The Burdens of Geniuses

8/9/2019 The Burdens of Geniuses

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The burdens of geniuses, the fine line between eccentricity

and madness and the weight of addictions

It's a scene we've seen so many times in cartoons, movies and comic books that it has become a

stereotype: the lunatic artist about to finish his masterpiece, the mad professor about to reveal his greatest

creation, the psychotic inventor about to change the course of history Notice how often "madness"

seems to go with creativity, discovery and greatness

!ental illness has always associated with genius, especially in the arts: poetry, music, literature, painting,

theatre and the rest ut why#

$There is in every madman a misunderstood genius whose idea, shining in his head, frightened people, and

for whom delirium was the only solution to the strangulation that life had prepared for him%&ntonin rtaud

$(peech and silence )e feel safer with a madman who talks than with one who cannot open his mouth%&

*mile ! +ioran

$)hat frightens us most in a madman is his sane conversation%&natole rance

!any scientific studies have found links between genius and mental illness, particularly bipolar disorder in

which patients have violent mood swings between elation and depression In one interesting (wedish

study, -..,... (wedes had intelligence tests at age /0 and again /. years later Those who scored well

were four times more likely than the others to have developed bipolar disorder The 1( neurologist 2ames

allon came up with a convincing argument based on his own findings in the field: the brain area involvedin mood swings is the same area where creativity is born This may e3plain why some people can draw

previously unseen connections among ideas, images, shapes and the like These "novelties" that have

never before crossed the human mind can be either bi4arre or beautiful, pleasant or challenging to our

senses & but doesn't that sound like art# I have been ama4ed to find that there is plenty of evidence to

support this theory (chi4ophrenia, a disorder in which hallucinations, delusions and a distorted perception

of reality crowd the mind, can also facilitate new works of art and thought 5elusions and hallucinations can

be doorways to a new world 6or "personal reality"7 that the person can share with others through art: music,

poetry, painting or something else (ome may argue that medical patients who can produce magnificent

works of art or new concepts should be left in that "creative state" for the benefit of mankind There is no

doubt that medications can hinder the creative process as the patient returns to the "normal" world The

best way to think about that 8uestion, in my opinion, is to see it from the point of view of the patient's family

and friends re the fruits of genius really worth the hardship for families# Tensions among friends# !aking

people around the patient feel alienated from society because they must live with a mentally ill individual

whose foibles may cost them the simple pleasure of living normally# )hat if, all day every day, you had to

live in an3iety, even fear, for the individual's life or even your own# nyone who has ever had to care for a


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mentally ill person will tell you that it demands enormous amounts of energy and time, and can be done

only with a mountain of patience and e8uanimity !ost people don't face such situations, but for those who

do it can be devastating It is selfish for anyone to say that others should accept and live in such a calamity

for the sake of art 9f course not everyone who e3cels in creativity is suffering a great mental problem, or

even a small one ar from it !any people who are considered to be geniuses, or otherwise e8uipped with

great intelligence, do not suffer from any kind of mental illness and live their lives without ever needing any

special care or medication These people can e3cel in many ways: ust look at someone who scores well on

)ho )ants to e a !illionaire, or who becomes an inspiring teacher nd of course there are also many

asylums filled with unfortunate souls afflicted with madness but showing no sign of genius (o we cannot

say that mental disorders give birth to genius; the observation of a fre8uent correlation between the two

conditions is ust one little part of our still&developing understanding of how the human mind works


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6and possibly abuse7 drugs are to enhance imagination or awareness, or to self&medicate 2ohnny 5epp,

for e3ample, admits getting drunk to deal with having to go to functions like press appearances: $I guess I

was trying not to feel anything% =e thinks drug use $has less to do with recreation and more to do with the

fact that we need to escape from our brains% +reative people are often highly sensitive to sensory and

emotional input

9ne of my favorite writers also suffered from a terrible addiction, mainly alcoholism and heavy drug use

nd as he put it, he took everything and anything that was available That man?s name is (tephen >ing

