[Miss Laura]

I've been reading a book "Owning Bipolar" its quite interesting. I'm still in denial and I'm happy to tell you all that as its no secret.

What I want to know is how can I have bipolar 1 and NOT be creative. I have no creativity bone in my body.

I can't write poetry, play an instrument, paint, draw, sketch, do drama, sew, stitch, take photographs that great etc etc

Nothing at all. I feel like a complete fraud. I feel I don't deserve to have type 1 and I feel kinda sad.

For what it's worth... I am not particularly creative either... but I think everyone is creative in their own ways, and some happen to be more creative than others.

Now, I don't know if scientific evidence implicates there is a strong connection between bipolar and creativity in general, but let's grossly assume that creativity is a *known* characteristic of bipolar. A "hallmark feature," if you will. Then I say, "So what? Not everyone is going to fit 100% criteria."

In my uneducated opinion, I don't think anyone is a fraud for having or not having a certain characteristic or symptom. I could be stupid and ignorant here, but I have yet to come across any medical literature that states, with confidence, that people with bipolar are guaranteed to have more creativity than the average person.

Also, creativity is subjective too, and can be quantified in an infinite number of imaginable ways. I don't know how any researcher can produce a work of substance without it being biased since there is no agreed upon way to quantify creativity.

[~Christina]

I have zero creative things I do .

Bipolar is a spectrum and some people get highs and they can create wonderful art, write brilliant books , write music and then there are people like me that go about life cooking cleaning enjoy reading and some TV series and movies.. Offer advice here, Enjoy talking to my friends around the world.

Your not a fraud , you have Bipolar and you have your own unique " soup of Bipolar"

Comparing your Bipolar to anyone else whether it be reading a book , coming here on PC or roam the internet ?? You are going think your a fraud because no 2 people with Bipolar are alike.

Be yourself, strive to be the best you that you can be

I'm not creative either. I find the idea that all bipolars are creative annoying.

[RockyRoad007]

Well, look at it this way.
Being outside the norm is in itself creative! Normal can be boring. It's overrated.

You've created being uncreative.

PS: So have I.

[Miss Laura]

Thanks guys, its really annoying as all I read and see is productive and creative in mania I have neither. How I ever got the diagnosis is beyond me. Even when flying high im not productive. Granted way back in 2009/2010 prior to medication and diagnosis i had a thing where I would deep clean my flat but thats it. I'm the complete opposite now im so lazy even when high i don't have the urge to do that.

I find it really hard to swallow i mean the whole bipolar thing like where do I stand with it?

[Trippin2.0]

Hi ML
What do you mean by where do you stand with BP?

Where do you want to stand, and where do you think you should stand?

BTW. I don't think BP and Creativity are a packaged deal, I just think that creative people who have bipolar, have more inspiration during an episode and can thus create some great works of art.
Bipolar doesn't equal creative.

My sister is super creative and she's neurotypical....

[Miss Laura]

Originally Posted by Trippin2.0

Hi ML
What do you mean by where do you stand with BP?

Where do you want to stand, and where do you think you should stand?

BTW. I don't think BP and Creativity are a packaged deal, I just think that creative people who have bipolar, have more inspiration during an episode and can thus create some great works of art.
Bipolar doesn't equal creative.

My sister is super creative and she's neurotypical....

Hey Trippin,

I guess I'm just questioning the diagnosis. I'm annoyed i don't have creativity when manic. I mean how cool would it be though to have lots of inspiration from a thought.

[swimmingly]

I don't think its one size fits all. I think its one of the generalizations that have been forced upon us. I think those of us who are creative are so creative it eclipses the many of us who aren't.

I'm another vote for not creative, Miss Laura.

[Fuzzybear]

Miss Laura

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by Miss Laura

Hey Trippin,

I guess I'm just questioning the diagnosis. I'm annoyed i don't have creativity when manic. I mean how cool would it be though to have lots of inspiration from a thought.

Manic for me ??? Im a Rage-y, deep angry ball of sadness with endless energy that never eases ... There is nothing nice about it .. Manic does not always = creative.

Having loads of creativity would probably be amazing or for many its a bloody curse because altho they are creating art or music or whatever they never seem like its good enough and then at some point that inability to be the best of the best of the best is going to cause them to crash and burn and likely want to crawl in a hole and never come out.

Bipolar comes in all shapes and sizes... You trying to put a square peg in a round hole.

