The untimely deaths of actors, writers, musicians, and other creative types seems to have become so commonplace that the general public seems to almost expect it, if not accept it as a hazard of the workplace in which artists toil. But what causes this self-destructive behavior? Could it be linked to creativity? Are artists really more susceptible to mental illness, such as addiction and depression, or do they just get more publicity when it occurs?
Quite a few studies suggest that the link between artistic people and mental illness goes beyond the stereotype and publicity. In fact, numerous studies have indicated that creative persons are more at risk for serious mental illness such as depression and bipolar disorder. While these studies do not offer definitive proof of the connection between creative people and increased risk for mental illness, the associations are strong enough to call mental health professionals to action to try to better understand this phenomenon. The reasons this connection may exist are not fully understood and need to be explored in order to help the creative person.
The Artist’s Search for Fame
Not all creative people are artists, and not all artists are all that creative. While fame and creativity seem inextricably linked, thousands of actors, writers, painters, and musicians are drawn to Los Angeles every year in search for fame and for reasons that have nothing to do with creating innovative work. Here in L.A., understanding the link between creativity and mental illness is difficult to distinguish from how the search for fame may be connected to mental illness.
Of course, choosing a life in the arts is not pathological in and of itself; however, some people may be attracted to working in the arts for reasons that have nothing to do with creativity and are not altogether healthy.
For example, many artists long for unconditional acceptance and love from complete strangers. They may dream of being “discovered” from a life of rejection or neglect. Only the applause of an anonymous audience might make the artist feel alive and his life has meaning. What may cause this need in the artist, while others are perfectly content to attain the love and affection of a few family members and friends?
The answer may lie in the possibility that the artist who craves adoration from strangers may not have received enough love and acceptance from his primary caregiver(s) as a child. It is no coincidence that many psychologists theorize that mental illnesses, such as depression, are also a result of not being adequately emotionally attuned to by one’s parents.
Creativity and Regulating Emotions
Depression is often described as an overwhelming feeling of sadness. However, clinical depression sometimes manifests differently. People who suffer from depression frequently describe a feeling of emptiness, not sadness. Their emotions become flattened, not deepened. In other words, people who suffer from depression sometimes describe not only the inability to feel happy or excited, but also the inability to feel anything, including sadness.
From this perspective, depression is the brain’s way (albeit unhealthy way) of protecting itself from overwhelming emotions. Depression may be viewed as the brain’s (pathological) strategy to regulate overwhelming or intense emotions.
Similarly, artists may use their craft to deal with their overwhelming or intense emotions. Artists frequently talk about “getting it all out” in their work. Songstress, Anna Nalick, captures the artist’s quintessential relationship to her emotions when she sings, “If I get it all down on paper, it’s no longer inside of me threatening the life it belongs to.”
Along these lines, psychologists often view artistic work as a healthy sublimation (conversion) of intense feelings, such as anger, sadness, and pain. While the conversion of intense emotions into artistic work has created some of the world’s masterpieces, this process may not work one hundred percent of the time for the creative person. When it fails, the artist may find herself unable to regulate her intense emotions.
Unfortunately, the most common way most people, including artists, try to deal with overwhelming emotions is through self-medication using alcohol and drugs. While the use of substances may provide temporary relief from these feelings, it is also a fast track to addiction and depression – the two most commonly associated mental illnesses to self-destructive behavior. Perhaps it is no coincidence that artists frequently find themselves in the cycle of using drugs and alcohol and getting more and more depressed.
Creativity and Destruction
The writer is sitting there staring at his blank computer screen. He's got a burning cigarette in one hand and a bottle of scotch on the other. If he had a third hand, he’d bang himself over the head with a hammer while he tries to write.
This little dramatization might be over the top, but it captures the feeling that exists in many artists when they're trying to create -- many artists ascribe to the myth that in order to retain their creative powers, they must behave self-destructively. In fact, this type of thinking seems to be endemic in the artistic communities -- one must sacrifice himself to the creativity gods in order to be endowed with the gift of originality. Of course, this makes seeking mental health treatment seem threatening to the artist. “If I get well, I’ll lose my source of creativity,” an artist might think.
Although it may sound counter-intuitive, creating something is inherently a destructive process. E.E. Cummings captured this when he said, "To destory is always the first step in any creation." The truly creative person must take what has come before him or her and turn it on its head.
Think about Picasso’s cubist paintings. He literally took realism and destructed it. From that process, something original was born.
Kurt Cobain did the same thing to 80’s music.
Marlon Brando’s work in A Streetcar Named Desire shattered what was typically expected from an actor in that era. From that destructive act, he created something that had never been seen before.
Artists are encouraged to take creative risks, to do something different, to be original. But inherent in the message, “dare to be different” is the message that what exists isn’t good anymore. The status quo is devalued for the quest to be unconventional.
This mindset may make self-acceptance and self-value a tricky thing for the artist. It may exacerbate the feeling inside her that what she is isn’t good enough. The artist may even (perhaps unconsciously) feel that she must destroy herself, in order to be reborn into something original.
*This blog entry is in no way intended to be an exhaustive explanation of the link between creativity and mental illness. It is simply intended to be a conversation starter, a catalyst, a springboard to stimulate further thinking and exploration.
Thanks for reading,
Ryan Janis, Psy.D.
Beverly Hills Psychologist
http://www.drryanjanis.com/
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