(tephen >ing began abusing alcohol when he was si3teen years old =e cites his early childhood

unhappiness as the catalyst for his substance abuse Aater, after >ing had established himself as a number

one writer while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, he feared 8uitting drugs would end his career

)ith the help and support of his family and friends, >ing continues to maintain his sobriety by attending

meetings regularly

Though >ing was drinking in high school, he turned to harder drugs while attending the 1niversity of !aineThere, >ing e3perimented with mariuana, speed, and A(5 =is e3periments with drugs and drinking were

not without conse8uences 2ust before graduation, >ing was arrested for stealing traffic cones during a

night of heavy drinking

efore >ing found professional success as a writer, he and his wife struggled to make ends meet during the

early /D-.s =e balanced working at a laundry mat and teaching high school *nglish while Tabby watched

Naomi and 2oe The stress of having children at a young age and professional dissatisfaction weighed

heavily on >ing during this period >ing says he dealt with his poverty and unhappiness by drinking heavily

It seems by the time >ing did achieve success, his coping mechanisms were firmly in place *ven after

+arrie was a commercial in hit in /D-E, earning enough to l ift the >ing household out of poverty, >ing

continued to abuse drugs riends say that >ing would drink during book signings and that he could finish

eight beers in the time is took anyone else to finish two beers In fact, >ing himself admits he spent most of

the /DF.s so into3icated that he does not remember writing some of his books Tabitha occasionally kicked

>ing out of their home, but >ing was unable to stop abusing drugs for good

5uring the movie premiers of +arrie and The (hining, >ing also indulged in cocaine In an interview with

the 5aily !ail, "(tephen >ing's @eal =orror (tory," >ing recalls that "one snort and cocaine owned me body

and soul it was my on&switch, and it seemed like a really good energising drug" etween cigarettes,

cocaine, and alcohol, >ing was so addicted that he was only straight and coherent a few hours a day =e

snorted so much cocaine that he had to stuff his nose with cotton balls to stop the bleeding >ing even

began drinking mouthwash solely for its alcohol content =owever, even in his darkest hours, >ing

produced the best&selling novel of /DF0, It, as well as the critically acclaimed !isery Though >ing was able

to churn out hit after hit, his life was increasingly ruled by drugs *ventually, in /DFF, Tabitha >ing put an

end to her husband's downward spiral of addiction Tired of seeing her husband passed out beside his own

vomit, >ing's wife took matters into her own hands (he gathered up all of her husband's drugs and staged

an intervention with (tephen's family and friends present )hen he was faced with the physical evidence of


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his drug use, >ing agreed to seek help >ing admits that the recovery process was slow and difficult, but he

has 8uit drugs and alcohol for good Now the only remaining vice in >ing's life is cigarettes +urrently >ing

still smokes three cigarettes a day Though he was able to kick much stronger substances, >ing says that

he is unable to 8uit smoking In his interview with The ing said that he smokes "one

GcigaretteH in the morning, one at night, one in the afternoon I do enoy my cigarettes nd I shouldn't I

know, I know" In the years following his drug addiction, >ing proved to himself that he could still produce

8uality material without the help of drugs The Creen !ile and Aisey's (tory are both e3amples of well&

received books >ing penned without dope, cocaine or boo4e Though >ing found sobriety over twenty

years ago, >ing does not avoid discussing his past in interviews =e continues to go to lcoholics

nonymous regularly to curtail temptations to abuse drugs again >ing believes that with the help of his

wife and the community at he will continue to live alcohol and drug free

(tephen >ing discusses +uo in 9n )riting, referring to it as a novel he "barely remembers writing at all"

The book was written during a period when >ing was drinking heavily (omewhat wistfully, >ing goes on to

say that he likes the book and that he wishes he could remember enoying the good parts as he put them

down on the page

In the end I want to ask you all this, is the price of being a genius worth paying#

Documents

The Burdens of Geniuses