[Miss Laura]

Christina,

No matter what I do with reading for information I'm still in denial. If I could see that I'm manic life would be so much easier. I know when I'm depressed but manic nope. Cause I can hide it mania from people which I don't do deliberately. People don't know I'm manic. They just think I'm happy. I hate that I'm like this as it makes my life so difficult. Having to live about 4 different lives. If I had the creativity in me and I had physical concrete information that I could see i could go ok i give up i have bipolar. But im struggling.

[FluffyDinosaur]

For what it's worth, I am creative (or at least I like to think so), and I still often feel like a fraud and wonder whether I really need all these meds and everything else. I think many bipolar people struggle with that. For some reason my memories of depressive and manic episodes seem to fade very quickly, so pretty soon afterwards I start to think it can't have been all that bad and I must be exaggerating. I remind myself of external evidence, like family history, what my therapist says, things that happened during episodes, and so on. As an unrelated point, the ideas I have while (hypo)manic aren't necessarily always my best, although I certainly think so at the time.

[Miss Laura]

If I'm being really honest I will sit on the hypo mania and won't let on about it cause I feel great i feel human. I only admit things are bad when I'm experiencing psychosis. Or I'm in real danger. I'm hypo now and I have no intention on telling my Psychiatrist in 3 hours when he phones. I know you will all think that's crazy but its the truth. I worry they will take away my happiness

[Soupe du jour]

I kind of think Kay Redfield Jamison over emphasized the whole creativity thing in bipolar disorder, and maybe romanticizes the disorder excessively. I'm not saying there isn't anything to it, but we are people first. Bipolar second. Some people are more analytical than creative. I also agree with others who wrote that creativity is subjective.

We don't all fit into the bipolar stereotype. I can say that I almost never hyperspend. I'm a very frugal person. I do other things, instead.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Soupe du jour

I kind of think Kay Redfield Jamison over emphasized the whole creativity thing in bipolar disorder, and maybe romanticizes the disorder excessively. I'm not saying there isn't anything to it, but we are people first. Bipolar second. Some people are more analytical than creative. I also agree with others who wrote that creativity is subjective.

We don't all fit into the bipolar stereotype. I can say that I almost never hyperspend. I'm a very frugal person. I do other things, instead.

I agree about the bipolar stereotype. When manic, I've never overspent or driven recklessly. I don't think anyone except my mental health team would identify me as "manic."

As for bipolar and creativity, I've known plenty of artists, professional artists, throughout my life and I cannot think of even one that has BD. In my experience, however, artists - visual, musicians, etc. - are always highly competitive people. Like, cut-throat competitive, both with themselves and with other artists. The ones who aren't don't stay with it. Not professionally, anyway.

In my experience of being a highly creative person when manic the emotional dysregulation of BD prevents lasting creativity and success.

Being a successful artist requires a strong and well-balanced temperament. I mean, take the most famous artist ever, VanGogh. Yes, he was a brilliant visual artist, a genius. But was he successful in his lifetime? Nope. He was surely bipolar, but so erratic he couldn't maintain the business side of art, which is what is necessary for worldly success in the arts.

As for Kay Redfield Jamison, I have read all of her books and found them interesting. That said, I really wonder about her. I mean...she is or was a prof at Johns Hopkins University. Supposedly she has maintained her BD with only lithium. I don't think she's ever been IP. I wonder how "bipolar" she really is. Maybe she romanticizes her own supposed disorder, too. Just a thought.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by Miss Laura

If I'm being really honest I will sit on the hypo mania and won't let on about it cause I feel great i feel human. I only admit things are bad when I'm experiencing psychosis. Or I'm in real danger. I'm hypo now and I have no intention on telling my Psychiatrist in 3 hours when he phones. I know you will all think that's crazy but its the truth. I worry they will take away my happiness

No, not crazy at all! I've posted threads here on exactly that subject.

[Soupe du jour]

Originally Posted by BethRags

I agree about the bipolar stereotype. When manic, I've never overspent or driven recklessly. I don't think anyone except my mental health team would identify me as "manic."

As for bipolar and creativity, I've known plenty of artists, professional artists, throughout my life and I cannot think of even one that has BD. In my experience, however, artists - visual, musicians, etc. - are always highly competitive people. Like, cut-throat competitive, both with themselves and with other artists. The ones who aren't don't stay with it. Not professionally, anyway.

In my experience of being a highly creative person when manic the emotional dysregulation of BD prevents lasting creativity and success.

Being a successful artist requires a strong and well-balanced temperament. I mean, take the most famous artist ever, VanGogh. Yes, he was a brilliant visual artist, a genius. But was he successful in his lifetime? Nope. He was surely bipolar, but so erratic he couldn't maintain the business side of art, which is what is necessary for worldly success in the arts.

