The Link between Creativity and Mental Disorder Essay

It not easy to determine how many people suffer from mental illness. This is due to the changing definitions of mental illness and problems classifying, diagnosing, and reporting mental disorders. There are social stigmas attached to mental illness, such as being labeled "crazy," being treated as a danger to others, and being denied jobs or health insurance coverage. These negative connotations keep many sufferers from seeking help, and many of those in treatment do not reveal it on surveys. Some patients do not realize that their symptoms are caused by mental disorders. Even though more is being learned about how the brain works a lot of information has still yet to be discovered, thus mental health professionals must continually reevaluate how mental illnesses are defined and diagnosed. The Surgeon General 's report estimated that roughly 20% of the United States population was affected by mental disorders and that 15% use some type of mental health service every year. Community surveys estimate about 30% of the adult population in the United States suffer from mental disorders.

Do you have a mental illness? Studies show that by the age of 14, over 50% of mental health conditions begin. By age 24, nearly 75% of mental health conditions develop. Are you in danger? According to a recent survey, over 50% of men prisoners and 70% of women prisoners have a mental illness. Also, over 75% of women inmates and 60% of men inmates need help to treat mental illness. What can be done about this? Currently there are limited treatment options; therefore, there needs to be better treatment options and knowledge available for the public to access. The government and society needs to create more accessible treatments for several reasons: there are limited amount of resources available to common middle-class citizens; many humans that

173 of my 173 Marian sisters are full of dignity. I see dignity every day in the hallways. Marian girls know they have to fulfill Rights and Responsibilities, because having dignity requires that. We also show Option for the Poor and Vulnerable in all of the service hours we do to help those less fortunate. Overall, we show Solidarity and stick by each other despite any awful tests, lengthy homework assignments, or sicknesses. From these girls I have gained the most influence as to who I am today.

For the entirety of the fall semester, I took on a project to create a three-page layout for a fictional campaign in National Geographic magazine about endangered species. The goal was to create different content for my portfolio, challenging my skills in photography and photo-manipulation. I transformed people into animals and used gel lighting and Photoshop to create my artwork (see Appendix A figure 1 & 2). At the end of the semester, I reviewed my completed pieces and two theorists best fit my creative process, Julie Burstein, and Teresa Amabile. Julie Burstein discusses the best way to foster creativity is by ‘letting go’ she outlines this in four lessons (Campbell and Dubois, “Artist Best practices” 25). These lessons include experiences, challenges, limitations and loss (Campbell and Dubois, “Artist Best practices” 25). While Teresa Amabile discusses how the theory of creativity is fostered through her componential model of creativity (Campbell and Dubois, “On theories of” 14). These include domain-relevant skills, creative thinking skills and motivation (Campbell and Dubois, “On theories of” 14). Both of these theorists go hand in hand providing me with the framework for my best work. This essay will discuss how Amabile’s theory for intrinsic motivation and Burstein’s lesson of experience and loss, align in my creative process to be conducive to my work.

Paulus & Nijstad (2003) defined creativity as “the development of original ideas that are useful or influential”(p.3). That is to say,

During life dilemmas, do you feel you’re unable to endure through daily functions and once the circumstance is resolved, do you often feel relieved? This occurrence is a part of everyone's life, but for my family this happens everyday with very few serene moments. However, in the peaceful times with my family, my mind and body are at ease, and I wish that feeling would last forever. Unfortunately, the aroma of tranquility departs while I’m experiencing the motions of my demanding life. In the stressful times diligent quotes such as “This, too, shall pass” and “Everything happens for a reason” have helped accomplish my daily responsibilities. In the past few years, these simple, encouraging words have provided me the confidence to overcome obstacles with my family, anxiety, and depression. I believe, that mental illnesses have added an unbearable amount of stress and pain to individuals and families.

A Beautiful Mind illustrates many of the topics relating to psychological disorders. The main character of the film, John Nash, is a brilliant mathematician who suffers from symptoms of Schizophrenia. His symptoms include paranoid delusions, grandiosity, and disturbed perceptions. The disease disrupts his social relationships, his studies, and his work. The more stressful his life becomes the more his mind is not able to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

The four key features that define anorexia nervosa are all based on the way we look at our bodies.1.The person refuses to maintain a minimally normal body weight. 2. The person being dangerously underweight is intensely afraid of gaining weight or becoming fat. 3. The person has a distorted perception about the size of their body, looking at themselves and seeing themselves as obese or fat but actually not. 4. Denial of the seriousness of the actual weight they are. All of which are how one like at their body and what they think about

The path from mental illness to creative genius in many artists and writers has long been a topic of research and discussion. Researchers believe they are now gaining new clues about the mysterious link between highly creative individuals and mental disorders, most commonly manic depression.

As many as 450 million people in the world are plagued by mental illnesses such as

Mental Illness signs are very crucial guises in suicide. Psychologist, Dr. Alex Lickerman states, "There are generally six reasons for suicide such as: being depressed, being psychotic, being impulsive, crying out for help, a philosophical desire to die, and making a mistake." Most of these reasons, however, have the same warning signs and causes. Some of the signs of suicidal behavior include: feeling hopeless, feeling trapped, feeling alone, feeling anxious or agitated, feeling as if there is no reason to keep living, thinking suicide is the only way out, experiencing mood swings, and abusing drugs or alcohol. Signs of possibly attempting suicide are quite similar: talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live, making a will

Men have called me mad, but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence--whether much that is glorious--whether all that is profound--does not spring from disease of thought--from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect. Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night - Edgar Allen Poe

One in every seventeen people in America suffers from a mental disorder. These disorders inhibit the afflicted person from functioning properly and coping normally with daily life. Many afflicted with a psychological disorder do not exhibit obvious symptoms, as medical advancements have made it possible for these disorders to be suppressed or even nonexistent. Today, however, harsh stigmas exist that unfairly categorize those with a mental illness as violent, unfriendly, and abnormal. The media and federal government are culprits in fabricating the unrealistic depictions of mental disability that define the portrayal of those who are mentally or psychologically disadvantaged.

Several scientific studies have demonstrated correlations between creativity and mental illness, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Even though the association between bipolar disorder and creativity first appeared in literature in the 1970s, the idea of a link between "madness" and "genius" is actually much older. It goes back at least to the time of Aristotle and the Ancient Greeks, when it was believed that creativity came from the gods, and in particular the Muses, the mythical personifications of the arts and sciences. More recently, the idea of a complete work of art emerging without conscious thought or effort was supported in the Romantic era. beliefs on the creative inspiration of the artist

There are times when people are plagued with thoughts, behaviors or emotions that will inhibit them from normal behavior. These are known as psychological disorders. These disorders come in many forms but all will have large effects on a person’s life.