Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Schizophrenia and Creativity (B)

I have decided to research an academic piece, and finally produce a paper, on the intersection between schizophrenia and creativity. My own creative inclinations, my relative success, and my continuing battle with schizophrenia, have led me to want to try and come to some sort academic conclusions about this strange partnership. I think I want, fundamentally, to know why there have been times in the history of literature, where people have suffered from schizophrenia, and been able to succeed, to a marked degree, in their endeavours. It might simply be that, given a certain proportion of sufferers, some are likely to achieve despite the overwhelming negativity of their condition. But there seems something more to it than that. As I touched on earlier in an entry below, there is a loosening of association that can occur in schizophrenia, a loosening that lends itself naturally to conceptual and linguistic unusualness. And it is this unusualness which can lead to success in things creative. But my own creativity has something more to it than that. It is a certainty, that I can't explain, but which spills from my mind like some form of automatic machine. I guess I follow my intuition, and trust it, but it is something like a store of creative material that simply is released as I write. The writing is effortless, and seems to come out pre-formed as it were. But I will leave you here to tempt you, and leave you hanging for my research paper.

1 comment:

polarbouncer said...

Being bipolar, having a breakdown, dealing with sedating and mind numbing meds, and being somewhat of a writer, I think I understand what you are saying. Writing poetry used to come effortlessly. But words still can just come to me with no effort. Ideas and thoughts can still flow from a place that I can't find when I search for it. Creativity from my madness is wonderful!