Posted by
brain m.
Many people claim that there is a link between depression and creativity and that being depressed can enhance the levels of creativity and help you to achieve things.
A google search for famous people with depression provides some interesting results and the list includes such names as Charles Dickens, T.S Eliot, Vincent Van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway who are all without doubt very creative people. Many of the depression web sites I have
visited contain large amounts of poetry written by people who are depressed. So, maybe there is something in this claim?
Other famous names include Winston Churchill, Sir Isaac Newton, John D Rockefeller and Abraham Lincoln who are perhaps known for other things other than their creativity but who it could be argued achieved some great things. Did depression help these people with their achievements?
During therapy sessions I have occassionly voiced concern about how I was worried that getting better might change me so that I was less effective at work. I felt that my depression and perfectionism made me different from others and helped me to be good at what I do and although I wanted to get better I would really not want to change in anyway that might effect my performance at work. The therapist would argue that surely without my mental health problems I would perform even better but I have had problems understanding this and have had trouble accepting it.
Has depression made me a more caring and sensitive person? A lot of the people I come across seem to work in professions that directly or indirectly involve helping people would they be doing these jobs if they didn't have depression? People often comment about how I am able to empathise with others so easily and that I have an uncanny ability to put myself into other peoples shoes which helps me to help them. Would I be like that without depression?
So, is depression all negative or is there something positive from this illness? What do you think? I would be interested to hear your opinions.
Posted by brain m.
Many people claim that there is a link between depression and creativity and that being depressed can enhance the levels of creativity and help you to achieve things.
A google search for famous people with depression provides some interesting results and the list includes such names as Charles Dickens, T.S Eliot, Vincent Van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway who are all without doubt very creative people. Many of the depression web sites I have visited contain large amounts of poetry written by people who are depressed. So, maybe there is something in this claim?
Other famous names include Winston Churchill, Sir Isaac Newton, John D Rockefeller and Abraham Lincoln who are perhaps known for other things other than their creativity but who it could be argued achieved some great things. Did depression help these people with their achievements?
During therapy sessions I have occassionly voiced concern about how I was worried that getting better might change me so that I was less effective at work. I felt that my depression and perfectionism made me different from others and helped me to be good at what I do and although I wanted to get better I would really not want to change in anyway that might effect my performance at work. The therapist would argue that surely without my mental health problems I would perform even better but I have had problems understanding this and have had trouble accepting it.
Has depression made me a more caring and sensitive person? A lot of the people I come across seem to work in professions that directly or indirectly involve helping people would they be doing these jobs if they didn't have depression? People often comment about how I am able to empathise with others so easily and that I have an uncanny ability to put myself into other peoples shoes which helps me to help them. Would I be like that without depression?
So, is depression all negative or is there something positive from this illness? What do you think? I would be interested to hear your opinions.