Have always been creative here as well, in writing, music, and innovations in one the strategy games I play. I've sometimes wondered whether the free associations and pattern recognition comes from having the 'N' (Intuitive v. Sensing) in the Myers-Briggs personality classification rather than a mood disorder, per se. I would think that N's are more likely to think outside the box irrespective of having bipolar, schizophrenia, or something else. There's no doubt that the elevated states of course do promote creative output.