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Sylvia Plath effect

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100:, female writers were found to be more likely to suffer not only from mood disorders, but also from panic attacks, general anxiety, drug abuse, and eating disorders. The rates of multiple mental disorders were also higher among these writers. Although it was not explored in depth, abuse during childhood (physical or sexual) also loomed as a possible contributor to psychological issues in adulthood. The cumulative 126:
Some critics have argued that because anti-depressants usually take up to three weeks to take effect, her prescription from Horder may not have been of any help. Others say that Plath's American doctor had warned her never again to take the anti-depressant drug prescribed by Horder as it was found to
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scores of subjects, their reported exposure to abuse during childhood, mental difficulties in their mothers, and the combined creativity scores of their parents represented significant predictors of their illnesses. The high rates of certain emotional disorders in female writers suggested a direct
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In one study, 1,629 writers were analyzed for signs of mental illness. Female poets were found to be significantly more likely to experience mental illness than female fiction writers or male writers of any type. Another study extended the analysis to 520 eminent women (poets, fiction writers,
123:(her close friend) felt Plath was at risk of further harm and prescribed her anti-depressants mere days before Plath took her own life. He also visited with her daily and made many attempts to have her admitted to a hospital. Upon her refusal, he made arrangements for a live-in nurse. 50:, Kaufman's work further demonstrated that female poets were more likely to experience mental illness than any other class of writers. In addition, female poets were more likely to be mentally ill than other eminent women, such as politicians, actresses, and artists. 20: 60:
classifying his essay as inaccurate and stated "As I matured and studied more aspects of creativity, I was less thrilled about the Sylvia Plath Effect legacy I made several arguments against the importance of my own work".
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relationship between creativity and psychopathology, but the relationships were not clear-cut. As the results of the predictive analysis indicated, familial and environmental factors also appeared to play a role.
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Although many studies (e.g., Andreasen, 1987; Jamison, 1989; Ludwig, 1995) have demonstrated that creative writers are prone to mental illness, this relationship has not been examined in depth.
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non-fiction writers, visual artists, politicians, and actresses), and again found the poets to be significantly more likely to experience mental illness.
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in her kitchen after putting her head in the oven. She sealed the rooms between the kitchen and her sleeping children with wet towels and cloths.
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Building on the more general research that, from early adolescence through adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to experience
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Andreasen NC (October 1987). "Creativity and mental illness: prevalence rates in writers and their first-degree relatives".
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worsen her depression, but he supposedly prescribed it under a proprietary name which she did not recognize.
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Jamison KR (May 1989). "Mood disorders and patterns of creativity in British writers and artists".
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have spawned many articles in scientific journals, but almost all have been focused on issues of
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Kaufman JC (2011). "The sylvia plath effect: Mental illness in eminent creative writers".
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Ludwig AM (November 1994). "Mental illness and creative activity in female writers".
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Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams: Short Stories, Prose, and Diary Excerpts
