Being Creative Does NOT Make You Mentally Ill

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Being Creative Does NOT Make You Mentally Ill

I have a blog post scheduled about this which is coming out in a few weeks, but worrying reports are going around the Internet now which are just wrong and are disturbing people. So I am going to say this now and I am going to say it LOUD. These reports only represent one set of statistics. Other studies have found otherwise. Being creative does not make you schizophrenic, depressed, suicidal, bipolar or vice versa!

This kind of reporting is dangerous. It can lead people to decide that their depression or symptoms are normal and then they don’t get the help they deserve and need. As a mental health professional, this scares me for the people who don’t have full access to all the facts.

This is mental illness stereotyping at it’s worst. It is dangerous.

Creative people have their work seen more often than the general population and thus, are easier to diagnose as they are visible. For every study done on this subject, many others are done and nowhere are all studies represented, which leads to a bias in reported results.

Make your own mind up but NEVER LET YOURSELF BE NEGATIVELY STEREOTYPED.

Being creative can be a brilliant outlet for dealing with mental illnesses, but illnesses are not generated by being creative or a creative link in someone’s DNA. To claim such a link is as silly as saying that liking to play board games or read, creates mental illness. Please beware bad journalism, poorly executed studies and sensationalism.