Bipolar and Creativity

There is a long list of famous people whose creativity is linked to their bipolar disorder.

When you have a manic episode, you tend to be more productive because you feel invincible and that makes you feel that you can do anything. You are able to take on a bigger workload. Mania makes people feel more passionate about their artwork or writing. 

Virginia Woolf, for instance, was very prolific during her mania episodes. “She created little or nothing while she was unwell, and was productive between attacks,” writes Gustavo Figueroa, a psychiatrist who has done a study on Virginia Woolf. “A detailed analysis of her own creativity over the years shows that her illnesses were the source of material for her novels.”  Other famous novelists who are believed to have had bipolar disorder include Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Edgar Allan Poe.

The impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh was very prolific and tended to use very bright colors in the paintings he made during his manic phases. Edvard Munch who is best known for his painting “The Scream”, used is personal suffering as a source for his work. Kynaston McShine, curator from the Smithsonian, wrote about Munch: "Without anxiety and illness, I am a ship without a rudder... My sufferings are part of myself and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy my art.”

Guitarist Jimi Hendrix even wrote a song called Manic Depression and Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, wrote a song called Lithium. British singer Amy Winehouse used her self-destruction as inspiration for her songs. Also Demi Lovato was able to take on more dance routines because she never felt tired.  Other famous musicians who are believed to have had bipolar disorder include Adam Ant, Axl Rose, Frank Sinatra, Britney Spears, and Brian Wilson.

On the contrary, depression slows down the whole process of creativity. The artists or creative minds tend to doubt their ideas. They lack physical energy and forget all the great ideas which they thought were amazing in the manic episodes. The lack of energy and belief in oneself makes it impossible to be as creative as in the manic phase.