Bipolar and Creativity

I have posted in the bipolar forum before about madness and genius, but I want to back down a little and take a look at bipolar and creativity: BBC - Future - Does mental illness enhance creativity?. Here we have some studies and some myths, about the relationship between bipolar disorder and creativity. The upshot: some studies suggest that creative people experience more bipolar illness than the general population, while other studies show no much relationship. Bipolar doesn't seem to "enhance" creativity for most people, either. The idea that bipolar people are somehow more creative than everyone else appears to be a myth that is probably spread by bipolar people to romanticize a painful and potentially life-threatening illness and pretend there is a silver lining on a very dark cloud of mental illness.

How many people in the creative professions do we have in this forum? Are you a fine artist, a creative writer, etc? Even expanding beyond the creative professions into everyday creative pursuits, like knitting, building toothpick fortresses, and so on; how many bipolar people on these forums do such activities? Do you think bipolar makes you more creative, or does the illness rob you of motivation and ability? I want to hear about your experiences.

I've always been considered creative even as a kid. It's been a thread that binds me throughout my life. (Is that too manic to say?)

Hi, Yes...I have always been involved in creative pursuits...visual art, writing, poetry.

I like to write, but I don't think I'd ever be able to hold focus on a subject matter long enough to write a solid, good book/novel. Even just across one cycle, I have almost no interest in doing any of the stuff I was doing last summer, even though there's tons of it half finished that could really be worked into something nice.

I do like to work on "word art", one page or less, sparse, but painting a very emotive experience when read.

Nope... just love to read!

I write poetry and photograph quite a bit. I used to draw but not so much anymore. I've always been creative. This is long before I was diagnosed with bipolar.

Creative? Yes, always. It's my most defining trait. Numerous realms.

Not having "not having BP" as an option, it's impossible to compare and know if I would have otherwise been creative or not. I can say that consistent productivity is a challenge. This was even moreso the case before medication, which I mention because that's a common concern -- that medication can "kill" creativity. That's not my experience. It didn't kill it. It did help even out productivity though (not that it's all evened out, lol, it's just not so drastically uneven). (With properly tuned meds of course.)

I don't think I'm promoting any myth. I've been creative forever, and certainly long before knowing about having BP. I have both. Make of that what you will. I think it's fair to say that, even if you don't believe there's a connection, there is a certain help in hypo/mania's bolder attributes. Fear kills creativity. No fear? Well, it doesn't hurt, you know?

That said, I do HATE the romanticization whereby people seek to "legitimize" their claim to creativity via BP. As if it's some kind of requirement. That's nonsense. There are creative people who don't have BP. There are creative people that do have BP.

You ask if the BP makes me more creative. I'm going to say yes.
You ask if the BP robs me of motivation and ability. I'm going to say yes.
I think that if you've got the creativity (whether it be inherent or linked), the BP cuts both ways.

I published my first book at eighteen. Have been writing since six years old. I love to draw. I played various instruments and never got far. Right now I am planning my first documentation (movie). Already got filmmakers and stuff into it. So, yes.

Err i think what it boils down to is "Mental Illness: Think Outside the Box".

But on a positive note, I was a drummer for 8 years and can't live without music.

Definitely for me, and I was thinking about this just a few hours ago. Being "driven" does not make me a genius inventor, but it can get some things done where other people had long since given up.

I'm a writer. I write books and short stories. I've been creative since I was a little girl.

I don't think bp enhances my creativity. If anything it harms it. I can't write when I'm depressed. I can't write when I'm anxious. To a certain extent I write better when I'm up, but then I start being unable to concentrate and badness starts to set in, and I can't write anymore.

So, no, bp doesn't help me at all. It's just hindered it. There are huge stretches of time where I can't write anything at all because of depression, etc.

I am a musician, artist, and curator, and I feel that Bipolar DEFINITELY enhances creativity. Obviously especially during hypomania, but experiencing extreme moods like depression increases range of expression. I think the main benefit to the creative person that comes from being bipolar is the ability to make, and comfort with making, lose associative jumps, extremely fluid thought process that are often non linear and non causal. Normative folks think in this very utilitarian linear way, cannot transition between extreme big picture and radical minutia with ease, and are just like trying to get the job done. Bipolar people tend to create these thought environments where the purpose of the thoughts is the environment they produce themselves, not like thinking for some purpose per se, just thinking as a kind of psychic decorative act. It's a more poetic, more open and optimistic attitude about thought and creative discovery.

