Writers and depression

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  • #31
    Re: Writers and depression

    I like this question. Off the top of my head, I think good writers have emotional intelligence, general curiosity and intelligence, verbal facility, idea-generating facility, tenacity, and a good balance between the analytical and the creative sides of the brain.

    Originally posted by jonpiper View Post
    I wonder if there aren't traits other than depression and "mental illness" that are more closely associated with successful creative story writing. Intelligence? Personality traits? Other traits or abilities?

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    • #32
      Re: Writers and depression

      Originally posted by Joaneasley View Post
      I like this question. Off the top of my head, I think good writers have emotional intelligence, general curiosity and intelligence, verbal facility, idea-generating facility, tenacity, and a good balance between the analytical and the creative sides of the brain.
      As someone with adult ADD I exploited my condition to make a career for myself writing software. I know its not quite the same as writing a screenplay but there are certain similarities.

      Certain things interest me, and when they do, the world is blocked out as I hyperfocus on the subject at hand.

      Mission control (AKA wife) can get annoyed when she's trying to talk to me and I'm figuring out how many fibers make up a square inch of carpet. That is the downside and it can be quite depressing. Not like a serious clinical depression, but more like feeling bad for myself because I can come accross as apathetic.

      That said, if there was a cure for ADD I wouldn't take it. I can lose myself in an encyclopedia for ten hours at a time. Bliss.

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      • #33
        Re: Writers and depression

        Originally posted by reiverx View Post
        That said, if there was a cure for ADD I wouldn't take it. I can lose myself in an encyclopedia for ten hours at a time. Bliss.
        Are you sure this is ADD you're talking about? I always thought that it meant the opposite: the inability to focus on anything at all (whether it is interesting or not) for long enough to study it. Reading deeply and absorbing information as you describe there doesn't sound like an attention deficit to me...

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        • #34
          Re: Writers and depression

          Originally posted by Cioccolato View Post
          Are you sure this is ADD you're talking about? I always thought that it meant the opposite: the inability to focus on anything at all (whether it is interesting or not) for long enough to study it. Reading deeply and absorbing information as you describe there doesn't sound like an attention deficit to me...
          I know, it sounds counter intuitive. I think that's why it took me so long to figure things out, but I was diagnosed three years ago.

          http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/612.html

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          • #35
            Re: Writers and depression

            Originally posted by jonpiper View Post
            I wonder if there aren't traits other than depression and "mental illness" that are more closely associated with successful creative story writing. Intelligence? Personality traits? Other traits or abilities?
            I've heard (not in any way authoritatively) that a large percentage of writers tend to be introverts--which is not a mental illness or defect any more than being an extrovert is.

            It just sort of makes sense that people who tend to feel more comfortable and get charged up by being by themselves tend to gravitate toward professions, like writing, that allow them to spend a lot of time sitting in a room by themselves.

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            • #36
              Re: Writers and depression

              Originally posted by nmstevens View Post
              I've heard (not in any way authoritatively) that a large percentage of writers tend to be introverts--which is not a mental illness or defect any more than being an extrovert is.

              It just sort of makes sense that people who tend to feel more comfortable and get charged up by being by themselves tend to gravitate toward professions, like writing, that allow them to spend a lot of time sitting in a room by themselves.
              Introverts also tend to be observers and dreamers, two things that lend themselves heavily to fiction.

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              • #37
                Re: Writers and depression

                I am some sort of paradoxical "extro-introvert." I'm somewhat introverted (but not at all antisocial), and enjoy the alone-time/ "dreamtime" as described above, but I also enjoy the company of others a whole lot... when I'm in the mood for that.

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                • #38
                  Re: Writers and depression

                  Originally posted by Liv96 View Post
                  We've all heard that writers tend to have higher rates of depression.
                  They say comics are depressives too.

                  IMO its all a bit cliche and not true.
                  Story Structure 1
                  Story Structure 2
                  Story Structure 3

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                  • #39
                    Re: Writers and depression

                    Originally posted by reiverx View Post
                    I know, it sounds counter intuitive. I think that's why it took me so long to figure things out, but I was diagnosed three years ago.

                    http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/612.html
                    Thanks for this, my son has many of these characteristics and now I'm looking for books about this so I can learn to help him better. He is autistic (very high functioning) but trying to learn to organize himself for school and life has been overwhelming him. He also has hyper focus on a couple of things.
                    writertypepeople.tumblr.com
                    twitter.com/susanlbridges
                    pendantaudio.com

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                    • #40
                      Re: Writers and depression

                      I had my first major depressive episode the summer after I graduated from high school and in the 25 years since, I have been on various medications, seen countless therapists and was hospitalized twice.

