Possible to induce hypergraphia?

Question

The link below describes a woman who diagnosed herself with "hypergraphia", a compulsive need to write.

http://psychologytoday.com/rss/pto-20070516-000001.html

I find I have many creative ideas as a writer, but I fight with myself about expressing these ideas on paper. I'd like to be able to do as this person did and be able to write without caring about editing as I go, more stream of consciousness style so that I can just write what I want and sift through it later.

I know that one can reduce their own inhibitions through alcohol and drug use, but is this particular condition one that is hereditary or caused due to brain damage, or, is it one which can be induced?

Answer 1

Hyper graphia is understood to be triggered by brainwave activity in the temporal lobe. Many bipolar patients manifest this in the manic phase as do some schizophrenics. Some hypergraphia must be present in all successful prolific writers. Just inducing a person to write is no good. What about the quality of what they write? A hyper graphic schizophrenic suffering from delusions of grandeur might just write his name over and over and over.

Since this is not a mental disorder but is often found in the mentally deranged and due to the fact that the cause of neither bipolar or schizophrenic disorders are well understood I think it is doubtful it can be induced. Besides not much is really known about the human mind.(1)

Since you have these creative ideas why don't you get a tape recorder and just dictate your thoughts as they arise in your stream of consciousness without attention to grammar etc. You could then transcribe these thoughts at a later time. It is really quite easy. That way you might get around your writing inhibitions.