I am a sucker for psychology, philosophy, literature, and writing. Throw a little study of creativity in the mix and you have my attention. Combine them all and “bam” - you have a dish I cannot resist. All of that to say, I have been reading a lot of interesting articles on the link between Depression and Creativity. So, I will have to start posting some of the more interesting articles here.

This article was not the first of my discoveries but it was the most easily shared due to the usability of the NYTimes.com website.

CASES; Connecting Depression And Artistry

By RICHARD A. FRIEDMAN, M.D.

Published: June 4, 2002

Everyone knows that creative geniuses are all mad. At least that is what the time-honored notion linking creativity and mental illness holds. Recently, this was underscored by A Beautiful Mind, the film about the Nobel Prize-winning mathematician Dr. John Forbes Nash Jr., who struggled with schizophrenia. Bedeviled by hallucinations and delusions, Dr. Nash is seen scribbling mathematical formula on his Princeton dorm window and doing pioneering work on game theory in a pub. But in real life, Dr. Nash accomplished his greatest mathematics before his illness really took hold.

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