--- title: Yes, Science Shows Creative People Are More Likely to Be Crazy description: But they are not psychopaths canonical: https://time.com/3815253/creative-people-more-likely-crazy/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-13T04:01:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:20:56.399Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Yes, Science Shows Creative People Are More Likely to Be Crazy og:description: But they are not psychopaths og:url: https://time.com/3815253/creative-people-more-likely-crazy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44cc48d6ca188e46/6987ea54cd1bba0ae46f8dde/185762255-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: windmills-sand og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Yes, Science Shows Creative People Are More Likely to Be Crazy twitter:description: But they are not psychopaths twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44cc48d6ca188e46/6987ea54cd1bba0ae46f8dde/185762255-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Yes, Science Shows Creative People Are More Likely to Be Crazy by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Apr 13, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Windmills in the sand at the waters edge Windmills in the sand at the waters edgeGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Apr 13, 2015 4:01 AM UTC Fiction writers are 10 times more likely to be bipolar. In poets it’s _40 times_ more likely. Via [The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547391404/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547391404&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0547391404): --- > “” --- Why bipolar? Research shows [the highs help produce new ideas:](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847677878/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1847677878&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) --- > “” --- What about the lows? Obsessively thinking about things is connected to depression but it’s also [correlated with creativity](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-people-who-dwell-on-their-problems-more-c): --- > “” --- This rumination/perseverance connection is [a double edged sword for creative people](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847677878/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1847677878&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- [ADHD is connected with creativity as well](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847677878/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1847677878&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Should we be afraid of creative people? Are they crazy psychopaths? Quite the opposite. Psychopaths are actually [more prevalent in corporate America](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-there-too-many-psychopaths-in-corporate-a): --- > “” --- **Join over 180,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/07/are-creative-people-more-likely-to-be-crazy/)**_._** Related posts: [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) [The 8 Things The Happiest People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/happiest-people/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3815253/creative-people-more-likely-crazy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3815253/creative-people-more-likely-crazy/"},"headline":"Yes, Science Shows Creative People Are More Likely to Be Crazy","datePublished":"2015-04-13T04:01:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:20:56.399Z","description":"But they are not psychopaths","url":"https://time.com/3815253/creative-people-more-likely-crazy/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44cc48d6ca188e46/6987ea54cd1bba0ae46f8dde/185762255-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44cc48d6ca188e46/6987ea54cd1bba0ae46f8dde/185762255-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"windmills-sand","caption":"windmills-sand","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3815253/creative-people-more-likely-crazy/","name":"Yes, Science Shows Creative People Are More Likely to Be Crazy"}}]}] ```