News of the tragic death of singer Amy Winehouse has been all over the news this past week. Her drug and alcohol addiction were well-known, and although the autopsy results have been inconclusive thus far, most people assume substance abuse played a role in her death; and while many have expressed sorrow, few have expressed surprise. Even Winehouse’s parents were apparently already preparing themselves for the inevitable.
Though untimely death is always tragic, no matter who it is, what makes the death of Amy Winehouse feel truly tragic is that she was truly talented. She released just two records, but somehow her unique voice managed to spark a neo-soul movement and influence the vocal stylings of countless young women after her. There’s no telling how far she could have gone had she not had such a self-destructive bent.
What is even more tragic is that the story of Amy Winehouse is not new to us–it’s a story that has been told and retold many times, with many different artists and musicians over the years, and not just dating back to the 1960s. It seems like creative types have been historically prone to compulsions, addictions, and destructive patterns. Some of the best-known composers and artists over the centuries were known in their day for lifestyles that would make some of our modern-day celebrity scandals appear tame. Loose living, drug addictions, unhealthy sexual addictions, fits of rage, murder attempts, insanity–all were as common among musicians and artists living in the 1800s as they are today. The news of Amy Winehouse is more common than anyone cares to admit, and it merely shines a light upon an ongoing problem.
This might be a relatively uncomfortable topic to address, but I think this is as much a part of artist development as learning to develop your public image or how to do social networking. I think to be the best we can be as artists, we first have to be healthy as people. Amy’s story is as good an opportunity as any to discuss these issues, because let’s face it: if we are not careful, Amy’s story could easily become ours. This begs a couple of questions from us:
- Why? Why is self-destruction and addiction so common among creative types? And…
- What can be done to stop the pattern from repeating? In other words–how can we, as artists, avoid the pitfalls so we don’t become the next retelling of the story? What lessons can we learn from Amy Winehouse?
I think the answer to the second question begins by answering the first one: why? Why does this happen so often to artists and musicians? What makes people prone to it?
Now, as a disclaimer, I’m neither a psychologist nor a counselor, so don’t take anything I say here as expert advice on this topic. I’m just a guy trying to figure stuff out like everyone else. (And obviously, not every musician is going to turn out to be a drug addict.) But in interacting with many creative people over the years (and in dealing with my own emotional issues as an artist), I have noticed a few interesting patterns, and I have a couple of theories about them. Take the following for what it’s worth. 
One of the more obvious explanations for why creative people seem prone to addictions and self-destructive behavior is that we tend to use these things to “medicate.” Part of what makes an artist good is his/her acute ability to feel–but sometimes those feelings are so intense that we want to dull our senses a bit. We use all sorts of diversions to do this, and unfortunately, some of those diversions are very bad for us. And the fact that the entertainment business sometimes pressures us to be “more than human” doesn’t help matters, either.
There’s something else to think about here, also. One interesting thing I’ve noticed about musicians and other artists is that many of them refer to their creativity as a “compulsion.” Many creative types tend to get depressed, discouraged, hyper or irate when they are unable to practice, paint, sculpt, or whatever it is they do, for a certain length of time. For some, periods of creativity occur almost as “binges,” where they hole up and create for extended periods of time while doing little else. What is interesting to me about this is that most addictive or self-destructive behaviors are also based on compulsion–that is, a drive or impulse that is based more upon emotion than logic. Granted, substance abuse is quite often a physical addiction, but it usually starts as an emotional addiction. I think the impulse to create and the impulse to destroy may very well grow from the same root within us.
There is a common belief in Jewish thought that describes the idea of “sin” as simply “misguided passion.” This is an interesting concept that differs a little bit from the common mentality many of us grew up with in church, where sin was simply bad stuff you tried not to do. The difference between these two mentalities is that one approach focuses on suppressing our impulses, while the other focuses on aiming our impulses in a more constructive direction. It’s an idea that has actually helped me as a Christian myself, because it seems much more productive to look for ways to aim one’s passions in healthy directions, rather than just trying to suppress them. It’s a lot easier (and I think a lot healthier) to focus on doing good than it is to focus on NOT doing bad.
My purpose in saying this is not to turn this into a theological issue, but rather because this idea is one I think can benefit all of us, regardless of personal spiritual or religious leanings. If I’m right in my theory that the compulsion to create and the compulsion to destroy are related, then what if we could avoid the more destructive pitfalls by aiming our compulsions in a more positive way? It seems to me that it would be much easier to avoid getting sucked into a destructive addiction by aiming our passions and compulsions in positive directions rather than negative, unhealthy ones. I recognize it’s easier said than done, and I don’t intend to oversimplify things here; for the moment, I’m just putting forth some ideas and thoughts. Again, take it for what it’s worth.
So if I’m right, this sort of answers both of the questions above:
- Why are creative types seemingly prone to addictive/destructive patterns? Because compulsion is part of our creative nature.
- How do we avoid the pitfalls? By aiming our compulsions in positive directions, rather than simply trying to suppress them.
There’s a bit more to say about how to flesh this out, but it probably warrants a separate post, so we’ll pick up this thread next time. Meanwhile, if we can learn only this much from Amy Winehouse, we will be doing well.
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