                      Everything works - for a while. But it always comes back.

                      I have wasted so many years of my life being depressed. I've lost multiple jobs and even more friends, bankrupted a business, ruined a marriage and deprived my children of a happy childhood.

                      While I vowed never to kill myself (it would be too upsetting to my family), it often takes tremendous effort to keep that promise. Sometimes I'll be driving across an overpass and feel a tremendous urge to steer off the edge. Or I'll be in some building with an atrium and force myself to hug the wall lest I give in to temptation to jump over the railing.

                      I would give just about anything to not feel this way. To not constantly say "I'm sorry" to everyone in my life because once again I've fallen into the hole and can't get out, can't do laundry or buy groceries or get out of bed or talk without bursting into tears. (I'm crying right now, in fact, but I have to pull myself together to go to work in about three minutes.)

                      The point is - depression sucks ass and I really ****ing hate it when people romanticize it.

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                      • #41
                        Re: Writers and depression

                        In answer to the OP, it is my belief that writers are extremely sensitive to the visual, aural, and emotional stimuli they encounter with their family, friends, loved ones, and others in their day-to-day living.

                        So much so are they sensitive, I believe, that they are often labeled as "strange," "weird," or "different" (definitely that), and perhaps therein the stereotype emerges of the "outcast mad genius," the "reclusive introvert," or other such.

                        Some may be depressed, some may be alcoholics, some may be both, but I believe it's the sensitivity -- the hypersensitivity -- that drives them to write. Whether they also drink or smoke or are clinically depressed has aught to do with their sensitive nature, although each instance may vary as to whether or not for them their sensitivity is also a trigger for their particular vice or malady.

                        The Natural-Born Writer takes their cues from many places, real and imagined, and perhaps is more sensitive than most other people to the imperfect and often harsh world in which we live and learn. To contemplate or dwell upon harsh realities could conceivably cause severe depression. There are some things, whether seen, felt, or heard, that can bring one down to their lowest ebb.

                        It's hypersensitivity which the Natural-Born Writer channels into a creative force within themselves, and for that Natural-Born Writer it's through writing a story (in any form) that they attempt to make the world a better place by showing, not telling, something they believe is important for others to know.
                        Last edited by Clint Hill; 02-13-2014, 05:13 PM.
                        “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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                        • #42
                          Re: Writers and depression

                          Writers are people who write, and there are talented writers who are shy, others outgoing, others very sensitive, others callous, etc.

                          You guys are romanticizing it quite a bit, I think. The sensitive, introverted, tortured, substance-user, etc., artist is one of the oldest cliches. Sure, it's true for some, but it's also true for others without any trace of artistic inclinations.

                          The only common traits I can think good writers share are that they are hard workers (dedicated to their craft, that is) and (at least somewhat) intelligent.
                          Last edited by ; 02-14-2014, 05:23 AM. Reason: I had mistakenly written "with" instead of "without", which changed the meaning of my whole argument.

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                          • #43
                            Re: Writers and depression

                            You know who I blame for this romanticization of the depressed writer, the drug addict writer, the loner writer, the alcoholic writer?

                            WRITERS.

                            Writers so often portray fictional writers as tortured souls who must overcome some trauma in order to have a mythologically wonderful burst of creativity... cue montage where the blocked novelist begins manically tapping at the keyboard... his face lights up... it's genius!

                            Bullshit.

                            All bullshit.

                            Yes, writers can be depressed or drunks or drug addicts. So can bankers, janitors, fast food franchisees and house painters.

                            Mental illness is not the special sauce for writing. Mental illness is mental illness.

                            If you are suffering from it, seek treatment. Do not think for even a second that your creativity is married to your misery.

                            It is not.

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                            • #44
                              Re: Writers and depression

                              Also, there will always be the writer whose rote, specialized task in specialized markets will leave them callous, jaded, and cynical, bereft of the sensitivity and emotional balance that once inspired them, much like the effect of the dull tasks given the proverbial factory worker on an assembly line.
                              “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

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                              • #45
                                Re: Writers and depression

                                Another vote for NOT romanticizing depression.

                                Again -- I'm not a doctor. For those who may suffer depression that seems resistant to antidepressants, the following is based on experience with my foster kids.

                                Get an assessment from a professional mental health clinician with a PhD and ask about the possibility of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms mimic all sorts of things like ADD, ADHD, chronic depression, borderline personality disorder.

                                I don't want to diss mental health therapists however I've found those with master-level degrees (and some who have been grandfathered in with social work degrees) are not as experienced in making a proper diagnosis of PTSD.
                                Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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