Self-perceived relations between creativity and mental illness: a study into lived experiences.

Introduction: The idea that mental illness and artistic creativity are somehow related dates back to ancient times. There is some evidence for an actual correlation, but many questions remain unanswered on the nature and direction of the relationship. Qualitative contributions to the debate are scarce.

Methods: In this qualitative study, 50 participants of which 24 professional artists with self-reported experience with mental illness, and 26 participants of participatory arts initiatives for/by people with mental illness, were interviewed. Transcripts were subjected to interpretive analysis.

Results: Both professional artists and consumer-artists within art initiatives experience various connections between artistic creativity and mental illness. In both groups, making art influences the way mental illness is experienced, and mental illness influences what is created. These relationships are ambiguous and sometimes contradictory, but essential in giving meaning to one's own life course. A major difference between the two groups is that making art among professionals is not without obligation, can take on a more obsessive character and is subject to certain expectations and therefore creates its own dynamics and impact on mental health. For consumer-artists, art practices are experienced above all as liberating and contributing to recovery, not only because of the change in role from patient to artist, but also because of the beauty of art that can function as a counterbalance in a generally dark or struggling existence.

Conclusion: Understanding the experiences of artists with mental illness can help shape the role of art in mental health care in a way that does justice to the meaning of and multi-layered interactions between creativity and mental health.