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Is there any known connection between depression and artistic ability?


The other day I was looking at a list of famous people who have suffered from depression, and I noticed that most of them seemed to be artists of some sort (e.g., painters, poets, writers, songwriters, etc.). I'm just wondering if there have been any studies or anything which have shown that people suffering from depression are more likely to become artists (or vice-versa, maybe artists are simply more prone to depression). Any thoughts?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Perhaps they're depressed because they're poets or artists; this coming from an artist/poet.
I believe there have been many studies and one understanding is that depression is a lonely disease. I know. I've had it. Most always look into themselves for answers and don't ask for help. This intensive staring into the individual abyss gives way to intense discovery-of one's self. Like most poets, I look for truth, be it good or bad. I write what I feel are my true feelings about any given thing at any given moment. And, I have found that when I'm severly depressed I write extremely well. I'm a literal thesaurus of verbiage. So,, with depression, my poetry comes alive and my artwork is amazing. The ideas flow from deep within and I find it easy to lay the layers on the canvas. Without, I write zilch.
Crickette. There probably is a connection. I know of several comedian's who suffer from depression. see i want to firstly tell u that i am even a good artist but one thing is their that if the personone thing is there that if the person is an artisthe?she willhaveits creavity with its feeling now u talk about the poets, writers will work as ther feelings that,s all......... while i can't necessarily back it up with fact for simple lack of knowledge, i can say that i've definitely noticed exactly what you are talking about and experienced it myself. depression does often seem to go hand-in-hand with artistic abilities of sorts. there could be all sorts of reasons for this... it may have something to do with the parts of the brain that control artistic ability, interest, and function... or perhaps certain living conditions that can lead to depression also cause a growth in interest in artistic expressions by giving the person a need for ways to express emotions brought on by said condition, etc. i have always been the artistic type myself, and i also suffer bouts of depression. i am not certain, however, as to exactly where the depression stemmed from--i.e. if it was brought on by living conditions at a certain time or if it was inherently there from the time i was born and simply went unnoticed until a later age when signs are more recognizable.