The Correlation Between Creativity and Mental Illness

We all know that creative people can sometimes have some weird and crazy characteristics. You know...like Michael Jackson with his childish ways; Albert Einstein picking up cigarette buds on the streets to get tobacco for his pipe, or the fact that he  married his cousin; Beethoven's preference for dirty clothes, and his severe anger management issues...and so one. Most of these behaviors could be related to one mental illness or the other. When people hear 'mental illness' they automatically think of the madman on the street, but their are far less severe mental illnesses than that of a madman. You have anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, psychosomatic disorders, substance abuse disorder, personality disorders and a host of other mental illnesses that people overlook, and most of this have been found to be associated with creative people.







Please note that when I say creative people, I am speaking of artists, musicians, writers, inventors, actors...etc. Psychologist, Hans Eysenck asserted that creative genius correlates with a high level of what he called Pyschoticism. Psychotism as he defined it, is a dimension of personality that suggests a susceptibility to psychotic behavior. A person doesn't have to suffer from Schizophrenia or bipolar disorder to exhibit this traits, predisposition is enough.

List of Famous Failures

'Strength is built by one's failures, not by one's successes.' -Nina Simone

There is a misconception out there that geniuses are born and not made; that successful people are specially blessed people and that only specially blessed people can become successful; that rich people are lucky. All these beliefs are not so true. No one was born to be so and so, it is the little things they did (consistently) along the way that made them who they eventually became...The the things that they were exposed to, or what people around them made them believe was a possibility, or their own desires to be somebody that made them who they are.


I have compiled a list of famous people that were once considered failures. A list of people that were written-off and told they couldn't amount to anything, but went on to be famous for their extraordinary achievements.





7. Albert Einstein couldn't talk until he was 4 years old, and didn't read until he was 7. His parents thought he was mentally handicapped, and his teachers told him he would never amount to much. He was eventually expelled from school, and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic school. He had to go to trade school, and after a year, he was able to get into the University. After graduating, he was the only one in his graduating class that couldn't get a teaching job because his professors wouldn't recommend him. He then settled for a job in a Government patent office.

There is no Such Thing as Luck: The Beyonce Story

I cringe when I hear people talk about some individuals as being lucky, and being blessed by God. If people knew what this so-called lucky people had to go through to get where they are, they would understand that there is no such thing as luck. Continuous dedication and hard-work towards a course always pays off in the end, and it appears to the onlooker as luck. I started this series last month to showcase the back-stories of most successful people that the public might not know about. I am not here to speak on the illegal things they did, I know that's what some lazy people want to read about. No, there is no such thing as a secret group called 'Illuminati.'

If you work hard towards a course and believe you are capable of achieving your goal, it might take some time, but you will achieve it at the end. So, this series shows the dedication that most successful people had to put in over the years before they became success stories. Beyonce is one of the most successful musicians of our time, but luck had nothing to do with her long road to stardom.

List of Celebrities Who Attempted Suicicde

'There's this thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end. The fog is like a cage without a key.' - Elizabeth Wurtzel

Yesterday, I brought you a list of famous people who committed suicide. This list today is about celebrities who attempted suicide, but were rescued before they went through with it.









Owen Wilson- Hollywood actor
On August 26, 2007, after having arguments with one of his close friends, he locked himself in his hotel room and tried to kill himself by taking an overdose of sleeping pills and also slitting his wrist at the same time. He was found dazed and bloodied up, and quickly rushed to the nearest hospital, where he recovered.










Frank Sinatra- American musician
This man is who Jay Z fashioned his life to look like, but I am sure he only wanted the achievements of Frank, and not his troubled life. Although very successful, Sinatra lived a life of depression, which later led to a bipolar disorder. He tried to kill himself twice- once by inhaling gas from the kitchen stove in a friend's apartment, and at another time, slashing his own wrists. Twice, he was saved by his friends, who saw him just in time to call for medical help and save his life.







Elton John- British singer
For many years in his early life, he was afraid to come out as a Gay man, so he lived a depressed life as he continued to repress his feelings. At a point, he was engaged to a woman as cover-up for his true sexuality, but he also had a Gay lover on the side. The lover's death led him to try and take his own life, by sticking his head in a gas stove in his apartment. A friend of his, Bernie Taupin found Elton John in time to save his life. He has since then lived his life as an open gay man in Britain.






Eminem- American rapper
He puts all of him in his music, so it has always been evident that Eminem has a lot of internal problems. Sometime in 1996, he tried to kill himself with an overdose of Tylenol. His girlfriend (who later became his wife, then his ex wife, and then his wife, and then his ex-wife again), Kim had just left him, and he was frustrated at not being able to see his daughter, Hailie.








