Mental Illness in the Creative Brain

Michael Shofi
ENG 201
Professor Richie
Project Description:

My project is an analysis on how the creative mind is more susceptible to crippling

mental illness than others. It is not to diminish the likelihood of any lawyer, doctor, or plumber

falling victim to depression; but to draw the tie between the empath (artist) and the tortured-soul.

K.S. Pavitra wrote in her psychiatry paper Creativity and mental health: “A profile of writers and

musicians”:

Creative imagination, creative motives and creative products are unique to human beings

and are the source of their cultural achievement. Creativity is an ability to make new

combinations and it is one of the most highly valued of human qualities. Creativity may

prove to be the key to success or failure in human beings' quest for knowledge, in their

journey beyond the bounds of the sure and seen and in exploration of the unknown. A

creative thinker is always trying to create something new and this involves a great

amount of unconscious rearrangement of symbols. In general there is a great recognition

in today's living across the globe to be creative in one's everyday activity. (34)

When somethings so fickle, and day-to-day is also your career, it can lead to many ups and

downs, spurring mental health challenges. On the other hand, some people argue that creativity

and creative outlets are therapeutic to the mentally ill brain (Parr, 151). I cannot challenge this

because it is very true. Art is therapeutic to many, but for those who are immersed in it 24/7, it

can become overbearing and emotionally defeating.

Growing up as an aspiring musician, the cultural phenomenon known as the “27 Club”

made itself known to me. At that young age, dozens of musicians, actors, and general artists
have died from drugs or alcohol (most often by intentional overdose traced back to mental

illness). “The risk for death for famous musicians throughout their 20’s and 30’s was two to

three times higher than the general UK population” (Wolkewitz, Martin). While the “27 Club”

anomaly perplexes me to this day, the artistic minds of the world are dying at all ages.

This area of research hits me close to home. It is still not fully understood, but as an

artistic mind who also suffers from mental illness, I hunger to figure it out. Often, in the field I

am pursuing (musical theatre), there are not definitive answers to any questions. There is not one

way to speak a line, nor is there one way to play a symphony. The “answer” lies in

communicating an understanding of something worth saying. Through this paper, I hope convey

an idea that I’ve had for years. The answer may not be “cut and dry,” but that doesn’t dissuade

me; all we can do is try.

Preliminary Thesis Statement:

Creative brains are more susceptible to mental illness than “normal” ones.

Theme of Project:

The theme of this project is to break down the negative stigma surrounding mental illness in

general, and to provide more understanding towards its prevalence in creative minds.

Readers:

I would not like to limit my audience to one specific group of people, but this will be a research

paper. I believe that the topic will stick out to psychologists, individuals interested in the human

mind, and artists of any kind. It is important that open discussions are had about mental health,
especially in artistic communities. I want this paper to start these conversations.

Review of Literature:

For the most part, the literature I am turning to for research is new to me. I am pulling

everything from scientific studies made at prestigious universities, to opinion pieces by artists of

any kind. This specific topic has not been addressed all that much in the past, so lots of

information I use will be newer.

Challenges:

Tying back to the point I just made about the lack of previous study… that will be a

challenge. Whenever something you are seeking information about has yet to be studied all that

much, it is difficult to collect data. Another challenge will be sifting through opinion pieces on

the topic and judging each one’s credibility. There are a good amount of articles recently

published about mental health in the arts, but the difference between theatre blogs and New York

Times articles is essential.

Timeline:

My timeline is already a bit off because I decided to switch my topic later in the game. I

think that ultimately, this will be very beneficial to my paper, but it does leave me with some

catching up to do. I am re-doing my annotated bibliography for this proposed draft, but a

handful of seriously awesome sources have already fallen right into my lap. These sources will

help a ton in the writing process and catching back up with the rest of the class.
Annotated Bibliography:

Archer, Seth. "'I had a terror': Emily Dickinson's demon." Southwest Review, vol. 94, no. 2,

2009, p. 255+. Literature Resource Center,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A201801793/GLS?u=nysl_me_pace&sid=GLS&xid=6448c5

50. Accessed 4 Nov. 2018.

Summary: Seth Archer goes to a place that many would not dare to go in writing about

the beloved Emily Dickinson’s mental health. He states that the “terror” Dickinson refers to in

her work is actually a mental illness. Anxiety driven panic attacks to be exact. Archer also goes

on to describe his similar condition, and the experiences he’s had with it. Archer offers an in-

depth analysis of how mental health is treated today, and how it was (or wasn’t at all) treated

while Emily Dickinson was alive.

Evaluation: This source is incredibly credible and will help me greatly in the process of

writing this paper. The journal entry is very well-written and has an excess of information about

the struggles and effects of mental illness in creative brains. Since it is (technically) an opinion

piece, I need to be choosey about how and where I use it in my paper, but it is chalk-full of great

material that will help me immensely.

Works Cited:

Wolkewitz, Martin, et al. “Does the 27 Club Exist?” BMJ: British Medical Journal, vol. 343, no.

7837, 2011, pp. 1284–1286. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23066612.

Pavitra, K S et al. “Creativity and mental health: A profile of writers and musicians” Indian

journal of psychiatry vol. 49,1 (2007): 34-43.

Rothenberg, Albert. “Creativity and Mental Illness.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 8

Mar. 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/creative-explorations/201503/creativity-and-

mental-illness.

Counter-argument:

Parr, Hester. “Mental Health, the Arts and Belongings.” Transactions of the Institute of British

Geographers, vol. 31, no. 2, 2006, pp. 150–166. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3804378.

Introduction:

Kurt Cobaine, Elliott Smith, Robin Williams, Nick Drake, Marilyn Monroe, etc. What do

all of these famous, household names have in common? Of course, these artists all have talent

beyond belief and are immortalized by their fame, but they also each took their own life after

suffering from mental illness. We, as a society, are aware of the tragic deaths of our favorite

artists, but why does it seem that each year we lose more and more creative minds to mental

illness (specifically depression)? It is because artistic brains are more susceptible to mental

illness than “normal” brains are. In today’s world, there still is not enough attention being paid

towards this issue, but this can change.