Posted by Suze on March 8, 2001, at 21:54:03
In reply to Lithium,other mood stabilizers and creativity, posted by dreamer on March 8, 2001, at 21:18:50
> Do mood stabilizers impair creativity and dull the imagination?
> I'm a painter and my illness has rendered me disabled[don't go outside~get extreeeeeeeemly irritable can't handle any stress].Thinking of a mood stabiliser combined with my other meds-effexor/reboxetine but afraid of becoming an uncreative zombie .
> Anyone have advise please
***I'm a writer, bi-polar and have been on depakote for just a couple of months now. Like you, I often can't go outside and I deal with a lot of irritability/anxiety. I take ativan only for times when I'm extremely stressed. At times I have felt that the depakote screws me out of my creativity, but that may have been just because my system was getting used to something new. When I first started taking it I couldn't do anything but sleep, so of course writing was out of the question. I discussed this with my pdoc, who decided to put me on a lower dosage during the day and then a higher dose at bedtime. This seems to help. I still crave my mania, but I'm beginning to wonder if maybe it's possible that I'm kidding myself into believing all my talent lies within a manic episode. Who's the artistic being here? Me or the mania? I'm beginning to force myself to write, to discipline myself to do it despite the worry that the meds suck the creativity out of me. What I'm working on via therapy and my own mind is that it's got to be possible to find a happy medium. Because I can't seem to function without the meds, but I would die without my creativity. Ever hear of a book called Finding Flow? You know that state you go into when you're creating something, the one where nothing else exists. Just you and the piece of art you're creating. Well, it's still possible to find that flow, even when you're on meds. I think, if you do opt for meds, what's going to be important is finding the right dose. Do you think maybe exercise might be a better mood stabilizer than meds? I've opted for treadmilling daily rather than adding more meds--and so far, so good. Also, I get a kind of euphoria while treadmilling and I'm starting to get more creative surges, inspirations, as I exercise. Hope this helps. By the way, I was on Prozac on and off for quite awhile and that was horrible. I couldn't seem to get anything done. But then again, I know writers who say it's doubled their productivity. I guess it's a personal kind of thing. Might have everything to do with how determined you are to continue to work.
Best,
Suze
poster:Suze
thread:55963
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55967.html