Member-only story
Do Most Writers Suffer from Depression & Mood Disorders?
You are not alone
Hasn’t this been quite a debate? Writers & Depression, and the connection between Creativity & Depression, Mood disorders?
Certainly, most writers during their lifetime had asked themselves if they are depressed. And yes, you are not alone who wondered this. This question had been prevalent and multiple studies and research have been conducted to this date to prove the connection between creativity, depression & mood disorders.
Numerous talented writers had suffered from depression. I’d name a few renowned ones although the list is endless. Stephen King, Sylvia Path, J.K Rowling, Tennessee Williams, and many more. And not only the writers but also other professions where creativity is involved have people who suffer from depression and mood disorders such as bipolar disorder.
Bizarre Reality
This might shock you, but in 2012, a report on 40 years of research had been published. This was conducted on 1.2 million Swedish people and the outcomes were breathtaking, not in a good way.
This research concluded that writers are about 121% more likely to suffer from Bipolar disorder (which includes depression), and 50% more likely to be suicidal when compared to other professions.
I knew that writers were prone to depression but these numbers are shocking.
Another early research conducted by the University of Iowa — Writer’s Workshop, some scary conclusions as well. This research was conducted on a limited group of people and concluded that 80% of the writers suffered from some sort of mood disorder, and 30% suffered from bipolar disorder.
Since this research was conducted on a limited number, it can’t be generalized to the entire population.
Connection Between Creativity & Depression/Mood Disorders
Does having a mood disorder improve your creativity (or) Being more creative leads to mood disorders & depression?
What do you think? Share your opinions in the comments.
However, in 2017 a study called Creativity and Mood Disorder: A Systematic Review and…
