Study reveals link between mental health concerns and creativity

Links between mental health concerns and creativity have been confirmed by a new study.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have conducted the most comprehensive study ever in its field and found that individuals in creative professions are treated more often for mental health concerns than the general population.

It was discovered by the research that artists and scientists were more common among families where bipolar disorder and schizophrenia is present, compared to the population at large. 

Simon Kyaga, consultant in psychiatry and doctoral student at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, claimed that the results of the study could lead to approaches to mental health concerns being reconsidered.

"If one takes the view that certain phenomena associated with the patients illness are beneficial, it opens the way for a new approach to treatment," he said.

Earlier in the month, a study conducted by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and Public Health Ontario showed many people who have mental health concerns are not being given the treatment they need.

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