Of course not all mentally ill people are creative, and not everyone who is creative has a mental illness. But creativity is found at a higher rate than normal in people with certain mental illnesses, especially bipolar, depression, and ADHD. This is a scientifically proven fact. If your brain works differently, you are more likely to see the world in a different and creative way.

Kay Jamison, a famous bipolar psychologist, has written a book called Touched By Fire. It is on creativity in bipolar patients.