On Insanity and Genius

I think most reading this know of the mythos surrounding insanity and genius. We’ve all heard of the “tortured artist” Vincent Van Gogh. And I’m also sure that most of us have heard of Hunter S. Thompson, a man who would soak his brain in psychedelics while writing, and would eventually extinguish his own flame through the barrel of a gun. My main problem with this mythos of sorts, is that it tends to almost dehumanize these great men/women. We don’t look at them as people. Instead, we look at them as batshit crazy machines of pure genius. Hell, even I do sometimes. In reality, these are people who grew up, had friends, had family, had hobbies (besides art), and lived just like we do. I’m also sure they were just as self-conscious as any of us are. Now, I’m not saying there isn’t a link between insanity and genius. In fact, I actually believe in one. But perhaps, we should also focus on the artist as a human being as well. One thing I wonder, is why there even is a link. In fact, writers are twenty-times more likely to suffer from bipolar, and ten-times likely to have depression. And this isn’t all of it. A study (linked below) found that writers are forty-four percent more likely to have a syndromal mental illness. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that mental illness and intelligence means that the brain performs differently. The neurons literally connect in different ways. I remember asking my therapist about this topic, and they said, “I think it’s because with highly creative minds, the brain is more complex.” I have autism and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome so my brain is way different from your average joe on the block. I mean, I literally induce state so mania while writing. So perhaps there is a link between genius and insanity, and maybe that link is how the brain performs. After all, no great person in history has ever been average. Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2899997/