Saw Neurologist today

[karadinart]

My sons neurologist, and I happened to mention that someone had commented on a blog that the brains of artists and schizophrenics were similar, and you had to be 'wired' to be an artist, he and my sons pediatrician laughed and said that even at the cutting edge of science we are no where near the ability to tell where creativity comes from, not even a general part of the brain, and that any study that stated this, was much as the same as the old belief in reading bumps on the skull (phrenology) could tell you who was a genius.

The neurologist also said, (as I believe) that creativity is a learned trait. He said among his patients who are artists, they can confuse a 'quirk' as he put it, with a 'disorder', and the difference is in control.

For disorders my son's pediatrician who specializes with autistic patients is careful that the level of medications doesn't blunt creativity. Much in the way that my sons medications for his ADHD have to be kept level so he remains more verbal.

In answer to the person who said, we shouldn't treat our artists for mental illness, both the neurologist and pediatrician said without treatments, we wouldn't have more artists, we'd have more dead artists.

Comments

[margi-lynn.livejournal.com]

In answer to the person who said, we shouldn't treat our artists for mental illness, both the neurologist and pediatrician said without treatments, we wouldn't have more artists, we'd have more dead artists.

This attitude irritates me because sometimes what looks like mental illness is another type of chemical imbalance.

And while treating both is incredibly important, this attitude means that people who buy into this stupidity might not ever realize their weight gain and hallucinations and period problems and depression and heart condition are all related, because of course "artists must suffer for their art."

For a long time, I couldn't get anyone to take my sudden onset of massive manic-depression and ear problems seriously, until I had a major cardiac episode (at 22).

Then with a simple blood panel, we discovered that I had a major thyroid imbalance causing every single one of my problems. The thing was, that it had been left so long at that point, I now had to fix all the problems left afterwards.

And I'm really thankful that it was finally caught and two years later I'm finally doing better.

But I wish more people would have treated what I was going through like it was a medical condition to be solved so I could actually get on with my life, rather than acting like it made me a typical college student, or a girl, or more creative or any other stupid rubbish that meant I was going to be dead sooner rather than later, you know?

[karadin.livejournal.com]

Yes yes yes, so we have to do our best for our own health, and those of our friends and colleagues, to let them know, these myths are just that, myths.