I'm sorry. I don't see how I was being hostile or throwing around personal insults. I was responding to the original post stating that every field of professionals has some belief that they are unique in some sort of mental capacity. There is [a] high drug abuse/alcoholism/divorce rate/mental incapacitation/suicide/etc. amongst doctors/lawyers/chefs/writers/bricklayers/au pairs/etc. Ginger is spot on in this response. Also, the pronoun 'you' can be utilized to address a group of people collectively. In this case, that group of people would be people in general.
Couldn't you just let agree with me? Now I have to go through the work of writing this reply. Do you know how lazy I am? Maybe mental illness wasn't the right word but no matter. Everyone has psychological issues or quirks then. If there is a person who doesn't then I'll be surprised.
I wasn't referring to your point nor with your right to state it--I was talking about the way you said it: "...I hate to say it (I don't really); you are not special; you do not wield some unique mental disorder that allows you to tap into the darkness of man that gives you greater ability to achieve higher esteem in the field of [insert field of specialty here]..." Seems rather...I don't know...a little too happy to have an opportunity for the venting. And, this bit: "you are not special; you do not wield some unique mental disorder that allows you to tap into the darkness of man that gives you greater ability to achieve higher esteem in the field of [insert field of specialty here]..." This does beg the question of whether this applies to yourself as well.
Yawn @ pseudo-psycholanalysis That line was directed at all of us. Yes, we all have special unique skill sets and/or physical attributes that allow us to excel over others in particular arenas. No, that does not make you or your cohorts Bruce Wayne. Oh my god! Hemingway and Faulkner were drunks. All great writers must be alcoholics Oh my god! Tesla was crazier than hell! All great scientists must be crazy! Did you see the movie Wall-Street! Stockbrokers must have an innate love of cocaine! The only person I've ever known to kill somebody was a model train enthusiast. Psychopathy must run high amongst those weirdos.
Very thoughtful and wise G. Coffee...But wondered if you would do me a favor? Change your aviator, I'm afraid of dragons. Especially the ones that blow fire then eat their dinner as it screams in burning pain.
Browsing the older posts in this thread, a thought occurred to me: pedophilia is a psychiatric disorder ("mental illness") and while the norms were different back then, Poe married his 13yo cousin when he was 27. If you believe he went without having sex with her for 3-4 years while being married to her, he wouldn't be a pedo by most countries' standards, but if they did "consummate their marriage" on their wedding night... well, a 27yo who's turned on by a 13yo has to have something more than just a character quirk. Virginia's age was falcified in the marriage certificate so that she was supposedly 21 at the time of the marriage because younger than that was underage back then. "Different times" is one way to reationalize it, but wasn't the common age for girls to marry 16-19 or some such back then? If that is the case, 13 was exceptionally young even in their time. Of course some say Virginia died a virgin, some that they did wait until she was 16 before they had sex, some even that Poe wasn't sexually interested in women, but the basic premise is still... strange. And yes, I'm just thinking "out loud."
To the naysayers, clearly you have not met many geniuses... I'm talking Putnam fellows, potential future Fields medalists, the John Nash equivalents. Not all, but many, are a far cry from normal.
Not arguing against your point as such, but being a far cry from normal does not necessarily equal mental illness where the psychiatric disorder is bad enough to qualify as an illness, i.e. it seriously hinders one's everyday life in one form or another. Merely being eccentric doesn't really cut it.
Let's see if I can comment without taking a beer stein to the head... I don't care if there is a connection or not, if a majority of writers suffer mental illness or not. That's really not germane to the topic. There are enough examples of deeply depressed individuals and individuals with substance abuse issues who manage to find publishers for their work written under the influence of the aforementioned. The answer is simple: If you've been through some shit, writing about that shit is going to come with more ease than for someone who has not been through that shit. How do you write about pain if your life has been charmed? How do you know the emotional assault of being cheated on if you've never caught your man with his exposed ass in the air, some nameless random underneath him? What do you know of death if you've never even lost a pet?
There is plenty of evidence that says writers suffer no more than any other group from mental illness. (This thread has gone full circle)
nope, i myself for quite some while was addicted to energy drinks and ready to commit suicide it got so bad, writing was one of the few things that stopped me from going there
Ya know... I haven't heard of any study on the frequency of mental illness among Writing Bulletin Board members.
Can we please keep the tone civil here? I know this is a hot topic, and I was pleased that it got to six pages without devolving into a flamewar, but it's getting a little close to that now. The comment about mental illness among Writing Bulletin Board members is getting close to the line.
I cannot account for all writers but I can account for myself. I'm not too bad but I've spent time on the streets. When I was enrolled in school I got in the habit of playing hooky for days by myself. I got expelled from 2 schools and suspended a lot. I've pushed away all my IRL friends and only talk to one of them occasionally online. The rest have forgetten me, ignore me, avoid me... and I just feel like everyone has moved on but me. I've attempted suicide 3 times. I'm diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar and got tired of therapists labeling me an addict. The things I've found to work I have stuck with. I've binged for days and days on certain obscure drugs. I carry on conversations with myself in and out of my head which is often how I write fiction and make my way through my trials and tribulations. Apologies, if I seem as if I'm just listing off things like I'm bragging. I don't like when I get depressive one bit. I like being manic, but it always ends in minor tragedies. I don't think I'm as bad as I was, but do still have trouble controlling my actions, thoughts, and words.
Thank you for sharing that. I grew up in a time when the hardcore psychiatric bullshit young people have to go through now was still in its infancy. I reckon I slipped under the radar. As I'm always quoting to me, myself and I: "It is no measure of sanity to be able to function in an insane world." Some Indian philosopher wrote that, can't remember his name. In so-called primitive cultures, people with unusual perceptions of reality were respected as visionaries. Now they're dosed up on ssri's and told to shut up. If you worry sometimes about being a bit mad, think about the poor buggers breaking their backs working two jobs to honour mortgage plans designed to keep them paying until they're dead, or as near as. Now that is SERIOUSLY nuts.
Yeah, I'm not very withholding with my stories. That's a good quote. The world we've built is quite wonky, wacky, and literally wacky. Insanity. Chased by the smack of reality, and crazies be likeMacguyver at escaping up out of it. Never thought of the "visionary" thing. Man, houses are built and left vacant, but you gotta pay for 'em !? WTF is that?
'The System,' for want of a better name, rewards or punishes you based upon your ability to make money. That is, until you reach the very top (politicians,royalty, etc). Then 'The System' starts rewarding you based upon how many people you are able to control and willing to kill.