Brigitte Bardot- French actress
She was a famous onscreen sex symbol in the 50s and 60s, who later became an animal welfare activist later in life. In 1960, the then 26 year old actress tried to kill herself by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills, and slitting her wrists at the same time. Fortunately, she recovered. This is what she later said about the incidence- 'I took pills because I didn't want to throw myself off my balcony and know people would photograph me lying dead below.'









Halle Berry- Hollywood actress
After her marriage to David Justice came to an end in 1997, she tried to end her life by Carbon Monoxide poisoning. She said she stopped herself when she thought of how her mother would handle the ordeal.







Elizabeth Taylor- British-American actress
For the record, I think this woman has the most beautiful face I have ever seen in my life- God bless her soul. She passed away in 2011. Sometime in the 60s, she was involved in an adulterous relationship with Richard Burton (actor), and when the relationship had to end because of constant public discrimination, she went into depression, and tried to end her life by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. The two later ended their marriages with their individual partners, and married each-other.








Princess Diana- Princess of Wales (R.I.P)

Although she was always all smiles, and appeared happy to the world, Princess Diana was dealing with depression most part of her adult life. According to a biography about her life published in 1992, the author, Andre Morton disclosed that Diana suffered from Bulimia Nervosa and had attempted suicide 5 times in her life. She once revealed during an interview that she attempted to kill herself by intentionally falling down a stairway when she was pregnant with her first son, William.

List of Famous People That Committed Suicide

With great power always comes great responsibilities; and some times the responsibility of self can be the biggest task of all. There are a lot of people, through history, that have been loved by the masses, for one thing or the other- Whether it was their inventions, or their talents,or  artistic capabilities, or their willingness to fight for the people; most of them won the hearts of the people, but along the line, they lost theirs.



Below is a list of famous people, who, regardless of their remarkable achievements on Earth, took their own lives in the end. Below is a list of famous people that committed suicide.








Alexander McQueen- Accomplished British fashion designer
On the morning of 11th February 2010, his housekeeper found him hanging at his home on Green Street London W1. He was 40 years old. He left a suicide note that read- 'Look after my dogs, sorry, I love you, Lee.'











Kurt Cobain- Lead singer of American Grunge band, Nirvana
In April of 1994, he ended his own life, at age 27, with a shotgun shot to the head.







Marilyn Monroe- Hollywood actress...Sex symbol
Although there was evidence that she died from poisoning, which was recorded as probable suicide, conspiracy theorists have long believed she was murdered. She had a very successful career in the 40s and 50s, and was romantically involved with a lot of the high and mighty in the American society at the time- including the late 53rd President of American, John F Kennedy.




Sigmund Freud- Australian Neurologist, and founding father of psychoanalysis
In 1939, after suffering from the pains of cancer of the mouth for many years, he decided to end his life. And, with the corporation of his doctor, he took a certain dose of Morphine, which helped him pass away quietly.







Michael Alfonso (Mike Awesome)- American Professional Wrestler
On February 17, 2007, a group of his friends found him hanging in his Tampa (Florida) home.










Edwin Armstrong- American inventor of the FM Radio
One sunny afternoon, after years of battling for his FM Radio Patent rights with RCA, he removed the air conditioner from the wall of his 13th floor apartment, and jumped to his death






Don Cornelius- American TV show host, and producer
He was famous for being the creator and host of the nationally syndicated dance/music franchise, Soul Train. At 75, in the early mornings of February 1, 2012, he was found dead in his apartment, from a self-inflicted gunshot would to the dead.






Donny Hathaway- American Jazz musician
He was working at the studio on his second album, when he started acting paranoid, and blabbing jargon. The recording session was halted, and everyone went home. Later in the day, he was found dead on the sidewalk below the window of his 15th floor room in New York's Essex House hotel.











Chris Lighty- American music industry executive and manager
Through his successful career in the music industry, Lighty's artists management company, Violator managed highly accomplished rappers such as Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe and 50 Cent. On August 30, 2012, he was found dead in his Bronx apartment from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the dead.







Vincent Van Gogh- Dutch post-impressionist painter
In the midst of dealing with a life long case of depression, and frequent bouts of mental illness, he managed to create some of the finest pieces of art known to man. At 37, in 1890, he shot himself in the chest and died shortly afterwards.






Lee Thompson Young- American actor
Known for his roles in such movies as, Friday Night Lights and The Famous Jett Jackson...and TV series such as Smallville and Rizzoli & Isles. On August 19, 2013, he was found dead in his apartment from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It was later discovered that he had been receiving treatments for depression and bipolar disorder.