Some researchers believe that Bipolar Disorder, Depression and creativity are connected. As Peter Kramer writes in Listening to Prozac,
"Throughout history, it has been known that melancholics, though they have little energy, use their energy well; they tend to work hard in a focused area, do great things, and derive little pleasure from their accomplishments. Much of the insight and creative achievement of the human race is due to the discontent, guilt, and critical eye of dysthymics."
Historically, people with Bipolar Disorder use their manic energy to create and we can see this in the work of Ludwig van Beethoven and Vincent Van Gogh. It's seem counter intuitive that depression too could result in creativity. However, though depressives like Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allen Poe, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill have tended to have less energy, they seem to use it more wisely, working very hard in a narrowly focused area. If more intense creativity is a consequence of depression and mania, this raises some interesting questions about treating both disorders.
What would Van Gogh have painted on Abilify?
Would Beethoven had written the same music on a Risperdal or some other mood staibilizer?
What would Edgar Allen Poe or Ernest Hemingway have written about on Remeron?
Would Lincoln have written the Gettysburg Address if he had received CBT therapy?
Would Churchill have handled the war differently?
Thoughts?