The Relationship Between Bipolar Spectrum Disorder and Creativity

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, 61820, United States.

^* Corresponding author. Email: ruining7@illinois.edu

Abstract

Bipolar spectrum disorder as one of the most debated and studied topics in clinical psychology has been brought to the attention of the public because of its plausible connection to creativity. Recent events of celebrities claiming their onsets of bipolar episodes reinforces the belief of the connection and it will rely on the field of clinical psychology to give the public an unbiased and cautiously experimented theory to such an issue. This paper discusses the topic by defining the variations of bipolar spectrum disorder and creativity and evaluates the presenting the current recognition of the connection between the two subjects. Later, through examining the experimental processes of the behavioral, genetic psycho-neuron, and psychoanalytic perspectives, this paper provides a comprehensive view to the readers regarding the experimental process and each approach’s strengths and potential flaws. Even though the experiments prove the correlation between bipolar spectrum disorder and creativity, the underlying symptoms of bipolar can only act as a catalyst for creativity. Future studies should try to further validify and solidify the experimental results and promote the findings to the public through appropriate media.