Learning to Find Creativity After Medication for Bipolar

There are some creative individuals who are burdened by a mental disorder. For many, the issue of creativity is tied to mania. They deal with their finest displays of artistic fervor and accomplishment in their manic phase of a bipolar diagnosis. The flame of original thinking combined with an expansive self-confidence propels them into a productive frenzy. At these times, artistic, bipolar types revel in the quantity and endurance one needs to take on a project.

Mania is tied to the creative impulse. While prolific as one can be in mania, a mood shift dispels original thinking. When an episode has run its course, the artist finds himself in an odd position, yearning for creative release, but too depressed to reclaim it. The artist gives way to the patient. Medication comes with normalcy and life takes on a drab, passionless existence. The artistic, bipolar patient decries his situation, but inspiration is nowhere to be found.

A common complaint of bipolar clients is their level of creative expression. It comes as no surprise that many such persons choose their creative manias over medicated normalcy, while others give up, take their pills, and make the best out of a stale existence. When mania is suppressed, boredom steps in; or so goes the given wisdom. This is true in the short term, but not necessarily the long.

In the immediate, medication locks down the fountain of creative urge. The switch is flipped off abruptly as a fantasy life is replaced by the more immediate needs of everyday. Often there is the sense that life has been drained of its essence, and this state is all there is, a spiritual wasteland governed by the pills one must take for stability.

My experience of 35 years says otherwise. There is a creative life after medication. It just takes time and persistence to resurface. Inspiration reasserts itself a bit at a time and needs to be nurtured. Once a stable platform is rebuilt, thoughts turn from the mundane. While initially stability struggles with staleness, appreciation of the commonplace spawns shoots of possibility. This takes time, and patience is of primary value. One reacquaints oneself with a creative vision a piece at a time. Eventually, hope for the ridiculous and the sublime re-emerge. Medication cannot hold back the urge to a larger view of life.

Thirty five years of living with manic depression has taught me that even when I give up in despair, I keep on growing, although I am unaware of this at the time. Life grows at its own pace. Becoming aware and being thankful are accomplished in small steps.

Twenty five years ago when I was newly recovering, there was no urge to write, sing, make music, or shape metal. At the time, I simply wanted to get back my life. I wasn’t interested in anything else. It was difficult enough to discipline myself to get up and go to work everyday. Eventually, that learned, I progressed to venturing out to meet others, to engage in uncomfortable but pursuant conversation. It was five years before I picked up a pen to write. I had nothing to say before that. Eventually my ear for music returned, and learning to share myself with others began. All of this led to a vitality in my everyday life.

During this time, I was, as I still am, on medication. It’s about a regrowth of spirit that helps us reclaim our lives. Life is a verb. It’s about doing. Medication cannot teach us this, only a life lived can do that. It’s like being in a dark closet. You keep bumping into walls whichever way you turn as you feel the bruises form. Eventually, the pain goes away and some light creeps in. You find that the walls you bumped into were actually mirrors. The longer you look, the more light seeps in. You see yourself again and again, always in a new and different way. And so, creative endeavor emerges over time. Medication can’t take that away. In fact, it can help.

Creativity and Bipolar Disorder

As an adolescent I spent my free time writing songs. I loved to sing, and for a long time I was part of a combo consisting of several other musicians. Several years later, while making my living as a silversmith, I experienced my first manic episode. With all of this creativity, I fit the mold of those creative artists who have bipolar disorder. Because of a high correlation between the two, it is no surprise.

It is often acknowledged that those with major mental illness have a creative side to their persona. A look at artists of any era reveals a high percentage of co-occurring mental illness, most often depression and mania. Studies reveal the incidence of creative talent is higher in those with bipolar disorder than the public at large. What can account for this? The answer is, we don’t know.

In my psychotherapy practice where I specialize in treating this mood disorder, I see a large proportion of artists and musicians who struggle with their creativity. In the wake of severe mood shifts these talented people have a difficult time balancing their personal lives with their mental health needs. Their dilemma in dealing with out of control, emotional fluctuations is eerily similar. How can they create in the face of mood shifts, which can either send them into a manic frenzy of racing thoughts and out of control emotions or into depressive lows that have them vacant of inspiration?

Added to this confusion is the issue of medication. Quite often the creative types I see value their manic side, where for them their inspiration comes in the throes of mania. Their dilemma is how to balance their need for creative expression with the need to deal with the everyday tasks of normal living. Often, this dilemma gets played out in their medication regimen. The common complaint is wanting to have enough medication to keep them stable, yet not so much that their inspiration is stifled. Some artists would rather live with the dysfunction mania brings than face the shut-off of emotion, which leaves them bored, depressed and vacant of the color and magnitude of boldness they need for self-expression.

There are no easy answers here. Out of control and without medication only leads to chaos, including crisis in relationships and other staples of a healthy life. Yet, stifling a creative side leads to a lack of zest and the feeling you cannot express a side of yourself that is a part of who you are .The common complaint is, “we only live half a life.” What’s to be done for people tormented with the inspiration of a creative vision, yet who are handicapped when they try to express it? Such is their struggle.

We assume those touched with creative expression are lucky to have talent and to lead a charmed life, able to bring forth new ides and new creations. Yet, often it is not so easy for them. In the wake of mental illness their lives are burdened by their talent. In the end, we are all a work in progress trying to find a balance. It is, however, doable.

Tips to Balance a Creative Lifestyle

• Maintain a structured routine.
• Get enough sleep.
• Keep contact with a circle of friends.
• Find a medication regimen that fills your needs.
• Find a mental health professional who understands creativity.