Posted by Sean on January 27, 2000, at 16:42:11
In reply to artists and depression (discussion fodder), posted by CarolAnn on January 26, 2000, at 11:20:10
> I've been thinking lately about all the composers, writers, painters, ect. who are known to have had some form of mental illness, usually depression. It seems as if I have read of alot of other historically famous people (Winston Churchill for example) who also suffered depression. I wonder if there is any connection between being creative(or intelligent) and having depression. Why do you suppose that so many "Greats" have this in common? Have there been any studies on this subject? What do you suppose it is that drives some of the depressed to such high achievement while so many of us can barely keep ourselves alive? Any ideas out there?CarolAnn
Wow.
This question is complex and probably has several
answers. One idea I've had about this, and it appears
to be true with all my friends who are artstically
inclined, is that we all seem to experience our
feelings and moods in ways that are larger than
the average person. In other words, the subjective
experience of emotion is "front page news" to our
nervous system and thus they dominate our lives in
unusual ways.So I think to myself "Are the feelings I'm having
the same as what other people experience?" or am
I just more focused on them? I personally believe (and there
is ample biological evidence for this) that what
I experience in depression or hypomania is in
fact an unusal biochemical state. These states of
mind really "grab my attention" and as I try to understand
and cope with these feelings, my experience of the
world and self changes accordingly. Ordinary people
having extraordinary internal experiences perhaps.
It's hard to say I guess. Say you see a person crying
as they listen to a cheesy Phil Collins song, and
you think "how can they be having the same subjective
experience of melancholy that I have with my obscure
and refined catalog of dark CD's?" Well, I beleive they
do not have the same "experience", though tears my fall
in both cases and both are human beings deserving
full respect for our feelings. My answer is that
artistic capacity is the ability to observe and communicate
a wider range of emotional nuance and the related symbolic
specificity than the average bear. Having an antense
inner world is instructive in this case. (Ok, now shoot
me for being an elitist!)With respect to art (creativity expressed in the
domain of feelings) it is then natural for this
activity to be dominated by people whose life is
characterized by strong experiences of feeling and
the thoughts, insights, and coping mechanisms
which go along with it. Maybe to express an inch
you've got to feel a mile. I dunno.I believe think there are enormous differences
in the brains of say Joni Mitchell vs. a Spice Girl.
At some point this difference must be expresses in
the biology, as in, the neuronal process we call
the "self" and its attendent idiosyncrasies. This
makes sense to me anyway.Sean.
Of course not all creative people have these
characteristics, but it does seem to be that many
artistic "heavyweights" are.
poster:Sean
thread:19731
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000112/msgs/19809.html