As for Kay Redfield Jamison, I have read all of her books and found them interesting. That said, I really wonder about her. I mean...she is or was a prof at Johns Hopkins University. Supposedly she has maintained her BD with only lithium. I don't think she's ever been IP. I wonder how "bipolar" she really is. Maybe she romanticizes her own supposed disorder, too. Just a thought.

I'm sorry I am late in seeing your post, BethRags. I totally see your points and agree.

As I recall, Kay R-J was hospitalized at least once because of her suicide attempt. Her memoir definitely had some creative parts, but a lot of her writing is far more academic. A lot of the poetry in her books, is not hers. She's obviously an analytical type more than creative one, in my view. And a great one.

I have also wondered how Kay R-J does so well on Lithium only. If she's taken other medications, it would sort of be nice for her to share that, but if she's not, I can believe it. She's lucky, huh? She's lucky that she has had, and still has, such a great career. In my early recovery, I was a bit jealous of that. But now, I know we all are different. I think many of us have had greater struggles than her and made headway. She has one kind of success. Others have another. I think we should all give ourselves a lot of credit for what we've gotten through.

[Miss Laura]

Why is it that when you need to talk about this sort of thing to a friend they ignore you despite being online.

I admit I have racing disorganised thoughts, hyperness, itchiness to move about, I admit I suffer from psychosis. But where is the fun side to this huh. Its all the serious stuff, stuff that's obvious. I need to have the subtle side to things without going ott

[~Christina]

Originally Posted by Miss Laura

Why is it that when you need to talk about this sort of thing to a friend they ignore you despite being online.

I admit I have racing disorganised thoughts, hyperness, itchiness to move about, I admit I suffer from psychosis. But where is the fun side to this huh. Its all the serious stuff, stuff that's obvious. I need to have the subtle side to things without going ott

Well if your friends do not also deal with a mental illness, its easy for them to get overwhelmed and often have no idea what to even say so they say nothing and not respond.

Im forever grateful for finding PC years ago, I have a place to go and talk about my struggles and people are going to " get it"

I have some very close friends I have made here that I am in contact with daily outside of PC. But I know not everyone is okay with having close friends from an online support group having more personal contact info.

Hope you can find the support your wanting

[Pookyl]

FWIW I’m bipolar and I don’t have a creative bone in my body.

[PsychoPhil]

No one is sure about a full diagnosis for me. ASD L1 and Seroquel lifts my depression w/o making me mad like SSRI.

Here are my 2p on bipolar and creativity. Being creative is not just about having ideas or performing well in some classical field of art like design, music or literature, but much more generally about getting stuff done. I'm a very technically oriented person and may work all night during one of my energy boosts, for instance on some programming project, where inspiration manifests in features or solution details.

On medication I have a regular sleep pattern and when I try to work into the night I simply fall asleep at my desk. I guess that's an indended effect of a mood stabilizing regieme. One does not need to be a Pollock or Van Gogh to feel the "grounding" effect of an antipsychotic.

[Miss Laura]

So we are all in agreement that just cause we are not creative and are fabulous artists/dancers etc we are still entitled to the bipolar diagnosis. Everything I'm reading is making me question myself. Was gonna ask Psychiatrist the other day but he ended the call awfy quickly. Plus I didn't like his attitude im done with my treatment team their useless

[sarahsweets]

I get irked at any assumptions made about bipolar. Whether its someone like Kanye or people referring to past "geniuses" I prefer to look at my bipolar using the dsm as parameters. I have had mania where I have been up all night-but just 1 night not multiple ones. I have started ridiculous projects until I crash- like that one time I decided to reorganize my file cabinet and covered the table with papers...and went to bed in the morning. Some people say they are productive but we can become conditioned to thinking we should have mania to be productive. I know people that refuse meds because they like the mania. They hate the depression but they feel so high when they are manic it makes the depression worth it. It has never been studied long term and proven that bipolar people are more creative. Sure there are celebs with it but no studies have proven us to be more creative than others. To me its like having the creative gene. I have a bp friend who does not take meds who when she is manic will start building projects. She has no training and is really talented, and even after the depression/pre-mania she will keep working on it. Me? I am a speed reader so my mania is absorption in reading. I just think that when other bipolar people hear of famous creatives (I think people like to cite composers and artists) they feel less than because they are nothing like what you hear about.

[Miss Laura]

I guess I'm just going through a hard time understanding it all and where I fit into the whole bipolar diagnosis. I just can't see it