POETRY AND MENTAL ILLNESS

SYLVIA PLATH EFFECT

Sylvia Plath was an iconic American poet who suffered clinical depression for most of her life. After creating a successful career as a poet, she committed suicide at the young age of thirty.

In 2011 James Koufman conducted two studies.

The results were called the Sylvia Plath Effect.

His first study analyzed 1629 writers for mental illness and found that female poets are the most likely to suffer from mental illnesses. They are more likely than any other types of female writers or male writers of any kind.

The second studied woman in a variety of careers and found that, again, female poets were the most common to suffer from mental illnesses.

The results of these studies don't imply the cause of these illnesses. In other words, artistic expression doesn't drive a person's mood.

Psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison found that poets are thirty times more likely to suffer from some form of depressive illness. These poets are also more at risk for suicide or suicidal thoughts.

STATISTICS

• Poets are twenty times more likely to end up in a psychiatric hospital than the general population.
• Writers and artists are thirty more times likely to have bipolar disorder.
• Poets are twenty percent more likely to commit suicide or experience suicidal thoughts.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Bailey, Deborah Smith. "The Sylvia Plath Effect." American Psychological Association. November 2003. Web. 16 December 2015.
• Inglis-Arkell, Esther. "Are you unhappy and a poet?" i09. i09.com. March 2013. Web. 13 December 2015.
• "The secret life of poets." The Sylvia Plath Effect. AP. Australian Poetry. n.d. Web. 9 December 2015.
• Allan, Clare. "Is mental illness an occupational hazard for poets?" Mental Health. The Guardian. 23 March 2009. Web. 7 January 2016.