The idea that great artists are stimulated by drugs and alcohol is a "dangerous myth," a psychiatrist said yesterday.
Vincent van Gogh and his problems have recently featured in the popular TV series Dr Who – but he was just one of generations of artists, writers and musicians hooked on strong alcohol or drugs.
But according to Dr Iain Smith, from the Gartnavel Royal Hospital, Glasgow, the addiction problems merely masked the mood swings and emotional problems faced by these artists.
Dr Smith told fellow psychiatrists creativity was linked to being emotional – and that often this led to creative people turning to drugs and alcohol to cope.
He said that many artists were most creative when they were sober.
He said: "The idea that drugs and alcohol give artists unique insights and powerful experiences is an illusion. When you try and capture the experiences, they are often nonsense."
* Meanwhile another expert told the conference that psychiatrists have found the source of wisdom – and it is in elderly people.
Professor Dilip Jeste, of the University of California, San Diego, has studied more than 3,000 elderly people and concluded that wisdom may be "hard-wired" in human beings to help extend lifespan.
Elderly people are "less impulsive" and less controlled by emotion – as they rely less on the chemical dopamine in the brain, he said.
His studies also show people can become "sharper" and develop new skills, such as juggling, in old age.
He said: "The fact that older people are slower to respond than younger people is widely seen as a disadvantage. But that’s not always the case.
"Older people also less likely to respond thoughtlessly to negative emotional stimuli because their brains have slowed down compared to younger people. This, in fact is what we call wisdom."
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