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Medication and creativity

Wed, 06/29/2005 - 22:21

Topic: Medication Issues

Ok, this may sound completely odd, but I think that my medication may be having an effect on my creative ability. I had simple partials for about 1 and 1/2 years b4 my diag. and then was medicated. B4 meds. , my quality of life was lower, but I seemed like I could draw, paint, sculpt, sing, and write with such fluidity. After meds. (Keppra) I can't really see things the same way. I mean untreated, my life was hell, pure and simple. I had fragmented thoughts and my behavior bordered on manic-depressive most of the time. Now that my life has been given back (after meds) I wonder if my brain screw up was what made my artistic side flourish. I mean I can still do all those things, but I don't feel the same way about it, Does anyone understand? My question is, if anyone else has had this experience or is it just a BIG doubt in my confidence?

Sunshine and Daisies,

Cass

Comments

RE: Medication and creativity

Submitted by basilwalker on Thu, 2005-06-30 - 02:09

i while back when i lived in boston there was some sort of study being done between the correlation between TLE and creativity. there was even a group art exibit that was specifically artists with TLE and many pple said they felt the medication affect their art, both adversly and also just a difference in vision(artistic)when i can find it i'll pull out the book and read the artist's bios to see if i can give you any more info. if you couldn't tell i was in the exhibit. it's hard for me to figure out the difference since i've been on the AEDs for so long plus that was close in time to when i got sober(recovering alcoholic/drug addict) and people going through recovery frome addiction talk about the same thing with their art. so i don't have any clear answers for you.-basil

RE: Medication and creativity

Submitted by cannas on Thu, 2005-06-30 - 11:22

I am a painter (and draw) lol, bfa and mfa, taught for a few years, etc. and with the keppra, in fact all the aeds i've used, have a terrible effect on my craft, or my being able to do my craft.What I find specifically is that the keppra makes me instantaneously forget the very last thing I was doing or looking at a second or minute ago. So, if you're drawing or painting something using that second by second or minute by minute accumulated memory, it makes creating very difficult. Combine that with the clumsiness you get, it sucks!When I was misdiagnosed (or partially diagnosed), I was put on an AD. The AD made creating much easier, and made the seizures much worse. Now the seizures are better, and the creating is much harder. And technically, my skill...ugh.I find it impossible to focus.All I can say is that I'm really trying, much harder than before. :o(

RE: Medication and creativity

Submitted by steffles on Tue, 2005-07-26 - 02:47

Cass,You aren't alone!! I was originally diagnosed as bipolar (manic-depressive), even though I was never depressed...always manic. Finally, the docs figured out that it wasn't BP anyway, I was having absence seizures. Since then, they have progressed to include atonics and tonic-clonics...sighHowever, to get ot the point, I would swear since I have been on AEDs, my creative side has sort of gone down the toilet. I'm not really interested in painting, needlework, drawing. If I do attempt it, I am like you...I just don't see things the same way as I used to. I believe that once my (and your) body adjusts to the meds, in time, we will be creative again!Good luck!

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