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The price of greatness : resolving the creativity and madness controversy
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than other creative writers. The term was coined in 2001 by psychologist
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explanation and have been unsuccessful in dealing directly with the
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In another study performed by the Department of Psychiatry at the
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Phenomenon of poets being more susceptible to mental illness
372:(1808–1855), poet, short-story writer, and translator 312:(1935–1984), novelist, poet, and short-story writer. 366:(1850–1893), short-story writer, novelist, and poet 115:
Sylvia Plath § Final depressive episode and death
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is the phenomenon that poets are more susceptible to
270:(1900–1948), novelist, painter, and playwright 1084: 1045: 1006: 932: 210:(1897–1967), artist, author, and psychologist 342:(1906–1936), novelist and short-story writer 324:(1909–1948), novelist and short-story writer 379:(1844–1900), philosopher, poet and composer 823: 821: 439:(1930–1999), author, poet, and cartoonist 403:(1937–1979), author, poet, and translator 130:Plath, on February 11, 1963, was found dead of 687: 685: 397:(1913–1966), poet and short-story writer 198:(1971–1999), playwright and screenwriter 910: 8: 969:Two Lovers and a Beachcomber by the Real Sea 743:"Sylvia Plath and the depression continuum" 532:Current Directions in Psychological Science 917: 903: 895: 766: 717: 551: 491: 489: 487: 747:Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 473:, a game about poetry and mental illness 445:(1925–2006), novelist and essayist 354:(1905–1983), novelist and essayist 234:(1943–1991), author and translator 162:(1968–2004), author and journalist 43:, who died by suicide at the age of 30. 1075:Superman and Paula Brown's New Snowsuit 483: 56:Kaufman himself wrote an editorial for 1061:Letters Home: Correspondence 1950–1963 156:(1892–1938), poet and playwright 385:(1952–1979), short-story writer 300:(1892–1927), short-story writer 98:University of Kentucky Medical Center 7: 427:(1958–2001), poet and musician 276:(1931–1993), poet and activist 222:(1932–1963), poet and novelist 186:(1860–1935), novelist and poet 306:(1914–1972), poet and scholar 138:List of writers with mental illness 887:American Psychological Association 792:The American Journal of Psychiatry 596:The American Journal of Psychiatry 577:"Going early into that good night" 525:"Gender differences in depression" 510:10.1002/j.2162-6057.2001.tb01220.x 409:(1914–1953), author and poet 391:(1842–1891), author and poet 348:(1914–1965), author and poet 228:(1898–1963), poet and artist 204:(1931–2009), author and poet 14: 498:The Journal of Creative Behavior 119:After several suicide attempts, 828:Feinmann J (16 February 1993). 830:"Rhyme, reason and depression" 698:Europe's Journal of Psychology 643:10.1080/00332747.1989.11024436 58:Europe’s Journal of Psychology 1: 1156:Creativity and mental illness 464:Creativity and mental illness 1015:The Colossus and Other Poems 668:. New York: Guilford Press. 873:Bailey DS (November 2003). 415:(1937–1969), novelist 360:(1914–1948), novelist 1172: 849:Ezard J (18 August 2001). 759:10.1177/014107680309600613 470:Doki Doki Literature Club! 112: 109:Sylvia Plath and her death 875:"The Sylvia Plath effect" 523:Nolen-Hoeksema S (2001). 433:(1981–2013), author 282:(1970–2016), author 132:carbon monoxide poisoning 575:Lee FR (24 April 2004). 184:Charlotte Perkins Gilman 82:manic-depressive illness 804:10.1176/ajp.151.11.1650 710:10.5964/ejop.v13i2.1413 692:Kaufman JC (May 2017). 608:10.1176/ajp.144.10.1288 544:10.1111/1467-8721.00142 318:(1899–1932), poet 258:(1927–1969), poet 252:(1892–1941), poet 246:(1884–1933), poet 240:(1928–1974), poet 216:(1936–1972), poet 192:(1933–1965), poet 180:(1962–1979), poet 174:(1894–1930), poet 168:(1933–1962), poet 741:Cooper B (June 2003). 24: 955:The Munich Mannequins 879:Monitor on Psychology 113:Further information: 22: 990:Mad Girl's Love Song 419:David Foster Wallace 64:Plath's illness and 1130:Sylvia Plath effect 377:Friedrich Nietzsche 328:F. Scott Fitzgerald 298:Ryūnosuke Akutagawa 88:Supporting evidence 29:Sylvia Plath effect 1029:Crossing the Water 1007:Poetry collections 664:Ludwig AM (1995). 