Since [tag]Holy-Fool-P-Zombie[/tag] has studied psychology he probably has studied this issue as well. Is there a link between major mental illness and creativity? My counselor who has a degree in psychology thinks so given the other factors listed above. What do you think Randy?
One need only see the movie - a beautiful mind - to see his (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Beautiful_Mind_(film)). Yes, I do think that geniuses, those with mental disorders and those with mystical experiences - probably trigger the same brain areas. But as to the specifics, it’s up to science to determine. Good article, Michael. 
I’m not saying I’m a genius but when I started getting better and experiencing intense love and beauty I started writing poetry. I knew nothing about poetry or how psychologists say that poem making and creativity brings healing. I later found this book after I started doing this:
Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem Making. by John Fox. John Fox, Certified Poetry Therapist, is a poet and author of Finding What You Didn’t Lose: Expressing Your Truth and Creativity through Poem-Making and Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-Making. He teaches regularly at the collegiate and post graduate level as an adjunct faculty member of the California Institute of Integral Studies, Sofia University (formerly The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology,) and Holy Names University, Oakland. He taught for twenty years as adjunct at John F. Kennedy University – first through the Graduate School of Professional Psychology and then since 1997 in the Arts & Consciousness Department.
It’s like I was naturally healing myself and wasn’t aware of it. Do you think poetry brings healing Randy? It seems to have done so for me but I know it’s debated.
Yes, it can bring healing. Even seeing a movie can be healing. I recommend Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League. In addition to the AMC show, the Walking Dead. See them all this month, folks.
I have to go out for a while, Michael. So I will respond to any questions - a bit later.
I use to watch horror movies and war movies all the time. I’ve undergone a change though. I do like “Hacksaw Ridge” directed by Mel Gibson. It’s the true story about the soldier entering the army and then the war but wouldn’t carry a gun. He was non- violent. He saved a lot of lives in the war and even loved the enemy at times. It does have a lot of blood in it though. I like movies that don’t follow the regular line of plot. Like “The Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind”. I’ve found that non-violent movies are good. All that intensity of blood, gore and violence has left me. I guess some sort of pain in movies is good. It’s part of life. Probably my favorite at the moment is “Good Will Hunting” with Robin Williams. I also liked “Titanic”. “Dead Poets Society” is in there as well as “A Beautiful Mind”. I’ve found now that I’m attracted to less intense movies. No more horror for me these last many years.
Mental Illness and Creativity: A Neurological View of the “Tortured Artist”
Stanford Journal of Neuroscience
From my book “Niacin: The Real Story”. It has some interesting information in it about people with the schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorder:
The authors of the book are Doctors and have worked with those who are schizophrenic and schizoaffective. They are:
Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D.
Andrew W. Saul, Ph.D
Harold D. Foster, Ph.D.
