The Reason Writers are More Likely Psychopathic is the Same Reason Writers are Creative
Writers are in top 15% for psychopathology? Great.
But there’s good news:
Writers are also high in measures of psychological health.
So we can be really healthy, or really unhealthy. Sounds about right.
Daydreaming, Empathy, and Fueling the Creative Mind
An excerpt from “Is Solitude the Secret to Unlocking Our Creativity?” by Jory MacKay:
“One of the traits that Barron found during his creativity study was that creative people are more introspective. But not only in the sense that they have an increased level of self-awareness, but that they also have a familiarity with the darker and more uncomfortable parts of their psyche.
You’ve probably read about the creative benefits of daydreaming, but one of the things that is rarely mentioned in these essays is the importance of uninhibited daydreaming — not letting your brain filter the thoughts coming into your head.
In a subsequent study of creative writers, Barron and researcher Donald MacKinnon found that the average writer was in the top 15% of the general population on all measures of psychopathology.
But, strangely enough, these writers also scored extremely high on all measures of psychological health — meaning they were better equipped to deal with these thoughts and feelings.
For most of us, those darker thoughts are filtered and tucked away. They don’t serve us as good, law-abiding and moralistic citizens.
But, Barron would argue it’s this full experience of the light and the dark, even if only in our heads, that fuels the creative mind. And the more we experience these thoughts, the more we’re able to control them.
Effectively, the creative mind is able to shape our experience not only through the external world, but with a deep synthesis of our imagination. It’s why it’s so common to hear creative individuals say that inspiration comes from within, not without.”
— Jory MacKay, excerpt from “Is Solitude the Secret to Unlocking Our Creativity?” (originally published by @crewlabs)
Good Writers Must First Be Good Thinkers
By thinking about and wrestling with the good and evil of the world and of ourselves, writers can tap into thoughts and feelings to empathize with others, consider what’s logical, what’s moral, and what’s helpful.
I’ve found this to be true in my own life: the more I’m willing to challenge my own assumptions and look at something with an open mind and willingness to be proven wrong, I have found much more appealing ways of understanding the world, myself, others, and God.
Of course, if I only look at the world with an open mind and never close my mind around something, it doesn’t do much good.
“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”
― G.K. Chesterton
Be willing to challenge your assumptions. Get dissatisfied with the status quo. And when you’re in desperate need of getting further than you’ve been—mentally, emotionally, relationally, spiritually—you know you need to take the risk.
Spend some time alone. Soak in solitude. Then reconnect with others and start the cycle over.
Think about it. Write about it. Do something about it.
John Weirick is a writer, editor, introvert advocate, and the author of The Variable Life: Finding Clarity and Confidence in a World of Choices, which you can preview here.
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