The Myth of the Tortured Artist

Are artists really more tortured than the rest of us? Let’s consider this myth and the studies that assess whether there might be a link between creativity and mental illness. If you need help with mental and/or substance use disorders, contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) – Free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service: https://www.samhsa.gov/.

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Studies:
Karolinska Institutet, 2013: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23063328
Karolinska Institutet, 2011: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21653945
Buffalo State, 2017: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920996417305121
Johns Hopkins University, 1990: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2258762
Centers for Disease Control, 2016: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6525a1.htm

Articles:
Kay Redfield Jamison’s “Manic- Depressive Illness and Creativity”: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a0e3/238fd584c4d15659d00c75d119661a70a634.pdf
“The Real Link Between Creativity and Mental Illness”: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/the-real-link-between-creativity-and-mental-illness/
Critique of Redfield Jamison findings: https://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Schlesinger-2009.pdf
“The relationship between measures of creativity and schizotypy”: https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/33524/the-relationship-between-measures-creativity-and-schizotypy.pdf

The latest research on creativity and the arts, June 2014: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/06/arts-creativity.aspx

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