Um pay attention, not all of it was great quality, even if it was great. It's not like anti-depressants boost cognition that well, or something. For the most part, they just knock you out of homeostasis.

Watch Hannah Gadsby's Netflix special "Nanette." She's got a genius take on this particular subject, especially as it pertains to Van Gogh. Her degree is in Art History, so she's no slouch on the subject of art.

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I'm on antidepressants and they actually have helped me. Having said that, all antidepressants work differently for different people, and even at different times depending on your body chemistry if it changes. In other words, it's not rocket science, so it's very important to be properly monitored by a licensed psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist who really knows their stuff and not just giving them out automatically. The wrong meds and even the wrong dosages can make symptoms worse, and there are different meds/dosages that don't dull the senses.

There are naturally occurring anti-depressants that have been known for centuries.

My antidepressants help me be more creative because otherwise I wouldn't have the motivation to do anything.

It depends on which ones you're taking. There's a reason there are so many--no one medication works the same for all people.

My guess is there are different types of artistic expression, some of which are fueled by dark sentiments like depression and other not. I would question any hypothesis that would put forward that other greats like Da Vinci, Michaelangelo and so many others were depressed and actually would be not surprised that the percentage of clinically depressed recognized artists is actually low.

Try TMG(tri-methyl-glycine). S-adenosyl-methionine is a normal part of your body, and boosting it by consuming the right food supplement doesn't hurt.

Depression is often a symptom. A reaction to life.

For me the antidepressants help my creativeness. Without them I'm too unmotivated to really do anything, to finish anything I start. I've got three books in progress that I haven't touched in months and some in years. I have them planned out but getting down to it is sooooo hard when I'm depressed. Then I also hear that voice "these suck. You'll never be a good writer."

if ssri's were around forever i don't think anything would have ever been done

When I was going through my divorce my now ex finally was convinced to go on meds for his anxiety. Things improved soooo much that we reconciled for a while, until he felt that the meds were stunting his creativity (he is a professional musician). He went off of them, felt back to normal (for him), our marriage went to hell, and the rest is history.

I do think there is a strong correlation with genius and madness, unfortunately.

It goes both ways, I think.

We have drugs that stunt various aspects of humanity now, yes. And even if one could claim that they don't definitively, we definitely will continue to develop them to the point where they can, assuredly.

However... would we have the works of Edgar Allen Poe without alcohol? Would we ever have gotten to read Alice in Wonderland without opium or laudanum? Would bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd been able to write and produce their greatest hits without cocaine and Quaaludes?

It's hard to say.

I'm of the opinion that the more we repress our creativity, the more we'll stagnate culturally. But then again, the more we repress our creativity, the more we'll have people rebel against these things and seek to expand their creativity with mind-altering agents.

So yes. I think if antidepressants were available back then, many suicidal people would be alive, but less creative. But then again, there are always those who would prefer to risk death and be creative.

Excellent question. As they say, genius borders on the side of insanity. Perhaps that's the trade-off. I have highly irregular sleep patterns, sometimes, i barely sleep, but catch-up on the weekends. I think when you stay up for several days, you can hit a zenith of creativity, right when you are at the edge of breaking and boom, you hit some creative magical stride, or you're just insane and don't know it. Either way, definitely something to ponder on.