Have you ever wondered why some of the most brilliant minds in history always have a complex state of mind? From the swirling brushstrokes of Van Gogh to the haunting verses of Sylvia Plath, the link between creativity and mental health has long captivated our imagination. But is this conclusion real, or just a romanticized myth?

The Creative Spark: More than Meets The Eye

When we think of creativity, we often tend to think of famous writers, poets, actors, and everyone who belongs to the "arts.” But can creativity boil down to just the arts? According to researchers like Dietrich, creativity can be divided into 4 categories. We can create something in 4 ways: 

Creating something involves both cognitive and emotional elements of human beings. The creation can sometimes be heavily cognitive or emotional and come to us as the eureka moment or with continuous efforts. But it is not just what is happening in our heads; the environment is also at play. For instance, when we bake a cake, we need all the right ingredients (knowledge, creative thinking, and motivation) and the perfect oven temperature (social environment), to create something truly delicious. 

The Tortured Artist: Myth or Reality?

If creativity is of so many kinds, why is it that the diaspora of creative individuals is only led by the famous tortured artist? While some studies support the link between creativity and mental illnesses, we can’t highly depend on them. Those studies have only focused on the aspect of comparing the general population with the artists. In a 2003 study from the Queen Mary School of Medicine, we get to see a comparison of different professions and their high prevalence of psychological disorders. 

The study found that artists experience psychological disorders at 17%, compared to the 13% average across professions; they also share this similarity with salespeople and clerical workers. The “tortured artist” stereotype persists because artists often channel their struggles visibly into their work, and our society romanticizes artistic suffering. More than romanticizing, we tend to learn more about the artists’ lives to connect with their work. Hence, the studies with regard to creativity and mental illness need to broaden their perspective towards the idea of a “tortured artist” and consider whether this is the reality or just a lack of visibility. 

Photo by  Debby Hudson Team  on  Unsplash

Creativity Is a Friend, Indeed

No matter how you create, emotionally or cognitively, you are creating something beautiful and finding an escape from your life through the process of creating. The field of psychology has realized this and has introduced many creative arts therapies to clinical care practice. Be it moving your body through dance therapy or painting your feelings onto canvas through art, creativity carries a lot of positive benefits—not just mentally but physically as well.

It all boils down to the simple fact that humans are made of varied types of emotions, which at times become overwhelming. Artists or creative individuals tend to showcase this troubled sense through their work. Some may have a deeper conflict than others, but all of them, in subtle or not-so-subtle ways, reflect their conflict with the world. We can all learn from these artists that expressing one’s conflict of emotions, no matter what intensity, can be quite helpful. One can say that “madness” and creativity are just 2 sides of the same coin, but I would disagree. I would rather say that feeling and expressing are part of the same coin, but most tend to focus on just one side.

For professional support, talk to a mental health expert at Heart It Out today!