Does Drinking Help Creativity?

Lisa Jo

Lisa Jo

Member
I had a discussion with some academics who think their may be a correlation for some people between alcohol consumption and creativity. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? There are a lot of traditional artists, musicians, and writers who were all notorious drunks and certainly made some of the best works of all time. Does drinking help your creativity? Any thoughts on the subject?
 
I play guitar quite a lot and... I don't know if it helps my creativity that much. There are days when I'm tipsy and I pick up the guitar and I don't even remember the chords while there are days when I'm drunk and I can create some new riffs or chord progressions. I guess it depends but I guess creativity can be enhanced by alcohol.
 
I think it really depends on how much you drink. If you don't drink to the point that you are drunk the extra sugar can give you that extra boost, but i don't think that the alcohol itself helps you be more creative.
 
In my case, it doesn't. Moreover, it's kind of counterproductive. Sure, some cool ideas came to my head while I was intoxicated but that's not the point. I can't really sing without missing notes when I'm drunk. I can't play the instrument well. My concentration is very low, so it becomes easy to mess up.
 
OK, well, apparently Ernest Hemingway was just using it as an excuse! I don't really think that drinking helps my creativity at all either. I probably shouldn't necessarily say this but pot helps my creativity a whole lot. Almost as much as my ADHD medication, but not quite. I think we all have certain things that help the creative process for us, but drinking isn't one of them for me, either.
 
I cannot generalize this because it is not possible. For me it does help and I wrote some of my best lyrics drunk or high on weed sometimes. It brings all of those hidden emotions that my IQ tries to conceal for some strange reason. I even composed all of my tunes for my songs intoxicated. I am not proud of this but it is what it is.
 
For me? Yes. I've written a lot of material (ad copy, articles, how-tos, et al.) and even created workable computer code with a few drinks down the hatch. The trick, of course, is to get a good creative buzz going. Too much and you defeat the purpose.
 
I've heard that LSD can really help achieve this. It was so popular in 60s and 70s. Many visual artists would take LSD before working on their projects. Musicians are also kind of familiar with it.
 
Drinking doesn't help my creativity. I find myself becoming depressed while drinking and losing all ability to be creative. I am more creative while under the influence of marijuana. It helps me relax and see things from a different perspective.

When it comes to drinking- I find myself being lethargic. I spend a lot of time sitting down and watching television, feeling sorry for myself. I will seldom find myself having fun, but never being creative.
 
So, basically, LSD is usually being treated as the creativity enhancer. Alcohol, in turn, gets blamed for causing stupid accidents that look weird from the distance.
 
artyarson said:
So, basically, LSD is usually being treated as the creativity enhancer. Alcohol, in turn, gets blamed for causing stupid accidents that look weird from the distance.
Click to expand...

LSD is a creativity enhancer, which isn't surprising. It doesn't mean that everyone should run out and drop LSD. We can't deny that alcohol has terrible consequences. I will be the first to admit that limiting my alcohol consumption is a must. Alcohol is incredibly damaging and causes TONS of accidents. People act ridiculous under the influence of alcohol. Regardless of what drug of choice is worse, it's a little known fact that alcohol can have terrible consequences.
 
lexinonomous said:
LSD is a creativity enhancer, which isn't surprising. It doesn't mean that everyone should run out and drop LSD. We can't deny that alcohol has terrible consequences. I will be the first to admit that limiting my alcohol consumption is a must. Alcohol is incredibly damaging and causes TONS of accidents. People act ridiculous under the influence of alcohol. Regardless of what drug of choice is worse, it's a little-known fact that alcohol can have terrible consequences.
Click to expand...

Sure, I agree with you 100% percent. It's also called a "liquid courage". You probably get the point. People tend to dream of crazy and insane things but they finally dare to do them only being under the influence of alcohol. Most of the time, it screws them over terribly.
 
I have not seen people being creative when drunk. Most of the folks are losing their minds. And also being more impatient. So I don't think drinking helps creativity. Very rarely though. Some people may have it worked.
 
I have read studies that moderate drinking is good for your creativity-it makes the brain's controlling aspect disappear and makes you more spontaneous, they say. A lot of great writers were great drinkers as well-but of course to much drinking hurts your creativity-so I would go with a few drinks as the optimal amount.
 
It's kind of puzzling to see how people think booze helps them with creativity. Isn't booze supposed to stop the thinking and distract? I think most people get drunk for that purpose. I am not sure how that can help.
 
I haven't seen anyone yet being more creative when they drink alcohol. They just eventually make a fool of themselves when they get drunk. I think for added creativity, people turn to drugs and not to alcohol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top