3.4.7 Creativity, Imagination and Trauma

I remember learning a poem in school by a man named John Dryden, one line of which was ‘Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide’. 

Our English teacher gave us many examples of geniuses, giants of literature, art, sport, music, etc. that were addicted to drugs or drink, or thought to be mad, or perhaps died young, or committed suicide, or found it difficult to handle ordinary life.

He seemed to have an interest in why highly intelligent and gifted people appeared to be vulnerable to addiction, emotional frailty and mental illness – and so did we.  And with Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and others we had loads of contemporary examples from the world of pop music, in whom we were fascinated – in a kind of teenage morbidity. And if you are a younger person reading this I am sure that, sadly, you have examples from today’s world!

As I grew older I loved watching films and documentaries about great geniuses that had serious personal problems and found life very difficult.  One night I was watching such a film with a friend after which, as we were walking home, he said to me ‘You know you’re better off to be thick’!

And it’s true, there is a certain safety in not being that bright, or talented, or gifted.

The gifted genius is very often misunderstood as an infant, toddler or child, and because of that her world may become unsafe.  Her unwillingness to be compliant and fit into a box ordained for her by society in general (parents, school, social networks etc.) is sometimes seen as a problem to be corrected rather than an asset to be affirmed and nurtured.

The sensible ones may hide their gifts for some time in mainstream society’s institutions, lest they be thought to be different.  Their talents and gifts may lie dormant until they find a time and an accepting environment, and on release, they may then prosper.

Perhaps these are people who have what is nowadays known as emotional intelligence. (This term was – to the best of my knowledge – coined by Daniel Goleman. It is the title of a 1995 book written by him which is well worth reading). But in others their great talents and gifts are accompanied by a stubborn personality which refuses to be bowed by the conventional norms of society.

Before I knew anything about trauma, dissociation or narcissism, I intuited that many gifted children struggled because their gifts may have been misunderstood by their parents and/or teachers who tried to correct them, and so they suffered quite a lot when young.

As a young man I knew many other young men and women around my own age who (I sensed) drank more than was good for them, (even when the rest of us were sick of it) and/or kept going in and out of disastrous relationships – but who were also very gifted in different ways.

Now, working with people who go to prison (and their families), I know of many who have great gifts and talents but also tend to have problems with misuse of drugs and alcohol and have difficulty sustaining relationships.

Well, if you have stuck with me till now you will probably have guessed that I am the type of person that, if I am interested in something, I’ll try and find out as much as possible about it.

And you are right.

I became almost obsessed with trying to figure out how the great talents of very hurt people could be harnessed to firstly (and primarily) help themselves, and then help others – if – of course, they were interested in doing so.

I have often wondered if, for example, Myles na gCopaleen had gone to a Rehabilitation Centre and, after some weeks of addiction counselling, emerged sober, temperate and clear-headed would he have continued to write great stories or would his writing have descended into mediocrity and blandness.

Or if Vincent Van Gogh had gone to a number of counselling sessions and recovered from the emotional trauma that caused him to choose suicide, would his art have ended up wishy-washy and dull.

Obviously we will never know the answer to those questions but I have always intuited that if Myles or Vincent (and others like them) had experienced wellness and emotional growth and their unique characteristics were honoured and affirmed, they would not have lost the abilities for which they became famous.

I totally accept that their work was indeed a response to their emotional upset-ness, but I also believe that they were born with the innate talents necessary to produce the work in the first place.

There exists a phenomenon that psychologists now call post traumatic growth.

This proposes that pain and trauma in early years can be harnessed so that we develop a deeper appreciation of our innate talents and in particular our spirituality and creativity.  (Of course, high levels of appreciation of spirituality and creativity are also available to those who don’t suffer pain and trauma).

But if we do suffer a lot we may restrict themselves in our ambition – perhaps not considering ourselves worthy or deserving of that which many others take for granted.  Seeing new possibilities and grasping them, and believing that they are attainable and deserved, is a very exciting phase of one’s life for a person who has suffered from restriction of their ambitions.  And anyone who experiences it will testify to that.

Seeing the world with different eyes is different to continually seeking out new worlds!  It is also far more exciting and, at least, is often within reach whereas the new world may be an illusion.

