Depression, does it stop creativity?

Pocs

Pocs

Legacy Member
At times I do find myself in a depressed state. My creativity doesn't seem to fall to the waste side though. I find my work tends to be more obscure and dark though. After I have come out of my bouts of depression, I tend to go back and edit my work. To make it more of the real me creation.
 
Depression does stop my creativity. It is like an enrgy drain and I seemed to be blocked from my creative inspiration. I don't allow myself to stay depressed for long. I think of all the things I have to be grateful for - which are numerous - and I think of those who are less fortunate than me. I also find things to make me laugh. This increases my energy and allows me to become creative again.
 
I agree that depression can have an effect on your creative side. When you're depressed and feel a lack of energy and motivation, it can be hard to get up out of bed and start pursuing your creative outlet.
 
I think it does. When you're legitimately depressed you lack the desire to do anything. If you honestly have the strength to be creative and apply that creativity, you are not actually depressed. Even if your creativity expresses sadness, that just means you are sad, not depressed.

Depression is not the same thing as simply feeling bad or having no energy.
 
I was most creative when I was depressed. I used to be able to write poems, albeit they were all depressing. When I got over my depression, slowly, the poems disappeared. It seems like a high price to pay but at least I'm not depressed anymore. I can still write, although they're not poems, but well, I am perfectly happy without them. :D
 
Pocs said:
At times I do find myself in a depressed state. My creativity doesn't seem to fall to the waste side though. I find my work tends to be more obscure and dark though. After I have come out of my bouts of depression, I tend to go back and edit my work. To make it more of the real me creation.
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It really just depends on the person and reason they are depressed I guess. I have PTSD, so I have anxiety and depression with it. And when I am really depressed it is hard to function. But if I am just a little than I make sure I do things to keep me going and I try to be creative.
 
For me, depression greatly hindered my creativity. Not so much when it came to music, I'm an instrumentalist but not a songwriter, but definitely when it came to poetry. My poetry had always been honest and genuine, I wrote off of my emotions. I went through a difficult grieving process, I was very depressed for a long time. I stopped writing because my emotions were so tied to this event and it was simply too painful for me to face. I'm in a better place now and I'd love to return to writing, but the thought of having to possibly open that wound again scares me.
 
I totally think depression inhibits your creativity. When I get depressed, I cant think outside the box. Also I end up dwelling on the depression rather than trying to engage in art. I have seen some beautiful work my artists in their depression and its amazing to me that they can express those feelings through art. Especially when guys like me are just trying to roll out of bed and face the day.
 
I think it makes it harder to express one's creativity, but doesn't necessarily inhibit it. A lot of famous artists have been depressed (see Vincent Van Gogh), and it seems to have actually amplified their creativity. It's probably different for each individual, though. I know that depression can be a very serious thing that absolutely drains the life out of you, so it's only natural that you feel less creative. I don't get depressed so much as lethargic, and that has quite the impact on my creativity, unfortunately.
 
It's 50/50 and varies really. Sometimes depression can hit so bad that you're just drained. Emotionally and physically. You can't think and concentrate, you feel lazy and sluggish... sloppy in your work. Really gets to you. Other times it motivates you. If you're in that angry/depression state. You can really let out frustration in works and make something really impressive that you didn't think you could pull off while feeling the way you do. It just depends on the person and how your mood is.
 
I honestly do think it does, up to a certain point. Depression occupies your mind and is a difficult thing to live with, so trying to do the things that you did before depression kicked in can be extremely hard.

On the other hand, a lot of famous artists created their masterpieces while suffering from depression. It may not completely stop your creativity, but I'm certain it modifies it greatly, maybe making your art take a turn towards the darker side of life.
 
It can hinder it but I personally belief creativity can help you overcome depression. By taking control and creating something out of creativity it will benefit your mood, I am not sure how and why exactly but that is just my personal belief.
 
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/05/28/3767964.htm#.UaSF10A3CuJ

I think that this supports the view that depression reduces creativity to some extent. There is a physiological and neurological basis to indicate that depressed brains are less reactive and plastic, and are less able to adapt to the environment. I feel that the ability to adapt and change is integral to creativity, so I do believe that depression can reduce creativity, although it is a very subjective topic and varies according to the individual.
 
I don't think it stops creativity, exactly...if anything it just zaps away your will to create. You might be just as brilliantly thoughtful as before, you just can't muster the energy to put a pen to paper. Once you force yourself to get started, though, working can really help your state of mind.
 
I think it very much depends upon how you personally experience depression. For me, I know that there would be no chance that I could be creative. I am a writer, and depression just brings a cloud over me meaning that I'm not able to write anything. However, I have a friend who has depression who uses painting as a way to help himself, and I know that he would say that his depression has caused him to be more creative than he would have been in the past. So everyone is different, it would seem. It is also interesting to look at bi-polar depression, as there are many records of people being incredibly creative whilst at a "high" point. This is interesting, though I know that you meant uni-polar depression from your post.
 
When I'm depressed, I just want to sleep. I don't want to write music, I don't want to listen to music, I don't want to write or draw. I don't even want to think. When depression hits me, it hits me rather hard. Fortunately, these occurrences are few and far between. But yeah, depression most certainly stifles my creativity...
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3356869/

I just want to say first of all that I love PubMed and would recommend it for questions like this! It has ample amounts of articles that can bring light to some of our inquiries. The link to the article I posted above is one where the relationship between depression and high intellectual potential is investigated, specifically in children. So if you have the time to take a look at it, please do! As I digress, I do believe that depression can impeded an individual's creativity because there is an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters may be crucial to the creativity of a person especially since depression decreases a person's motivation. However, some may counter that argument by saying that it may heighten the creativity of a person because they are "inspired" to create an artistic piece of work in order to express their inherent sadness.
 
It depends on your state, I think? For me, sometimes I'm so depressed that I honestly can't get out of bed and can't make my brain function properly, hence my creativity is diminished. But sometimes, the morbid thoughts in my brain allow me to write beautiful prose, which is helpful.
 
Pocs said:
At times I do find myself in a depressed state. My creativity doesn't seem to fall to the waste side though. I find my work tends to be more obscure and dark though. After I have come out of my bouts of depression, I tend to go back and edit my work. To make it more of the real me creation.
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Note there are many creative people who don't have depression (or at least it doesn't seem so). I guess a sensible person needs to channel their feelings, to express them in a way that makes him/feel feel good again. Creativity works as their escape route hence as soon as they have a "door" in their lives allowing them to alleviate their melancholy they simply abandon their "creative gift" since no more escape is needed.

Depression and creativity are related differently in each individual. In some, it is the spark that ignites the creative system (even if the product is dark, it is still a creative product). In other cases, depression is the stop switch. It depends on the situation and it should be treated and considered on a case by case basis.
 
I don't think it stops it, but I do think that day dreaming about things that have came from the feeling of being depressed do. I don't want to say that I'm not creative even if I'm depressed because I have control over my emotions. I learned over time that I can't let how I'm feeling in the moment effect what I'm trying to do.
 
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