Bipolar Disorder and Manic Depressive Illness

Vincent Van Gogh, the Dutch painter, had five siblings; three had severe emotional problems, and one of them committed suicide. Van Gogh himself was a manic-depressive who experienced severe mood swings. It is documented that he sliced off his ear during a fit of despair. This extreme act was probably a result of his condition. When Van Gogh was depressed, he felt like an outcast and a failure. He began painting after he was unable to succeed at any other career. He created some of his finest work when he was in the midst of a manic episode. During one seventy-day period in France, he completed seventy paintings—one a day!

Like Van Gogh, many great artists found outlets for their extreme feelings and heightened perceptions through art. The novelists Mark Twain and Virginia Woolf, the poets Lord Byron and Edgar Allan Poe, the artist Michelangelo, the playwright Tennessee Williams, and the composer Robert Schumann all suffered from bipolar disorder. This is not just a coincidence. Scientists believe that there is a link between creativity and manic depression. Recent studies indicate that during manic episodes, people tend to have a high creative output.