A recent study found that people with strong creativity are much more prone to mental disorders, and that great artists are more likely to develop schizophrenia than ordinary people. The image of an artist suffering from mental illness is firmly established in our culture, based on a number of examples of creative personalities, the most famous of which was Vincent Van Gogh. But the evidence for this was rather anecdotal, and here is a study that gives this assumption a scientific basis.
Artists have a higher risk
It has been found that people who are more creative than the general population are more likely to develop mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and severe depression, and the higher the creativity, the higher the risk. According to research leader James McCabe of King's College, people with extraordinary creativity are many times more likely to develop disorders such as schizophrenia. “We have shown that people with creative abilities have a greater association with mental disorders, and it can be expected that the higher these abilities, the higher the risk of illness,” he says. However, he cautions that this is only a theory so far, as the study has not addressed the connection between outstanding creativity and mental disorders.
Dr. McCabe believes the connection could be either genetically or "thinking styles." “With a creative mindset, intuitive transitions are made between concepts. This is often the case with mental disorders, when a delusion is formed, for example, adding 2 and 2 we get 5, and when we have a creative theory. " Professor Stephen Laurie at the University of Edinburgh says this is the most comprehensive and compelling analysis of the complex topic of the connection between creativity and mental health problems. “This is a very interesting study, with a very strict approach to the question. And it is consistent with my clinical experience. As a mental health professional, I have long noted that I am more likely to encounter 'artists' than students in other fields."
A study published in The British Journal of Psychiatry concluded that people who study “arts” in a broad sense, from the visual to the media, were 20 percent more likely to develop schizophrenia. And with a narrower definition of "art", taking only visuals, the probability of developing schizophrenia among students studying them was 2.2 times higher. Schizophrenia affects 0.46% of the population, and among students of the visual arts - just over 1%. Marjorie Wallace, head of the SANE mental health charity, says: "This is the first major study in the field to confirm the long-held belief in the relationship between creativity and susceptibility to mental illness, especially bipolar disorder."
Vadim Tarabarko
