The link between creativity and bipolar disorder.

QUESTION The relationship between creativity and mental illness is widely recognized in the medical field, although little research exists under the conditions of a controlled experiment. Studies exploring the facets of the prescribed cognitive function are centered on afflictive illness, specifically bipolar disorder. Consequently, the objective of the present research is to demonstrate the varying levels of creativity displayed by bipolar patients at different stages as compared with a group under the effect of the …

…in the paper, particularly the implication that at the stage of hypomania, the subject will be able to express creative notions to the fullest. Variances of the disorder are classified as "(manic-depression [Bipolar I], cyclothymia, and bipolar disorder not otherwise specified [Bipolar II]) and differ mainly in severity and duration of symptoms" (Weisberg, 1994, p. 361). Although, for purposes of the study, distinguishing subjects is based on the stage they are at, specifically mania, hypomania, or stabilized.