Your Brain On Chaos: Debunking The Myth Of Tortured Artist
By: Corey Mccomb
Tags: Writing, Psychology, Self, Personal Development, Creativity

It’s no surprise that the words tortured and artist are forever connected. Many of history’s favorite artists are as well-known for their inner turmoil as they are for their work. Jackson Pollock’s paint-drip technique is forever attached to his alcoholism and rage. Sylvia Plath is remembered as the “tormented poet who stuck her head in the oven.” And you can’t say the words tortured artist without Vincent van Gogh coming to mind — a visionary so wracked with paranoia he chopped off his own ear.

The list of artists, writers, and musicians who landed in an early grave is so long and haunting that it’s no wonder people believe suffering is the best fuel for a creative fire. It’s true that a creative practice can help untangle some of the existential dread that comes with existence. However, the notion that turmoil is a prerequisite for being artistic is a pathetic myth.

Our ancient human brains still interpret stress and anxiety as danger. When mental anguish arrives, our stress hormones tell the brain to redirect resources toward basic survival. The limbic system (the part of the brain responsible for creative thinking) slows down and our reptilian default of fight-or-flight takes over. And since our hardwiring hasn’t updated with all the ways of the modern world, these response systems have a hard time distinguishing the difference between a hungry leopard pouncing out of a tree and an angry spouse shouting up the stairs.

Ever notice how your heart beats faster when anxiety arrives? That’s an increase in blood pressure. It’s not there to help you write your screenplay, prepare the presentation, or cook a nice dinner — it’s there to help you outrun the leopard.

Just because creativity is inherently human doesn’t make it a necessity for survival. If the brain is constantly being toggled between fight-or-flight mode, creativity is going to get pushed to the backseat. Self-actualization is at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for a reason. If you don’t know where your next meal is coming from, “staying inspired” isn’t going to register as an evolutionary imperative. If you’re out drinking every night, living the “life of an artist,” when will you have the energy to bring your inspiration to life? Hangovers, emotional roller coasters, physical exhaustion — these are not “tools of the artist.” These are the things that will almost always stand between an artist and their best work.

The filmmaker, David Lynch, says of van Gogh in particular, “People might bring up Vincent van Gogh as an example of a painter who did great work in spite of, or because of his suffering. I like to think that van Gogh would have been even more prolific and even greater if he wasn’t so restricted by the things tormenting him. I don’t think it was pain that made him so great, I think painting brought him whatever happiness he had.”

Slicing off an ear or sticking a head in the oven are dramatic examples. But how often do we stick our head so deep in our work that we forget to breathe? How many hours of tunnel vision does it take before we lose sight of what we’re doing and why we’re doing it? Overwork and burnout torment the mind and restrict great work from being made just as often as these extreme cases of chaos.

We have to ask ourselves: Is our life’s purpose to create things that leave us worn down and weary? Is that what life is asking of us? To become martyrs to our own productivity?

We don’t know how many more beautiful paintings or classic novels the world might have if some of our greatest creatives had been able to outrun their chaos. But I think it’s safe to say that their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, would gladly trade any piece of art for one more day with their favorite artist.