Studies have indicated that those who are creative and significantly well thought, of often have issues with depression, alcoholism or drug use.
The model created guidelines that illustrated commonalities among elite creative people to include:
receive support for developing those qualities from parents, who often have creative or aesthetic bents as well as emotional difficulties of their own;
harbor an ingrained contrariness and opposition to established beliefs, which frequently antagonizes other people;
face physical trials early in life, often a life-threatening illness or physical disability;
experience a restless, driven state of psychological unease that finds relief through creative problem solving (Bower, 1995)."
In studying the closeness between creativity and madness, one should investigate the life and beliefs of famed artists Michelangelo Buonarroti. At one point in his life he was asked how he came to sculpt one of his most famous and well-known works of art and he replied:
saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free (Taylor, 2004)."
Mental health professionals around the world believe that there is a link between psychology and imagination, and some believe that the more imagination one has the more psychologically stressed that person's mind is as well.
Another classic example of the link between madness and creativity can be found in the life of the well-known poet Emily Dickinson. While only about 12 of her poems were published while she was alive, after her death, many of her poems were found and subsequently published. Her life and her obsessions with sickness, panic and death created a hotbed of poetry for her to share with the world (Emily Dickinson (http://www.neuroticpoets.com/dickinson/).
There is only one photograph in existence of her, which was taken when she was 17 years old. To date there have been more than 1.700 poems published, and each of them contains a hint into the...
She rarely went anywhere and preferred to be in the company of her immediate family only.
As time passed, she began to refuse to leave the house and would not let others see her. If someone came to visit, she would remain in her room with the door cracked so that she and her visitor could speak to each other. She insisted at the end of her life that even her doctors diagnose and treat her using this bizarre method.
Although she became known as an "eccentric recluse" and was called "the woman in white" (because she almost always wore a white dress) by the people in Amherst, Dickinson must have seemed more curious than terrifying. Local children enjoyed it when she lowered treats and snacks out her second-floor bedroom window inside a basket tied to a rope. Usually they would only glimpse her hands and arms, as she was careful not to show her face (Emily Dickinson (http://www.neuroticpoets.com/dickinson/)."
Dickinson is but one example of how creativity and madness mesh in the most creative genius.
For many years, experts have studied the possible link between creativity and madness. Recent scientific research concluded that there are more mentally ill people in the creative professions and arts than there are in the scientific or business world. These studies lend credibility to the thought that creativity and madness are closely linked.
References
Bower, Bruce (1995) Moods and the muse: a new study reappraises the link between creativity and mental illness.(Cover Story) Science News
Emily Dickinson (accessed 2-23-07)
http://www.neuroticpoets.com/dickinson/
Taylor-Whiffen, Peter (2005) Open Eye: Imagine if we opened our minds; Why do so many psychologists shy away from research into the power of imagination?(Features)
The Independent (London, England)
