Articles and blog posts relating to the treatment of bipolar disorder through the creative arts - music, dance and visual and performing arts. Bipolar Support for Creative People with Bipolar Disorder
At times it may be difficult to remain optimistic with a bipolar diagnosis, but glimpses of hope exist if you keep your eyes and ears open. By Christopher Bullard As both an entrepreneur and a touring musician, my twenties provided many moments of privilege. But as I look back, it’s actually a sing-along in...
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After finding himself in a nonfiction writing course shortly after his bipolar diagnosis, one young man discovers the cathartic power of personal narrative. By Vincent Scarpa A month after my first manic episode, I found myself in an undergraduate nonfiction writing workshop. Which was odd, as what I had gone to college to write...
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Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD returns to the topic of how mania, depression and creativity connect in her latest book about the poet Robert Lowell. It’s impossible to summarize the achievements of Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD. Instead, a few highlights: Holder of an endowed professorship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Inspirational role...
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One man’s story about his passion for writing, his fear of medicating his mood, and keeping his creativity By Hakeem R. I tiptoed into the packed, dimly lit performance studio for my first ever spoken word poetry event. My eyes adjusted quickly and my ears opened to a deep, booming voice: “When you and I tango, winter smiles.” Around the...
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My iTunes crashed. Not only that, my CD player is broken. It’s been months since I’ve made a fresh tape. Buzzkill! ‘Fresh’ doesn’t always mean new. It can be something I haven’t heard in ages, like Johnny Cash’s farewell cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “beware of me” anthem, “Hurt.” Everyone has a different tune...
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Director and screenwriter Paul Dalio’s feature film takes a hard and gritty look at love, mania, creative inspiration, and making peace with bipolar. By Stephanie Stephens After Paul Dalio was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he struggled to understand what it meant. Was he irretrievably broken, or should he welcome mania as a gift granting...
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Watch the trailer for the new movie by director and screenwriter, Paul Dalio. His feature film, starring Katie Holmes, takes a hard and gritty look at love, mania, creative inspiration, and making peace with bipolar. This dramedy stars Katie Holmes and Luke Kirby as a couple, both living with bipolar disorder, who meet in a...
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Many people with bipolar disorder are gifted with extraordinary creativity but what happens when the creative well runs dry? By Beth Brownsberger Mader I suddenly thought of this topic while doing my morning yoga sun salutations. I was bending over, palms to the floor, observing through sleepy eyes my dusty area rug, pondering nothing....
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“A tired mind become a shape-shifter Everybody need a mood lifter Everybody need reverse polarity Everybody got mixed feelings About the function and the form Everybody got to deviate from the norm.” Vital Signs Today is a special day. Not only is it my birthday, but I’m also traveling to Toronto, Canada to see my...
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It’s common to do it during the first couple weeks of January. Even the end of January. But I say, humbug to common practice! I say do it any time of the year. You can do it by yourself, with a friend, even in groups. Seriously. I’ve done it all. I particularly like to do...
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