the fluctuating chemicals in the brain I think loos at some websites there ar thousands xx

Answer 10

wiht bipolar depression you get creative spurts and high times, followed by incerdibly low times. you need treatment to balance these out. so yes depression and creativity are linked in bipolar depression. lots of famous writers have had bipolar depression and created their most famous works during the creative spurts.