Here’s a small list of famous people and/or rich celebrities with mental illness
Abbie Hoffman
bipolar disorder
Abraham Lincoln
severe clinical depression
Adam Ant (Stuart Goddard)
bipolar
Adam Rickett
bulimia nervosa
Alanis Morissette
clinical depression
Alastair Campbell
depression
Albert Einstein
dyslexia (speculated)
Alexander Graham Bell
dyslexia
Alfred Taubman
dyslexia
Ally Sheedy
bulimia nervosa; substance abuse
Alma Powell
clinical depression
Alonzo Spellman
bipolar disorder
Alvin Ailey
bipolar disorder (aka “manic depression”)
Amy Heckerling
eating disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorder
Angelina Jolie
depression and self harm
Anne Sexton
clinical depression
Ann-Margret
clinical depression; alcoholism
Art Buchwald
bipolar disorder
Audrey Hepburn
clinical depression; eating disorders
Axl Rose
bipolar disorder
Barbara Niven
bulimia nervosa
Barbra Streisand
social phobia
Ben Moody
depression
Ben Stiller
bipolar disorder
Ben Vereen
clinical depression
Benjamin Disraeli
clinical depression
Bert Yancey
bipolar disorder
Bill Lichtenstein
bipolar disorder
Bill Oddie
bipolar
Billy Joel
alcohol and depression
Billy Joel
clinical depression
Boris Yeltsin
clinical depression
Brian Wilson
bipolar disorder
Britney Spears
bipolar and post natal depression
Brooke Shields
postpartum depression
Burgess Meredith
bipolar disorder
Buzz Aldrin
clinical depression
Calvin Coolidge
clinical depression (speculated)
Carly Simon
social phobia
Carmen Miranda
clinical depression
Caroline Aherne
major depressive disorder
Carrie Fisher
bipolar disorder, substance abuse;
Cary Grant
clinical depression
catherine zeta jones
bipolar II
Charles “Buddy” Bolden
schizophrenia
Charles Darwin
severe panic disorder
Charles Dickens
clinical depression; bipolar disorder (suspected)
Charles Faust
schizophrenia
Charles Schulz
clinical depression
Charles Schwab
dyslexia
Charley Pell
clinical depression
Charley Pride
bipolar disorder; alcoholism
Clara Bow
clinical depression
Cole Porter
clinical depression; alcoholism; paranoid delusions; obsessive-compulsive disorder (speculated)
Connie Francis
clinical depression
Courtney Love
drub abuse, clinical depression
Craig Ferguson
alcoholic
Craig McCaw
dyslexia
Dame Kelly Holmes
depression and self harm
Damon Wayans
clinical depression
Daniel Johns
clinical depression; anxiety disorder;eating disorder
Danny Glover
learning disability
Darryl Strawberry
clinical depression
David Boies
dyslexia
David Bowie
crying but not diagnosed but lots of family mental health issues
David Murdock
dyslexia
Delta Burke
depression and compulsive hoarding
Denise Welch
nervous breakdown
Diane Arbus
clinical depression
Dick Cavett
depression – found electro shock therapy helpful
Dick Clark
clinical depression
Dimitrius Underwood
bipolar disorder
DMX
bipolar
Dolly Parton
clinical depression
Donny Osmond
clinical depression; social phobia
Dorothy Day
clinical depression
Doug Ferrari
borderline personality disorder
Doug Flutie, Jr.
autism
Drew Barrymore
clinical depression; alcoholism, substance abuse;
Drew Carey
clinical depression
Dwight Gooden
clinical depression
Earl Campbell
panic disorder
Edgar Allan Poe
clinical depression (speculated); alcoholism
Edward McVaney
dyslexia
Elizabeth Hartman
clinical depression (speculated)
Elton John
substance abuse and bulimia
Emily Carr
various speculations, neurasthenia; hypochondriasis; clinical depression; conversion disorder; schizophrenia:
Emma Thompson
clinical depression
Eric Clapton
clinical depression
Ernest Hemingway
clinical depression
Eugene O’Neill
clinical depression
F. Scott Fitzgerald
clinical depression
Fiona Phillips
depression
Frances Lear
bipolar disorder;, substance abuse
Francis Ford Coppola
bipolar disorder
Frank Bruno
bipolar
Frank Lloyd Wright
clinical depression
Gaetano Donizetti
bipolar disorder
Gail Porter
