Creativity & Schizophrenia
Antonio Preti
THE
PENULTIMATE TRUTH
Dick
and Walser are’nt the only artists whose life was crossed by schizophrenia.
Among others are the German
Holderlin Adolf Wolfli, the American Henry Darger, the Swedish Carl R. Hill,
Ernst Josephson and Jakob Hagg, the English Ivor Gurney. In many cases the
schizophrenia negatively influenced the creative abilities of the artists:
Walser ceased to write when the disorder became too severe; and the composer
Jakob Hagg stopped his artistic career when the disorder had its onset (Gunne,
1986). It is possible, however, that the schizophrenic experience had some
influence on the work of the afflicted artists, offering them matter for their
aesthetic sentiments and rousing their imagination. However,
since schizophrenia is a severe disorder, which often has a poor course, in many
circumstances this creative push is lost, and only in the less severe courses
excellence can be achieved. In a study of 291 eminent people of the last two
centuries Felix Post (1994) found only 5 cases of psychosis, two with first-rank
symptoms: the dramatists Strindberg and the writer Evelyn Waugh, who described
his schizophrenic experience in the novel “The proof of Gilbert Pinfold”. In
his sample Post observed a familiar link with schizophrenia in 14 cases, with 10
cases among writers and artists, strengthening the findings of Juda and Karlsson,
though with less strong evidence.
In
conclusion, though schizophrenia is a painfully severe disorder, nevertheless it
also involves characteristics that can favour
creativity, allowing adaptive advantages in some circumstances. This
happens most commonly when the schizophrenic experience lead to the exploration
of uncommon dimensions of the mind, as in the case of mediums or healers. These
aspects of schizophrenia should not be neglected in the approach to the patient,
if an important part of the patient’s experience is not to be lost.