Many people face challenges in their lives they not only overcome, but are able to use for enhancing their creative work. Mixed-media and glass artist Ginny Ruffner recovered from a near fatal car accident and a coma for five weeks and was confined to a hospital for five months. A description on her site ginnyruffner.com [...]
One piece of good news is that using the Internet, particularly searching the Web, can slow our normal age-related cognitive decline. Googling is good for your brain. As Dr. Gary Small, Director of UCLA’s Memory Clinic and Center on Aging, said in an interview, “Our study ‘Your brain on Google: Patterns of cerebral activation during [...]
Molière: “No matter what Aristotle and the Philosophers say, nothing is equal to tobacco; it’s the passion of the well-bred, and he who lives without tobacco lives a life not worth living.” “While I was doing Eraserhead I had 40 coffees every day and I smoked 40 cigarettes.” – David Lynch Filmmaker, musician and visual [...]
“The Creative Adult is the Child Who Survived” – From the facebook page of Artizen Magazine A couple of related posts: Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? Healing and art: SARK and others on abuse and creativity 3 Things To Learn From The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – A Gifted Trauma Survivor, By [...]
“It’s like having a drink. But it’s quicker. You know how your brain shuts down from pain? The pain would be so bad, it would force my body to slow down, and I wouldn’t be as anxious. It made me calm.” That is a quote by Christina Ricci from a 1998 Rolling Stone interview. Studies [...]
Dr. Cheryl Arutt is a clinical psychologist, specializing in creative artist issues and other topics. She is also a forensic and media consultant. Topics in our audio interview include high sensitivity, regulating disruptive feelings, destructiveness vs creativity, pain and creativity, being unconventional vs rebellion against the self, the fight-or-flight response, and other issues which can [...]
The mythology of the mad artist continues in various forms, supported to some extent by research – for example, studies indicating writers are more susceptible to depression. Video from World Science Festival: ‘Genius’ Dark Cousin’ – “When talking about geniuses, the conversation inevitably strays towards topics of eccentricity, or even madness. One needs only to [...]
Stephen A. Diamond is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist, and author of the book Anger, Madness, and the Daimonic: The Psychological Genesis of Violence, Evil, and Creativity. In our podcast interview, Dr. Diamond talks about actors who have shown a dark and violent side, such as Christian Bale (“Batman”), and how therapy helps people [...]
By Leslie Johnson Although it is somewhat of a media-influenced stereotype, the cultural image of the “mad genius” has stayed with us, and that’s because many of the qualities attributed to highly successful people (i.e. that they are crazy or insane) are quite true. Especially for those of us who are creative and active people, [...]
Notable creative ability and expression can be related to changes in brain structure and function from disease, stroke, injury, disability or other conditions. Darold Treffert, M.D. notes, “Savant syndrome is a rare but remarkable condition in which people with developmental disabilities, including autism or other central nervous system disorders, have some remarkable islands of genius [...]
“Who in the rainbow can draw the line where the violet tint ends and the orange tint begins? Distinctly we see the difference of the colors, but where exactly does the one first blendingly enter into the other? So with sanity and insanity.” Herman Melville, “Billy Budd, Sailor” According to the World Health Organization, psychological [...]
Does happiness always enhance creativity? A study by June Gruber of Yale University and others (“A Dark Side of Happiness? How, When, and Why Happiness Is Not Always Good”), notes “Emotional states exert significant effects on memory, judgment, decision-making, and creativity.” Her study also reports that “moderate levels of positive emotions engender more creativity, but [...]
Erin Brockovich commented about the famous Hinkley, California vs PG&E lawsuit featured in the movie (starring Julia Roberts) and using her dyslexia: “I can still go through all 634 plaintiffs. I learned to do that because of my dyslexia. I had no real coping skills; I could not read and comprehend in my brain the [...]
“Raking in a zen garden is one form of relaxation, but visual guided imagery is a specialized form of meditation that teaches a patient to focus on their breath and different muscle groups. “Even learning for a short period of time could teach you how to reduce stress, reduce anxiety in different situations,” said clinical [...]
In his book The Hypomanic Edge : The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America, John D. Gartner, Ph.D. provides a list of characteristics that probably applies to many in the huge community of creative minds in entertainment fields: “Filled with energy… flooded with ideas… driven, restless, and unable to [...]
Winona Ryder: “I was lucky in the sense that my success was gradual. But then there was a point when there was so much attention, and you get surrounded with people who sort of make you feel like you have to do everything… “It’s really tough to suddenly be very famous. I think you get [...]
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Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
