Researchers have long been fascinated by the potential link between creativity and mental health — here's why it seems like visionaries are more at risk

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• Several studies over the years have shown a link between various mental health problems and having a creative brain.
• Many artists and creatives have famously struggled with their mental health.
• Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, and Virginia Woolf all eventually ended their own lives.
• But some psychologists are tentative about reading too much into the connection.
• Rather than one definitely leading to the other, it's probably more valuable to look into the lifestyles of creative people, and what leads them there.

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Psychologists have long been fascinated by the tentative link between mental health and creativity. It's no secret that some of the most famous artists of all time were plagued with delusions and hallucinations, and to this day we see news stories of artists and performers in the public eye struggling with their mental health, and sometimes taking their own lives.

The pattern seems to go back a long way. In 1888, Vincent Van Gogh famously cut off his ear after an argument with his friend Paul Gauguin. He committed suicide two years later in 1890.

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