Also, being in pain all the time helps you be an artist. I am relatively successful, but I've endured decades of struggle as a professional artist, but I'm struggling any way. Being an artist, especially in America, is a radical struggle, and if, psychically, you have the potential for comfort and ease, in the pursuit of being an artist, that functions as a disadvantage, because why on EARTH would you go through with this if you could just sink into some job and be happy?

Much of the great art work of the world is the real estate of the mentally ill, it's one thing that we have a particular advantage in, and we should own that, we EARN IT!

Since I was a child I have been very creative, expressing it by doing a lot of acting, singer/songwriting, playing instruments, photography and writing. Many people have said I am at professional level in talent but my mental and physical illnesses have held me back significantly. I keep trying as I love being creative, it flows out of me. However, when depressed it dies and mixed or mania I cannot focus although may get good ideas occasionally. I don't know if there is any direct link between the BP and my creativity, perhaps at times, but I do know a few very creative people who are mentally stable so I wish I didn't have the BP and could keep the creativity. I would be so much more productive and functional.

I have been identified as very creative as a child. I was always drawing, painting, coloring, and spent time writing many of my own stories. I still enjoy writing, especially when I'm feeling very intense emotions, or sometimes as an escape or outlet.

I played a couple of instruments, although I'm very rusty now. Also, teachers would always comment that I have a huge imagination and was constantly lost in thought. At times this was a good thing, other times it was a bad thing. I was always trying to figure out things and would jump to frightening conclusions where nobody was able to convince me that there was no reason to be scared of certain things. It was all in my imagination.

Well put, Manic Trance! I agree. This is a good description of how I see the process in a BPer that has a creative gift. The loose association and fluid non-linear thought especially. That has always felt like how it happens, and how it is different. Most radically I experience this as a "movie", where the designs just morph one into another. They just come.

A lot of things seem to come out of left field. That's where the new stuff is. The fresh combination.

I've gotten comments like that too -- it's nice to hear , isn't it? (Even though we know it's sometimes not a positive outcome). The best one was "most creative person I've ever seen come through the program" Awww. (Just to be clear -- not trying to hit on me, lol!)

A lot of times, it's simply the approach -- an "outside the box", and often unintended. Easy illustration from high school art class (long time ago!). Had an assignment to do a backyard drawing. I did a bunch of fall leaves that were on a piece of wood that was back there. Turned out everyone else had done a landscape. I didn't "mean" to be different, it just happened.

YES! I totally believe there is a link between Mood Disorders in general and creative abilities. This comes up frequently as a topic of discussion at my support group and generally everyone seems to have some sort of capacity to be crative.

Myself? I'm a multimedia artist and have dabbled in some writing too.

I was an extremely creative person in many different aspects but the meds I take for BP have totally killed my creative process. Meds are also the reason my posts are so short and I don't post often.
However I may post more tonight since I am drinking.

I used to be creative but whatever caused it, it's gone. No desire to create. Just my manifesto but my brain don't work and the people who really need to hear it won't. What's the point.

I've always written poetry and painted abstract stuff. The writing is more constant, I keep a journal by my chair. Painting comes and goes, lately I haven't painted in months. I've been depressed, or overmedicated. I don't know why. When the painting's on, it's on and I paint super fast, like it's effortless. Then other times I can't motivate. Does it have anything to do with BP? I can't separate myself from the disease anymore so I don't know.

I've written stories since I was in elementary school. As a teen I wrote poetry when depressed or manic. I still do this now that I'm an adult. I notice it's a lot more difficult for me to write creatively when I'm stable.

Mood swings certainly cause me to think outside the box and not always in a creative way. Sometimes in a destructive way! Others??

What, did you kick your way out of the box?

I don't really understand the question. Did you have an example?

Mood swings have caused me to make poor, sometimes self-destructive choices (excessive drinking, driving too fast).

This^

Used to be discribe days creative and vivacious......now bland and isolated

I'm a painter. Depression saps my drive and ability to paint and create. It does give me inspiration for darker works to poke at when I am not down in the deeps.