Magnify Wellness x Inspiration Fine Arts — How Mental Health is Reflected in Art

This blog post is the second of a four-part series collaboration between Inspiration Fine Arts  & Magnify Wellness.  

Written by: Sandhya Maddali and Evelyn Fung

Contributing author/editor: Mikaela Brewer

For as long as art has existed, artists have been using it as a method of self-expression and an outlet for mental health. Research has found a higher prevalence of mental illness among individuals who have pursued a creative career, such as writers, artists, musicians, composers, and those involved with theater, suggesting that people with mental illness may gravitate toward art to express their inner turmoil. Household names in the art world such as Judy Garland, Ludwig van Beethoven, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allen Poe, Virginia Woolf, and Robert Schumann have suffered from Bipolar Disorder. A study conducted by the Karolinska Institute found that writers have a higher risk of suffering from anxiety, schizophrenia, and substance abuse. They concluded that writers were 121% more likely to be bipolar, as well as 50% more likely to commit suicide. Mental illness also affects creativity and heavily impacts artistic expression, which is often visible in an artist’s work.