For example, we might like woodwork, or music, or cookery, but might hide the fact that we do, because – due to many decades living with the tyranny of comparison – we consider our work to be sub-standard.  However, after some time, self-exploration, support etc. (and our growing appreciation of spirituality and creativity) we become free from harsh judgement of self and liberated from the critical gaze of the other. We may then stop worrying about whether or not our work is good and instead simply enjoy it.  Obviously, if we enjoy doing something we’ll do it better, so in such a case the quality of our finished product may improve also.

Now, imagine if, instead of the above, we say helping others.

Many people (including myself) find it helpful to self to help others.  As with woodwork, music, cookery or horse-trading, when fear is taken out of it, it becomes a little easier.  (Well – I’m not sure about the horse trading).

While one of the big fears of woodwork is that it won’t be finished to a high enough standard, or with cookery we might give someone a sick tummy, one of the big fears of helping people is that we will inadvertently harm others by saying the wrong thing or giving the wrong advice etc.  We can also fear that we won’t be liked if we don’t help others – particularly if we have grown up in a family where our role was the caretaker.

In respect of team, all the factors described in the post dissociation in a team can be lessened by ensuring that, in our organisation, practitioners who have chosen to work with families in the Focus Group in an open and inviting manner enjoy their work.

In fact, enjoying the work, and wanting to do it, is a resource in itself – a far, far better resource than merely having a vacancy filled by a functionary!

I propose that being creative always brings positive feelings and offers meaning in our lives. I also believe that it is probably the best antidote to trauma that there is, which is why I devote a full Chapter to the subject in Section Five!

The raw material for creativity is always present – it is the task of the practitioner to allow it to flow and prosper – and to take care at all phases of growth not to inhibit its expression. 

Creativity opens up new possibilities, promotes alternative ways of looking at the world, assists in looking at old problems in a new way, (sometimes called reframing) and encourages people to be at ease with their mind, body and spirit.

When a person who has suffered trauma finds a practitioner who is creative it is like a breath of fresh air.  Immediate change might not be the result of the encounter – the nature of deep trauma, dissociation or narcissism sees to that – but even accepting that the change will not be quick is actually creative in itself.

Sometimes adverse and even harmful experiences can act as a catalyst, or spur, for movement.  It can shake us up and force us to look at what our priorities are.  Courage is needed to reflect on such experiences without going down the old blame game road – and once again this is where the experienced practitioner comes in.

Wisdom, courage, intuition, self-awareness, insight, and indeed discipline are all characteristics that are vital in the project of being creative in turning trauma into growth.

Why do we day-dream, or allow our mind to wander?  (Or indeed, dream at all).

Surely it is not a helpful thing to be doing, evolution-wise.

In order to survive as primitive hunter-gatherers, (or even as advanced hunter-gatherers) living close to nature, and in tune with all its aspects and variations, we needed to be focused, aware of dangerous animals, dangerous or poisonous plants, focused on hunting and finding the best food on a continual basis.

What good was daydreaming?  What advantage did it bring?

I believe that it had (and still has) a vital role in creatively organising our minds – inward reflection – working out problems which are more about invention, more strategic than tactical, and more about enhancing long term sustainability of our species over short term day-by-day survival.

Let us think again about dissociation. Remember we said that if we are in so much danger, and/or are suffering so much that we cannot fight, flee or freeze we dissociate?  This involves taking on a different persona which is very real for us. And while it is important to remember that dissociation is a response to what might be overwhelming threat, daydreaming is also a form of dissociation – a kind of harmless dissociation that we use when we do not need to concentrate deeply on whatever we are doing.

When our mind wanders as we day-dream, it is often using our unconscious to solve problems that, sometimes, we don’t even consciously know we are solving, or, maybe, don’t even know that we have!  Or, consciously, we may day-dream about a scenario, time, place etc. where the problem exists and then we rehearse, in our mind, what we might do or say to improve the situation, i.e. solve the problem.

This, we sometimes refer to as using our imagination.  We imagine a solution which then can become real.

Of course we can also imagine a harmful or abusive solution – filling our head with toxic thoughts – thereby making things worse instead of better.

But I do not call this creativity!