post natal depression
George Eliot (Marian Evans)
clinical depression
George Michael
depression and fear
George S. Patton
clinical depression; dyslexia
George Washington
learning disability
Georgia O’Keeffe
clinical depression
Graeme Obree
depression
Halle Berry
suicide attempt
Harrison Ford
clinical depression
Harry Andersen
learning disability
Hart Crane
clinical depression; alcoholism
Heath Ledger
depression, anxiety and sleep depravation
Henry Winkler
learning disability
Herb McCauley
bulimia nervosa
Hermann Hesse
clinical depression
Herschel Walker
dissociative identity disorder
Howard Hughes
OCD (clinical depression and psychosis both speculated
Howard Stern
obsessive-compulsive disorder
Howie Mandel
obsessive-compulsive disorder
Hugh Laurie
depression
Hunter Tylo
clinical depression
Irving Berlin
clinical depression
Isaac Newton
bipolar disorder (suspected)
J.P. Morgan
bipolar disorder
Jack Dee
depression
Jack Farrell
clinical depression
Jack Irons
bipolar disorder
Jack Kerouac
clinical depression, substance abuse, severe alcoholism;
Jackson Pollock
clinical depression; substance abuse
Jaco Pastorius
bipolar disorder; alcoholism; substance abuse
James Dean Bradfield
bipolar
James Forrestal
clinical depression
James Garner
clinical depression
James Taylor
clinical depression; bipolar disorder
Jane Fonda
bulimia nervosa
Jane Pauley
bipolar
Janet Jackson
clinical depression
Jean-Claude Van Damme
bipolar disorder
Jessica Alba
OCD and eating disorder
Jessica Lange
clinical depression
Jim Carrey
clinical depression
Jimmy Piersall
bipolar disorder
Joan Rivers
clinical depression; bulimia nervosa
Joey Kramer
clinical depression
Joey Slinger
clinical depression
John Chambers
dyslexia
John Daly
bipolar disorder; alcoholism, gambling addiction;
John Forbes Nash
schizophrenia (paranoid-type)
John Gibson
bipolar disorder
John Kenneth Galbraith
clinical depression
John Madden
specific phobia (flying)
John Mulheren
bipolar disorder
John Nash
schizophrenia
John Quincy Adams
clinical depression
Jose Canseco
clinical depression
Joshua Logan
bipolar disorder
Judy Garland
clinical depression;,substance abuse
Jules Feiffer
clinical depression
Julie Krone
post-traumatic stress disorder; clinical depression
Justine Bateman
eating disorders
Karen Carpenter
anorexia nervosa
Karen Kain
clinical depression
Kate Millett
bipolar disorder
Katie Price/Jordan
post natal depression
Keisha Buchanan
depression
Kendall Gill
clinical depression
Kim Basinger
panic disorder
Kitty Dukakis
bipolar disorder, alcoholism; substance abuse;
Kris Kristopherson
clinical depression; substance abuse
Kristy McNichol
bipolar disorder
Kurt Cobain
attention deficit disorder and bipolar depression
Kurt Vonnegut
clinical depression/bipolar
Kylie Minogue
depression
Larry Flynt
bipolar disorder
Larry King
clinical depression
Lawton Chiles
clinical depression
Lenny Henry
depression
Leo Tolstoy
clinical depression; hypochondriasis; alcoholism; substance abuse
Leonard Bernstein
clinical depression
Leonard Cohen
clinical depression
Lewis Preston
dyslexia
Linda Hamilton
bipolar disorder
Lionel Aldridge
schizophrenia (paranoid-type)
Lord Bragg
depression
Ludwig van Beethoven
bipolar disorder
Macy Gray
bipolar
Marc Summers
obsessive-compulsive disorder
Margaret Trudeau Kemper
bipolar disorder
Margaux Hemingway
dyslexia; alcoholism; clinical depression (speculated)
Margot Kidder
manic depression (Bipolar) and paranoia
Marie Osmond
clinical depression, post-partum
Marilyn Monroe
clinical depression/suicide
Mark Rothko
clinical depression
Marsha Linehan
bpd
Meg Mathews
depression
Mel C:
depression
Mel Gibson
bipolar
Melinda Messenger
depression
Meriwether Lewis
clinical depression
Michael Phelps
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Mike Tyson
depression and severe insecurities and anger
Mike Wallace
clinical depression
Morrissey (S.P.)
