Be wary of studies that link mental ill health with creativity or a high IQ | Dr Oliver Joe Robinson

The idea that genius and madness are intertwined is an ancient one. But in truth, in this desperately underfunded field, we don't even have objective tools to diagnose disorders of the mind, let alone back up claims such as this

The idea that highly creative or intelligent individuals are especially vulnerable to mental ill health has been around for a long time. "No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness" is attributed to Aristotle in 350BC, and more recent examples of creative types describing their afflictions with great clarity are not hard to find.

Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest are both achingly vivid portrayals of mental ill health; and both make uncomfortable reading in light of their author's untimely deaths.