Does a Mood Disorder Cause Creativity?
Other studies have found that artists and writers are two to three times more likely to have psychosis, mood disorders or to commit suicide than people in less creative professions. Researchers aren’t sure exactly why this occurs, and they’re not confirming that mood disorders cause creativity or that creativity triggers one of these mental illnesses. According to Terence Ketter, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and a co-author of the Stanford study, it’s possible that creativity in people with mood disorders is a result of them mobilizing energy from negative emotions to find some a solution to their problems. “In this case, discontent is the mother of invention,” he said. Another possibility is that important genetic components get passed on together inter-generationally. However, the Stanford researchers found that mania is not necessary for creativity, as indicated by the fact that the children with ADHD had similar scores to those with bipolar disorder. Other st