clinical depression
Murray Pezim
bipolar disorder
Natalie Cole
clinical depression
Ned Beatty
bipolar disorder
Neil Lennon
depression
Neil Simon
clinical depression
Nelson Rockefeller
dyslexia
Nicole Kidman
panic attacks on the red carpet
Norman Mailer
clinical depression
Ozzy Osbourne
bipolar
Pablo Picasso
clinical depression
Pat Lafontaine
clinical depression
Patricia Cornwell
bipolar disorder, anorexia nervosa, anorexia bulimia;;
Patrick Kennedy
clinical depression
Patsy Palmer
depression and panic attacks
Patty Duke
bipolar disorder
Paul Gascoigne
clinical depression
Paul Simon
clinical depression
Paula Abdul
bullimia nervosa
Paula Deen
Agoraphobia and panic attacks
Pete Harnisch
clinical depression
Peter Gabriel
clinical depression
Peter Greene
schizophrenia
Phil Spector
clinical depression/bipolar
Pierre Péladeau
bipolar disorder
Princess Diana
Bulimia nevosa, depression and multiple suicide attempts
Queen Victoria
clinical depression
Ray Charles
clinical depression
Richard Branson
dyslexia
Richard Dreyfuss
clinical depression/bipolar
Richard Simmons
anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa;
Richey James
clinical depression, anorexia nervosa;;alcoholism
Rick Springfield
clinical depression
Ricky Williams
social phobia
Robbie Williams
depression
Robert Boorstin
bipolar disorder
Robert Campeau
bipolar disorder
Robert Lowell
bipolar disorder
Robert McFarlane
clinical depression
Robert Munsch
bipolar disorder
Robert Young
clinical depression; alcoholism
Robin Williams
clinical depression, learning disability;
Rod Steiger
clinical depression
Rodney Dangerfield
clinical depression
Roseanne
dissociative identity disorder (aka “multiple personality disorder”); obsessive-compulsive disorder; clinical depression; agoraphobia
Rosemary Clooney
bipolar
Ruby Wax
depression
Russell Grant
depression
Sandra Dee
anorexia nervosa
Sarah Lancashire
depression
Sarah McLachlan
clinical depression
Scott Donie
clinical depression
Shayne Corson
panic attacks
Shecky Greene
bipolar disorder, with severe panic attacks
Sheryl Crow
clinical depression
Sigmund Freud
clinical depression
Sinead O’Connor
bipolar
Sir Anthony Hopkins
clinical depression
Sir Elton John
bulimia nervosa; substance abuse, alcoholism;
Sophie Anderton
drug addiction and depression
Spencer Tracy
clinical depression; alcoholism
Spike Milligan
bipolar disorder
Stephen Fry
bipolar depression
Steve Blass
social phobia
Steve Sax
social phobia
Sting (Gordon Sumner)
clinical depression
Susan Powter
clinical depression
Syd Barrett
schizophrenia
Sylvia Plath
clinical depression
Tammy Wynette
clinical depression, substance abuse;
Ted Turner
bipolar disorder
Tennessee Williams
clinical depression
Theodore Dreiser
clinical depression
Thomas Alva Edison
dyslexia
Thomas Eagleton
clinical depression
Tiberius
clinical depression (speculated)
Tipper Gore
clinical depression
Tom Cruise
dyslexia
Tony Slattery
bipolar
Tracey Gold
anorexia nervosa, attention deficit disorder;
Tracy Thompson
clinical depression
Trisha Goddard
depression
Tulisa’s mum
Tulisa’s mum had scizoaffective disorder
Uma Thurman
depression
Vaslav Nijinsky
schizophrenia
Veronica Lake
schizophrenia; alcoholism
Vincent Foster
clinical depression (speculated)
Vincent van Gogh
clinical depression; bipolar disorder (speculated)
Vivien Leigh
bipolar disorder after miscarriage
Walker Percy
clinical depression
Walt Disney
dyslexia
Whoopi Goldberg
dyslexia
William Hewlett
dyslexia
William Styron
clinical depression
Winona Ryder
clinical depression; anxiety
Winston Churchill
bipolar disorder; dyslexia
Woodrow Wilson
dyslexia
Yves Saint Laurent
clinical depression
Here’s the link to the above list of celebrities and famous people: