I need to say a little more on creativity before I can let this topic go:Arthur J. Cropley disagrees with Kay R. Jamison, saying that creativity may not actually be caused by mania. He said, "It is possible that wide mood swings, on the one hand, and rich imagination and high motivation to create, on the other hand, both result from a common cause, without actually influencing one another directly. Such a common cause could be 'emotional reactivity' (Holden) or possession of a particularly labile or 'fine tuned' nervous system (Andreasen) - a tendency to react unusually strongly to external stimuli and internal mood signals."*
That may explain why I'm creative ALL the time, even when I'm not high. And I know that sometimes my highs seem to come about BECAUSE I'm being overly creative. That is, the creativity comes first, joined by a high mood. You should have seen me when I used to work in the darkroom. I would play loud music, and if I were particularly happy with a print, I'd come out of the room dancing exuberantly to the music. The work made me high.
It is our strong moods that make us sensitive enough to bring on this kind of "emotional reactivity."
In any case, all you bipolars out there: We are a beautiful, sensitive bunch of individuals.
Personally, I now willingly accept the way God made me, knowing that, though life is extremely difficult, I can make my moods work to my advantage. "O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter;" I honestly believe God made me the way He did for a reason.
*From 'Creativity and Mental Health in Everyday Life,'
by A. J. Cropley, 1990,
Creativity Research Journal (1995)
2 comments:
Marja, Awesome post!! That just brought tears to my eyes. Thank you!!!!
be well, and keep dancing on the happy and the sad days.......
Well, my psychiatrist told me that we are creative when we are depressed or have a bipolar low. That is his opinion of course. I could relate to that at times with myself.
When I am down, I could write, but my writing is depressing or more deep so to speak.
Then when I am not depressed I cannot write deep like that.
It is hard to grasp and understand.
Post a Comment