Bipolar disorder could be the muse that inspires literary, artistic, musical & individual creativity.

Bipolar disorder comes with its own baggage.

But individuals living with the condition say that too much emphasis on the condition’s dark side can contribute to hopelessness and stigma.

According to Professor Greg Murray MAPS, The Fund's scientific committee chair and one of the world's top bipolar disorder researchers, ‘bipolar disorder is associated with capacities that are highly valued by patients and the community. Across studies, BD has been associated with a range of strengths, including academic ability, empathy and realism. The quality that may be most definitive of BD, however, is creativity'.

Creativity refers to the unique & useful patterns of thinking and behavior that an individual demonstrates.

Professor Murray’s work stems from a strengths-based psychological treatment approach, which looks at the entire person and also takes into consideration what the person wants to & can achieve, in spite of the condition.

Professors Murray and Sheri Johnson that bipolar disorder may be an all-too-common facet of the personality of creative individuals, such as authors, poets and visual artists.

Although little is known about how exactly bipolar disorder fuels creativity, researchers believe heightened positive emotions and behaviors, ambition, and drive may all play a role.

This could be one reason why individuals at higher risk for developing bipolar disorder and those with a less severe form of the condition are likely to not only consider themselves creative but also be overrepresented in creative professions.

Moreover, healthy siblings of such individuals are likely to pursue creative professions, too.

In general, bipolar individuals recognize & may even fully embrace several positive aspects of living with the condition, ‘including amplification of experiences and internal states, enhanced abilities and more intense human connectedness’.

In a way, bipolar individuals are likely to feel lucky to be living with the condition.

Take, for instance, Kay Redfield Jamison, a writer who has lived with bipolar disorder since adolescence:

Jamison also happens to be a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, and co-director of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Moods Disorders Center.

She is also the co-author of Manic-Depressive Illness (Oxford University Press), the classic textbook on bipolar disorder.

Another important implication of this creative capacity could be the vivid insight an individual is likely to have about living with the condition. This could potentially inform & enrich the way their bipolar condition is treated and managed.

CREATIVE BIPOLAR MINDS ARE IN GOOD COMPANY