The Creative Brain : Links to Mental Illness?

If you're a psychiatrist, you likely know who Nancy Andreasen is.  For as long as I've been around, she's been one of those big names in psychiatry and someone who leaves you to wonder if she ever sleeps, or if she has a clone, because it's hard to imagine that one human being can accomplish so much.  She has a Ph.D in English literature, and she's a psychiatric researcher who studies schizophrenia, neuroimaging, genomics and schizophrenia, and she directs every organization she belongs to and has won more prizes than I care to mention. She's a former editor of The American Journal of Psychiatry, the Chair of the University of Iowa's department of psychiatry.  In addition, she writes books, and scuba dives.  And yes, she's married with children.  I've heard her speak, and I enjoyed her recent article in The Atlantic, "The Secrets of the Creative Brain" enough that I read it twice so I could share the highlights with Shrink Rap readers.  First, Dr. Andreasen talks about Kurt Vonnegut -- his depression and his strong family history of mental illness.  You may recall that I reviewed his son's book on Shrink Rap, "Just like someone with mental illness only more so."  Vonnegut's mother committed suicide, other family members suffered from mental illness, but they are also a very creative family.  Andreasen notes:For many of my subjects from that first study—all writers associated with the Iowa Writers’ Workshop—mental illness and...
Source: Shrink Rap - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: Source Type: blogs