Does Medication Hinder Creativity in Bipolar Disorder

While I happend to have bipolar disorder, and feel very equipped to answer the title question, I decided I should consult at least a couple of sources for a more rounded view point. Over the years I have heard many ask whether or not I feel a difference in my creative drive since medication, and I've often heard the fear of losing such a drive as the reason for individuals to not be medicated. The individual has bipolar and often struggles with taking medication because they feel they lose something of themselves in trying to be a part of society and they feel that survival is not worth compromising uniqueness.
One of the books I’ve used as a reference here was written by Kay Redfield Jamison who is not only a psychiatrist but also has bipolar disorder. I tend to use her work in much of my research because I feel she is able to give a well rounded view having been both the doctor and the patient.
Many who have found success through the arts by the expressions of extreme mood experiences have refused to embrace medication in order to gain some freedom from the illness because of the fear they may lose some of their very essence. As Edward Thomas put it, “I wonder whether for a person like myself whose most intense moments are those of depression a cure that destroys a depression may not destroy the intensity-a desperate remedy?”(Jamison, 1993)
Those who have found healing in their creative endeavors have often contributed greatly to our society and one wonders whether, if lithium had been used long before, we would have had such brilliant contributions from Mozart, Van Gogh, and Byron. If our world would have to go without such contributions, maybe it is crucial that we find out whether, in fact, medication eliminates creative drive.
According to a study done by Morgan Schou who pioneered the use of lithium in psychiatric patients, artists were asked whether lithium “increased, decreased, or had little impact on their productivity” (Mondimore, 1999). Schou learned that 57% reported that lithium had actually increased their creativity, while another 20% percent reported there had been no difference, and one quarter felt there had been adverse affects (Mondimore, 1999). However, one of the side effects of lithium is dulling of the thinking processes and it is possible that many in the one quarter grouping were suffering from side effects rather than mood stabilizing effects (Mondimore, 1999).
“In the great majority of instances the affective treatments now available do not hinder creative ability. Indeed, competent treatment almost always results in longer periods of sustained productivity.” (Jamison, 1993) This suggests that lithium actually assists in helping creativity. So why do not people with mental illness want to take medications that not only help regulate, do not hinder creativity, but actually increase it? It may have little to do with the loss of creativity and more to do with “reluctance to accept a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and ambivalence about taking a medication that they felt would control them” (Mondimore, 1999).
When I first began taking a mood stabilizer, I was terrified that who I thought I was would disappear altogether. I had done a lot of research on bipolar disorder and so I wasn’t ignorant but there aren’t any absolutes. I had heard stories from others who hated medication and said it made them lethargic and unable to express complete thought. Luckily for me, I had just come out of a deathly depressive episode so I was not stranger to lethargy and inexpressible thoughts. I figured it was worth a shot if that was as bad as it could get.
It took many years for me to become regulated. I tried just about every medication out there and finally was put on lithium. During my journey through the world of medication I began to write. I noticed that for the first time in my life I could put on paper what I was thinking. I could find a way to express myself that was similar to what was going on in my head. Never in my life had I ever had such an experience. I have discovered that using headphones help me to contain my thoughts but the lithium definitely helps create a long lasting tunnel for me to move everything through to fruition. I don’t think that mania and depression helped me be creative. I think they just deployed the creative juices in force. Sometimes that was an almost out of body experience and sometimes it was like a stampede. Now I have some semblance of control over what is going on and can be productive over a longer period of time.
I have heard people who do not have mental illness criticize medication, saying that it’s not a good idea to take a pill. I understand their good intentions but insanity is not something I choose over life experience. I think that medication is quite helpful but it depends on what you are looking for. It has taken me a long time but I think I know now what I am looking for. I am looking for balance between the creativity and madness within and the desire to have a life, to be able to be married, have a family, and have a career. I would take smaller bites of it all rather than a big bite of creative insanity. I believe medication can provide that and at the end of the day, I will sit down at my computer and pour out every inspiration because I still have creativity.

References
Jamison, K.R. (1993). Touched with fire. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Mondimore, F.M. (1999). Bipolar disorder: A guide for patients and families.
Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.