ABSTRACT
Associations between great creativity and serious disturbances of mood have been observed for millennia, as a number of creative geniuses in ancient Greece appear to have had severe mood disorders. This chapter reviews lines of empirical research that bear on the question and that suggest that there are indeed significant relationships between creativity and mood disorders or liability for these disorders. It examines complementary evidence for a relationship between creativity and mood elevation. The chapter presents factors that may mediate these associations, with a particular focus on evidence for personality traits that are associated with both familial liability for mood disorders and enhanced creative potential. It explores clinical and social implications of this research and make recommendations for future research. The likely presence of major mood disorders in a number of artistic geniuses, such as Van Gogh, has prompted much theorizing about associations between creativity and mood disorders.
