The stereotype of the mad, creative genius is well established - because it is firmly rooted in reality.

A new study shows that bipolar disorder - e.g. manic depression - is more common among all groups that have artistic or scientific professions, from dancers and photographers to researchers and authors. Even mental patients’ relatives are more likely to have creative professions, according to the researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, who analyzed 1.2 million patients and all their relatives, as far removed as second cousins.

It may mean that the definition of crazy needs a rethink; bad for psychiatrists but maybe better for patients.

Most at risk: book authors. 

What if two people write a book together?  If someone has to be labeled as crazy for writing Science Left Behind, I nominate Dr. Alex Berezow.

Artists, Esp. Authors, Prone to Mental Illness By Ingrid Spilde, Science Nordic