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Tragic Afflictions and the Mysterious Connection

© Sharon K. West

One of the great mysteries of humanity involves what is known as "tragic afflictions." A tragic affliction can be an accident, disease or mood disorder, anything that brings a life low and its effects play out over time. A promising career is short-circuited or what is hoped for comes to naught, and then a struggle begins with the tragic affliction that thwarts one's destiny.

Scratch the surface of historical personalities, and you will see the mystery of tragic afflictions at work. Each person had something to struggle against, and it is how that person handled their tragic affliction that determined whether they went down in history as victorious or fell by the wayside.

Herein lies the mystery. A connection between tragic afflictions and creativity has long been suspected. In particular, depression seems to move people toward creative expression. Statistics have shown that writers and artists experience eight to ten times the rate of depression than is found in the general population. As a result, the link between tragic afflictions and creativity has such a strong reputation that we practically consider having one as a prerequisite for creative expression.

What do we know of the tragic afflictions of historical figures?

Some who have suffered from depression include Beethoven, Ernest Hemingway, Jack London, Judy Garland, Claude Monet, Norman Rockwell, and Edgar Allen Poe. Winston Churchill called depression his "little black dog."

Of course, depression is not the only tragic affliction. What of the afflictions of Joseph Merrick, also known as the "Elephant Man," or blind and deaf Helen Keller, or Franklin D. Roosevelt with polio?

We certainly would consider dyslexia to be a tragic affliction. Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Albert Einstein had this affliction. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Pablo Picasso had it as well.

Tragic afflictions show up in many forms. Continual abuse or a dysfunctional family life can be just as much of an affliction as a disease. Poverty afflicted many. Slavery afflicted others. Bad marriages and even noble stations in life were afflictions. Having more than one affliction was not uncommon as was the case of Beethoven who not only struggled with depression but was also afflicted with deafness in his later years. Perhaps part of our appreciation of the accomplishments of these people is recognizing the pain through which those accomplishments came into existence.

Tragic afflictions are like icebergs floating on the sea. If only we could see below the surface and solve the mystery of how they might be linked to creativity, we could harness the strength for greatness.

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