Link between artist and depression?

[mtw]

(article) (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021109/hl_nm/art_images_dc_1)

Some researchers are thinking that there is a connection between people being artists or educated in art and being depressed about your body. I don't think that's true for me. How does everyone else here feel?

EDIT: the article did mention that there is a possibility of it being the other way around, feeling bad about your body and then choosing art. That could fit me because I have a birth defect on my chest that's quite noticable when I don't have anything covering it. I'll ask some others who have the same thing about their career choices.

[Ochre Face]

hehe.. i never grew out of those awkward years...

but i don't think that has anything to do with my choice

on another slightly different note, i think there's this romanticized image of the tortured artist... perhaps it implies a kind of twisted burning passion:beer:

jeremy

[amphex]

All I know is that Im in love with all kinds of art, and Im constantly depressed.
But it doesnt seem to me that theyre related..Im depressed because I have no friends.

[amphex]

and im 15..so i dont really count =\

[Dark_Crystal]

I've also got a defect in my chest(pectus excavatum or something). I have loved drawing for as long as I can remember and before the problems with my chest started to show. so I don't know if they are related

[Lono]

i have a strange patch of body hare on my stomach.. it makes me sad. :p


i think my personal likings to the art is genetic,, due to the fact that my dad is an artist,, my mom is an artist,, and my only brother is an artist. all good too.. my parents never put my brother and me in daycare when we were young.. they took us to work with them every morning. so we sat around there art studio every day with nothing better to do than fiddle around with art supplys. i guess that helped nudge me in the direction aswell.


i do believe that those who create art are generally somewhat passionate and expressive people who will try to push there ability to interpritate and articulate as far as they can in the general persuit of Quality,,""yah, weve all read that book""..
but in order for a person to really blossom in this direction he/she has to have a certian level of sensitivity..

i feel like my sensitivity and perspective has opened my eyes to SO much that most people wouldnt care to notice, and this in tern gives me a very deep appreciation for living and who i am... but,,,, once youve open your eyes this wide you will find it difficult to sell yourself those little lies that once gave you comfort and helped you span time. this is where my form of depression comes from.
creation and destruction go hand in hand but they have to balance out. sometimes i worry that ive destroyed too much and not created enough.
balance is very important. thats what im trying to learn at this point in my life.

but hey,, theres no time now for us to worry about our bodys, because they will be underground and of no use to anyone sooner than we think... seriously.

-Lono

[Lono]

oh,, and by the way... i propose that every one of these Statistical "Stiudies" or "findings" are 99 percent of the time, complete horse shit.. how these jackoffs get funding beats me. these things are about as founded in science as my horoscope.

every damn week some team of boners rounds up a group of heads for some inane sruvey that will get published in a weekly science journal,,,, and people will eat it up and move on.

(next week) "New breakthrough Study Suggests,, gay people are from space."


-Lono

[amphex]

rofl lono =P

[cotron]

i've got a quite a few more tattoos than your average joe...but i don't hate my body...i think art has benefitted my being, both physically & emotionally. it's true that many artists are prone to depression, and the cause of this could be the fact that artists pay attention to the world around them. the world sucks a whole lot sometimes, and the more sensitive you are to it, the mroe it bothers you. the smarter and more sensitive you are, the more you tend to see how the negatives can greatly outweigh the positives. but, we try to counteract this negativity with beauty and images we take pride in.

who knows what i'm writing, I'm so tired....definitely strayed off topic. blarf

[Clodhopper]

life sucks right now but its a good thing i have my drawing pad to keep me going. I think that when life gets depressing that being creative is most "undepressing" for me. So i guess that article describes me in a way...but it has nothing to do with my body. I'm 6'8" fer christs sake.

[tyboogie]

to be an artist is to spend countless hours alone with yourself--this seperation from society on a daily basis can result in introspection to the nth degree and we get depressed, but being an artist is a gift. thank about all the times youve shown non artistic people your work and they just light up, and wishing they had an outlet for their thoughts, emotions. bring on the sensitivity, depression, passion, visions, being a creative human being on this planet is the greatest gift on earth

[Lightscreek]

My life itself seems to be full of turmoil, but art is very therapeutic for me... if anything, art brings the joy into my life that it otherwise would have been void of.

Then again, I'm one of the only people who loves to be alone... being around people actually makes me feel edgy!

But yes, art is the greatest gift... it is intangible... like the concept of 'soul' or 'spirit'. We're a pretty lucky lot to be blessed with such a thing!

[bOne]

A depressed artist can't be open on all over the world, he will do the same thing ever and ever, and will never evolve.

So I think that the depression could be the motor of the beginning of a career, but at a certain point, the artist has 2 possibilities :

- His art will liberate his feelings, and his soul, and "cure" his depression. He will live enterily his art, share it to the world.

- Or it has no effect on him, his art will consume his soul, and his life. But I don't mean that for a short time he could not do amazing stuff, unseen before. Because we find our way, inside ourself.

Even if for me I think that its easier doing stuff for youself only, regardless of the rest of the world.

It's more complicated to do things that touch other people.

[runes]

i love myself.

[Patton Art]

hmmm... well...
when I was in high school (i'm only 18, been out of school for 6 months) i wasn't exactly.... happy... about my looks. I had acne before. In 9th grade I was one of the dirty kids, though I didn't mean to be, and I DID shower! heh. I wore wrestling shirts all the time, my hair looked bad, and I had acne. Now, my brother was mr popular #1 wide reciever in the conference, etc etc. I can remember walking by some of the "hott" girls and them going "eewwww," or, one girl that I liked said "your brother is SO hot.... what happened to you?"
But I worked out to improve my body since then... but that didn't help the acne. I eventually got on accutane (a "cure" for acne... harsh stuff though) and cleared up just this summer, right after I graduated.
Weird thing is, I have those "hot" girls comin up and hittin on me now. Dumb girls... they wouldn't even talk to me 2 years ago. Oh well though.
But yeah, you could say that I do have that depression link. I had a bad childhood and all that. I'm feelin better about myself though: got the ZITS taken care of... now I just gotta get rid of those extra few pounds of fat to get ripped, and then get my muscle back (used to have muscles under my fat, until I quit lifting a year ago. then it was just all fat). SOOO after that I'll be happy about my looks... I hope. heh.

[bOne]

most of the greatest artists don't look like brad pitt...
They usually don't know many people, they live in a house far from big cities.

We don't live in a beautiful world where all the nice peple love each other.

I think even if you're the most beautiful and intelligent guy, there will always be someone who will talk behind your back, and pretty girls who will never like you...

The most important is to find some friends who think like you, to share great moments regardless of what others think.

[bfaubion]

im not really depressed about my body. usually get depressed about how screwed up things are... all because of people in general. i can take a look at the trees driving down the street and totally be inspired it, i can look at a waterdrop and it amazes me. then i look at what people do and i wonder why. i just think im a very observative person, so i tend to look at things and events and analyze them, and question...i've seen a lot of problems and worries grow smaller and smaller in my life, but i still get depressed... its cause i sit inside too much. there is a time when you need to take a break from art... i think that time is now for me, unfortunately im in art school now.. and that kind of sucks. its like being fed with a hose when im already full in the belly. I NEED A BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!RRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGH HHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW. i agree with with LONO, about it opening your perspective on things.... it makes you realize a majority of things and goals out world is based around are just kind of... pointless. so your like, ok... whats next. and now im going to pick up my guitar.