Mood Disorder - Sociocultural Aspects

Sociocultural Aspects

Kay Redfield Jamison and others have explored the possible links between mood disorders — especially bipolar disorder — and creativity. It has been proposed that a "ruminating personality type may contribute to both and art."

Jane Collingwood notes an Oregon State University study that

“looked at the occupational status of a large group of typical patients and found that ‘those with bipolar illness appear to be disproportionately concentrated in the most creative occupational category.’ They also found that the likelihood of ‘engaging in creative activities on the job’ is significantly higher for bipolar than nonbipolar workers.”

In Liz Paterek’s article "Bipolar Disorder and the Creative Mind" she wrote

“Memory and creativity are related to mania. Clinical studies have shown that those in a manic state will rhyme, find synonyms, and use alliteration more than controls. This mental fluidity could contribute to an increase in creativity. Moreover, mania creates increases in productivity and energy. Those in a manic state are more emotionally sensitive and show less inhibition about attitudes, which could create greater expression. Studies performed at Harvard looked into the amount of original thinking in solving creative tasks. Bipolar individuals, whose disorder was not severe, tended to show greater degrees of creativity.”

The relationship between depression and creativity appears to be especially strong among poets.