413:John Kennedy Toole 383:Breece D'J Pancake 358:Ross Lockridge Jr. 214:Alejandra Pizarnik 25: 1138: 1137: 798:(11): 1650–1656. 675:978-0-89862-839-5 454: 453: 425:Andrew Waterhouse 389:Antero de Quental 364:Guy de Maupassant 310:Richard Brautigan 280:Michelle McNamara 250:Marina Tsvetayeva 208:Christiana Morgan 1163: 1046:Prose and novels 919: 912: 905: 896: 890: 859: 858: 846: 840: 839: 825: 816: 815: 787: 781: 780: 770: 738: 732: 731: 721: 689: 680: 679: 661: 655: 654: 626: 620: 619: 591: 585: 584: 572: 566: 565: 555: 529: 520: 514: 513: 493: 437:Shel Silverstein 395:Delmore Schwartz 370:Gérard de Nerval 340:Robert E. Howard 334:Ernest Hemingway 268:Zelda Fitzgerald 172:Florbela Espanca 154:Alfonsina Storni 143: 74:clinical history 37:James C. Kaufman 1171: 1170: 1166: 1165: 1164: 1162: 1161: 1160: 1141: 1140: 1139: 1134: 1104:Nicholas Hughes 1080: 1041: 1002: 928: 923: 893: 872: 868: 866:Further reading 863: 862: 848: 847: 843: 827: 826: 819: 789: 788: 784: 740: 739: 735: 691: 690: 683: 676: 663: 662: 658: 628: 627: 623: 602:(10): 1288–92. 593: 592: 588: 574: 573: 569: 527: 522: 521: 517: 495: 494: 485: 480: 460: 455: 401:Edward Stachura 352:Arthur Koestler 346:Randall Jarrell 286: 140: 117: 111: 102:psychopathology 90: 17: 12: 11: 5: 1169: 1167: 1159: 1158: 1153: 1143: 1142: 1136: 1135: 1133: 1132: 1127: 1119: 1113: 1107: 1101: 1095: 1088: 1086: 1082: 1081: 1079: 1078: 1071: 1064: 1057: 1049: 1047: 1043: 1042: 1040: 1039: 1032: 1025: 1018: 1010: 1008: 1004: 1003: 1001: 1000: 993: 986: 979: 972: 965: 958: 951: 944: 936: 934: 930: 929: 924: 922: 921: 914: 907: 899: 892: 891: 869: 867: 864: 861: 860: 841: 817: 782: 753:(6): 296–301. 733: 704:(2): 173–177. 681: 674: 656: 621: 586: 581:New York Times 567: 538:(5): 173–176. 515: 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197: 194: 191: 190:Ingrid Jonker 188: 185: 182: 179: 176: 173: 170: 167: 164: 161: 158: 155: 152: 151: 150: 149: 145: 144: 137: 135: 133: 128: 124: 122: 116: 108: 106: 103: 99: 94: 87: 85: 83: 79: 75: 71: 70:psychodynamic 67: 62: 59: 54: 51: 49: 44: 42: 38: 34: 30: 21: 1151:Sylvia Plath 1129: 1121: 1066: 1059: 1054:The Bell Jar 1052: 1036:Winter Trees 1034: 1027: 1020: 1013: 976:Lady Lazarus 926:Sylvia Plath 882: 878: 855:The Guardian 854: 844: 835:The Guardian 833: 795: 791: 785: 750: 746: 736: 701: 697: 665: 659: 634: 630: 624: 599: 595: 589: 580: 570: 535: 531: 518: 504:(1): 37–50. 501: 497: 468: 448: 407:Dylan Thomas 292:Male writers 291: 290: 285: 256:Assia Wevill 220:Sylvia Plath 147: 146: 129: 125: 118: 95: 91: 63: 57: 55: 52: 45: 41:Sylvia Plath 28: 26: 23:Sylvia Plath 1126:(2003 film) 431:Ned Vizzini 375:Allegedly: 322:Osamu Dazai 238:Anne Sexton 202:Alda Merini 166:Elise Cowen 121:John Horder 1145:Categories 1110:Otto Plath 1100:(daughter) 1092:Ted Hughes 631:Psychiatry 478:References 316:Hart Crane 196:Sarah Kane 160:Iris Chang 48:depression 1094:(husband) 78:diagnosis 1118:(mother) 1112:(father) 777:12782699 728:28580020 458:See also 226:Kay Sage 1085:Related 812:7943456 719:5450978 651:2734415 616:3499088 562:1988591 66:suicide 1123:Sylvia 962:Tulips 885:(10). 810:  775:  768:539515 765:  726:  716:  672:  649:  614:  560:  449: 232:Sanmao 1106:(son) 1022:Ariel 983:Ennui 948:Daddy 941:Ariel 933:Poems 889:: 42. 558:S2CID 528:(PDF) 808:PMID 773:PMID 724:PMID 670:ISBN 647:PMID 612:PMID 76:and 27:The 800:doi 796:151 763:PMC 755:doi 714:PMC 706:doi 639:doi 604:doi 600:144 548:hdl 540:doi 506:doi 1147:: 883:32 881:. 877:. 853:. 832:. 820:^ 806:. 794:. 771:. 761:. 751:96 749:. 745:. 722:. 712:. 702:13 700:. 696:. 684:^ 645:. 635:52 633:. 610:. 598:. 579:. 556:. 546:. 536:10 534:. 530:. 502:35 500:. 486:^ 84:. 1077:" 1073:" 999:" 995:" 992:" 988:" 985:" 981:" 978:" 974:" 971:" 967:" 964:" 960:" 957:" 953:" 950:" 946:" 943:" 939:" 918:e 911:t 904:v 857:. 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Index


mental illness
James C. Kaufman
Sylvia Plath
depression
suicide
psychodynamic
clinical history
diagnosis
manic-depressive illness
University of Kentucky Medical Center
psychopathology
Sylvia Plath § Final depressive episode and death
John Horder
carbon monoxide poisoning
Alfonsina Storni
Iris Chang
Elise Cowen
Florbela Espanca
Petya Dubarova
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Ingrid Jonker
Sarah Kane
Alda Merini
Christiana Morgan
Alejandra Pizarnik
Sylvia Plath
Kay Sage
Sanmao
Anne Sexton

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