The Relationship Between Mental Disorder and Human Creativity

Written by: Hao Rui (22-A4)

Designed by: Hannah Phua (23-O4)

Aristotle once said, ‘no great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness’. Mental disorder, which is a disturbance with one’s cognition and emotion, is usually linked to human creativity. The Lange-Eichbaum study, conducted in 1931, interviewed over 800 geniuses, and only a minority were found to be free of mental health issues. Recent research has also strengthened the belief in this link. But why is this so? Is ‘madness' the only way to be creative?

Some suggest that the pain from wrestling with the inner demon can inspire artists to vent their emotions via art creation. This is only a guess, but it more or less suggests the theory behind mental disorder and human creativity. Let us make it more precise by looking at some scientific research. According to neurobiologist James Fallon from UC-Irvine, when bipolar patients are coming out of a depressive phase, their frontal lobe of the brain shows a lot of activity. This is similar to what takes place when one is concentrating in doing creative works. While the causal relationship drawn here is from mental disorder to creativity, the reverse also exists. It is suggested that people who work in creative fields are at a higher risk of developing mental disorders. When compared to non-creative occupations, people working in the creative industry may face additional pressures in addition to the usual work-related stress. Creative block, inconsistent work and income, and self-doubt are all examples. As a result, they may be more vulnerable to mental health issues.

Despite the argument about whether mental disorder boosts creativity, or whether creative people are more likely to experience mental disorders, the two groups have agreed that there is a correlation between the two. More recent stories portraying art talents getting mental disorders have made the theory even more prevalent.

However, this theory is creating problems. To a certain extent, linking mental disorder to creativity is romanticising it. It can make people reluctant to seek help to improve their mental health. For teenagers who have not yet developed a comprehensive worldview, they may perceive mental disorder as something “cool” and pursue it blindly. An alarming 34% admitted lying about having a mental illness in the past, according to online therapy service at mentaline.com. Developing such a skewed view towards mental disorders is dangerous, as it can make people neglectful towards mental illness. Hence, future research should include a declaration component emphasising the detrimental impacts of mental disorder before showing results proving a positive relationship between mental disorder and creativity.

The writer hence would like to suggest that we should always keep an open mind. After all, not all people working in the creative industry are exceptionally creative. Some of them are only attracted due to their interests, not talents. Hence, the relationship between mental disorder and creativity is not necessarily true. It is not definitive and there is still a long way for the researchers to go before there is enough evidence to draw a conclusion.