Poetry, creativity and mental health

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12368624

“”Creativity is certainly about not being constrained by rules or accepting the restrictions that society places on us,” chartered psychologist Gary Fitzgibbon told the BBC earlier this year.

“Of course the more people break the rules, the more likely they are to be perceived as ‘mentally ill’.”

So is it mental illness that drives people to art or art that drives people to mental illness?

“A lot of creativity comes from a conflict somewhere in your mind,” says Wright.

“I don’t think you have to be ‘mad’ to be a poet but if your mind is alive, then it can produce both positive and negative responses. It can mean wonderful things but it can mean that fitting into ‘normal’ life is difficult.””