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Suicidal Creativity

lovermuffin said:
I'm not too sure about what you're saying. I suppose our different viewpoints just stem from two different sources. This gets into an area I study a lot in school, about how we base our knowledge claims and what is "truth". The Scientific American journal says that "Increased rates of suicide, depression and manic-depression among artists have been established by many separate studies. These investigations show that artists experience up to 18 times the rate of suicide seen in the general population, eight to 10 times the rate of depression and 10 to 20 times the rate of manic-depression and cyclothymia."
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Why play games? Why not just link to the blasted article?
 
Creativity comes from resilience thru writing. A depressed bum gets no thumbs up, a depressed writer that changes with it does.
 
lovermuffin,
The 'stories' on that link are purely anecdotal and opinion. There are no statistics supporting a propensity toward suicide among creative people. That link appears to be an exercise in thesis building through selective, anecdotal storytelling.
 
Hmm...I personally think that depression can be a good source for writing from. It always depends on the person, but speaking from experience, some of my best stuff has come from an overflow of feelings when I am depressed. It feels good to get them out and to be able to express yourself in that regard. I don't know, it could just be because I like to write. Anyway, I promise I won't be committing suicide, but I think a great example of a suicidal/creative mind would be Sylvia Plath. She has some wonderful poetry, and The Bell Jar is a spectacular book.
 
novella said:
lovermuffin,
The 'stories' on that link are purely anecdotal and opinion. There are no statistics supporting a propensity toward suicide among creative people. That link appears to be an exercise in thesis building through selective, anecdotal storytelling.
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In fact I have read many times regarding the link between mental illness and creativity. Speaking for myself, I am often a lot more creative when depressed.

Here... I think you are find these are neither anecdotal nor opinion.

Science Daily
Stanford Researchers Establish Link Between Creative Genius And Mental Illness
Stanford Researchers Establish Link Between Creative Genius And Mental Illness and creative individuals have a much higher rate of manic depression, or bipolar disorder, than does the general population. But few controlled studies have been done to build the link between mental illness and creativity. Now, Stanford researchers Connie Strong and Terence Ketter, MD, have taken the first steps toward exploring the relationship.

Sumerset medical centre study of mental illness and creativity
Prevalence of Mood Disorders in Creative People
10-year study of 1004 men and women who were prominent in a variety of professions, including art, music, science, business, politics, and sports. Ludwig found that between 59 and 77 percent of the artists, writers, and musicians suffered mental illness (particularly mood disorders) compared to just 18 to 29 percent in the less artistic professionals.

Most studies on this subject have consistently shown higher rates of mood disorders in creative people, differing only in the magnitude of the results.


I think when you burn with passion you cannot help be depressed if you feel everything so much. It's like being on crack all the time. Look at Van Gogh for instance. The world is so so so beautiful and it can hurt so much. Even the beauty.
 
I'm not disputing the link between creativity and mood disorder, as stated earlier in this thread. But suffering from a mood disorder and committing suicide are two different things.
 
Oh right, sorry, I miss read you. I just went back. I didn't see the word "suicide" Guess that's what I get for speed reading :)
 
Here's an ineresting quotation from Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra:
Creating - that is the great salvation from suffering, and life's alleviation. But for the creator to appear, suffering itself is needed, and much transformation.
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hay82 said:
Reading about different authors who chose to commit suicide made me think about if there is a possible connection between creativiti and depression. I found this:


I also seem to remember reading something that depression could make some people more creative. What do you think, do you become depressed if you are creative, creative because you are depressed or is it just rubbish?
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When I was depressed I would write stories to do with heartbreak, pain, death, suicide, not to reflect on my pain/heartbreak/loss, but just because I feel down I feel my character should feel down too :p I still get depressed but I am thinking of writing happy stories which might make me feel happy too.
 
of course there is. so many artists/writers have had these troubles. i guess its a source of inspiration. i was trying to get over a bout with depression i had in the beginning of the summer, and i was thinking how misery is my muse
 
creativity as mental illness

the relationship between "creativity" and "mental illness" is rather clear. cases of people who are profoundly disturbed yet brilliant are abundant. most people you would identify as "creative" are probably also people you would term "eccentric" or "a little out there." so, to frame the debate: do you feel 1) that a correlation between creativity and mental illness exists, and 2) that mental illness is a prerequisite for creativity? bonus question if you consider yourself as "mentally ill," do you feel that it facilitates your creativity in any way?
 
whats a book? said:
the relationship between "creativity" and "mental illness" is rather clear. cases of people who are profoundly disturbed yet brilliant are abundant. most people you would identify as "creative" are probably also people you would term "eccentric" or "a little out there." so, to frame the debate: do you feel 1) that a correlation between creativity and mental illness exists, and 2) that mental illness is a prerequisite for creativity? bonus question if you consider yourself as "mentally ill," do you feel that it facilitates your creativity in any way?
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There is a great book by Kay Jameson call Touched With Fire which talks about mental illness in the great artists. The Brilliant Poets seem to have suffered the most.
 
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