Melancholy and The Infinite Sadness

Dig into your Melancholia and Deep Appreciation of Art, Creative HSP

Familiar with The Smashing Pumpkins? If so, you’ll know of their iconic album, Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness. Like all of their brilliant works, it’s a wonder — not just the music but the vibe and album art as well. As Creative HSPs, this is perfect fodder for us. 🎭

The Melancholy Connection

Like so many (and some would argue “all”), artists, the link between melancholy and creative genius is strong.

Going as far back as Aristotle and Emily Dickinson, to modern artists such as Alanis Morrisette and, apparently, Bruce Springsteen, melancholy prompts painters, writers, actors, inventors, and musicians to dig deep into their soul and produce works of art that are innovative, compelling and thoughtful.

Here’s one explanation of “melancholia”: In the Encyclopédie of Diderot and d'Alembert, the causes of melancholia are stated to be similar to those that cause Mania: "grief, pains of the spirit, passions, as well as all the love and sexual appetites that go unsatisfied."

Even though the feeling can be disconcerting, if we are to thrive as Highly Sensitive People and, especially as, Creative HSPs, we mustn’t shy away from deep thinking and melancholia. Instead, we need to dig in and harness the waves of “genius” associated with melancholy, passion, and philosophy.

Referring back to The Smashing Pumpkins, here are the lyrics to one of their most memorable singles.

Tonight Tonight

Time is never time at all
You can never ever leave
Without leaving a piece of youth
And our lives are forever changed
We will never be the same
The more you change the less you feel
Believe, believe in me, believe, believe
That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain
We're not the same, we're different tonight
Tonight, so bright
Tonight

Melancholy is associated with genius and was originally thought of as one of “the four human temperments” Credit: artsandculture.google.com/story. Author’s Note: I promise that I had already come up with the title, idea, and topic for this post before finding this very cool site with the same name!

The Melancholy Connection

Highly Sensitive People tend to be humble and we certainly can’t all claim to be geniuses. However, I will argue that if we are to be true to ourselves, we must give into our melancholic thoughts and express them — both to satisfy our creative urges and to explore what is present deep within us. To wit, who needs more of the same-old, same-old? Yes, there are millions of creative people out there but are all of them listening to that “suffering” and making art from it? I’d guess no.

Throughout history, melancholic types such as Van Gogh and El Greco were misunderstood and often laughed at in their prime. Of course, most of us want to be appreciated in the here and now - while we’re on Earth living our lives - but, as HSPs, we also need to be true to ourselves.

If we don’t have generous patrons, it appears that the key is to honour our melancholic urges and turn them into art but do it in a way that satisfies our economic needs at the same time. That’s the rub, isn’t it?

What are your thoughts on the connection between melancholy and creativity? Have you used it in a way that makes you proud or excited? Are you able to dig into your feelings of melancholia to strengthen your art? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Until Next Time, Creative HSP — stay real.

Lisa