World of Psychology

Creativity and Depression

By John M. Grohol, PsyD
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

A new article by Douglas Eby explores how depression affects creativity:

“I only know that summer sang in me a little while, that in me sings no more.”

That excerpt from one of her sonnets expresses how much poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) probably knew of depression.

Marie Osmond has described her experiences suffering from postpartum depression in her book Behind the Smile: “I’m collapsed in a pile of shoes on my closet floor. I have no memory of what it feels like to be happy. I sit with my knees pulled up to my chest. It’s not that I want to be still. I am numb.”

That kind of numbness, that sense of endless hopelessness and erosion of spiritual vitality are some of the reasons depression can have such a devastating impact on creative inspiration and expression.


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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 28 Sep 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2005). Creativity and Depression. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 25, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/09/28/creativity-and-depression/

 

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