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What do creativity and Parkinson's
have to do with each other? Must one be intelligent to be creative? Are
mental illnesses and creativity linked? These were questions to which I set
out to find answers. Although I didn’t come up with any definitive answers,
I did discover that I am amazed at the talents seen in people with Parkinson's
(PWP). Not alone in this quest for an answers, I also began wondering if
PWP's creative abilities manifested themselves "before" or "after" their
diagnosis of PD.
Just marvel at the submissions in this issue! The talent and uniqueness of
each one is phenomenal. Is it that many do not work and have more time to
release these bottled-up expressions of our inner selves after PD, or is
there something else relating to our lack of dopamine (or maybe an
over-production of another brain chemical)? I'll leave that to the
researchers! It has been clearly shown in a myriad of cases that writing,
visual arts, and doing something with our hands and minds are therapeutic.
(Do you know of any psychiatric unit that doesn't incorporate occupational
therapy into its programs?) But I think there is more to it that therapy
alone.
After I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I almost had this obsession of
"producing" in an attempt to try to prove that I could beat the disease. And
maybe therein lies the answer to the original question. Do PWP's manifest
their creativity "before" or "after" their diagnosis of PD? Possibly, when
a person is initially diagnosed with a progressive, incurable disease they
kick into a "fight or flight" mode. What I mean is a person either goes
into deep depression and a "Woe is me!" attitude, a simple "Acceptance"
mode, or an "I'll show you!" thinking of how to handle such an occurrence.
It all depends on a trait that comes in this neat little package called
"attitude."
Let's take writing for an example. You’ll find many writing contributions
in this issue. Writing is therapeutic, inexpensive, and can be produced
with little effort. In The Observer - "Easy as ABC" - Jim Pollard
writes, "If it were a drug, this versatile little treatment would surely
have a public profile to match Viagra. Indeed, the lack of a pharmaceutical
company to promote it is perhaps part of the reason why its benefits are so
little known. It's cheaper than any drug - the cost of a pen and paper.
Because the miracle treatment is simply what I am doing right now:
writing." I might add that in the case of PWP's, if the pen and paper
requirement is a physical problem, we have the computer with a variety of
assistive technological capabilities to allow us to produce.
Most PWP are also quite intelligent (or
so I'd like to claim). However, many often suffer from some form of mental
illness (and I'd like to disclaim this!). When I think those in the PD
community, I think of those who are obsessive compulsive, paranoid,
depressed, anxious, among other diagnoses. Could this be due to difficulty
in balancing our dopamine levels accurately and having to be done
synthetically (through the use of mind-altering drugs)? Is the dopaminergic
response to producing something creative involved? Do you recall the
picture of the mad scientist? Maybe he/she suffered from a neurological
illness! In an article called, "Creativity tied to Mental Illness"
(William Cromie - Harvard News), it states, "Scientists have wondered
for a long time why madness and creativity seem linked, particularly in
artists, musicians, and writers," notes Shelley Carson, a Harvard
psychologist . . . "That's exactly what our research is about," Carson
comments. "It shows that, to be creative, you can be bright and crazy, but
not stupid."
Another angle to look at the question
here is this: Are creative people more prone to have Parkinson's? We could
go on indefinitely with possible theories, but one thing I am sure we will
agree upon beyond a shadow of a doubt - there's some awesomely creative work
in this issue of Virtuality!
Additional links:
Biodanza rehab
http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Neurological/toro57.htm
Art for Parkinson's
http://www.artforparkinsons.org.uk/home.html
PD & Therapeutic Writing
http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/033.html
PD & Creativity
http://www.clognition.org/creativity.htm
http://www.creativityexplored.org/news/newsletters/spring_2002/
http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com/product/detail/12138
Pfizer creativity
http://www.pfizer.com/brain/etour5.html
Starting an Art Programme
http://www.artforparkinsons.org.uk/workshops.html
Voices
http://www.geocities.com/doncyberdadmckinley/dedicate.html
Mental Health
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_cult/mentalhealth/genetics.htm
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