I spent my weekend watching awesome movies and one of the movies I watched was Reaching for the Moon. It was a beautiful movie but the poet; Elizabeth Bishop (played by Miranda Otto) has a drinking problem. I see a lot of that in movies and it really got me wondering what is it about writers (or creative types in general) that lends itself to substance abuse. This article from The Guardian talks about how prevalent this is and us creative types seem to really have issues with trying to drown our demons.

So, what is it about the creative process that drives us to drugs and alcohol? Personally, I don’t have issues with drinking (I’ve often said I’m too cheap to be an alcoholic or drug addict… That shit COSTS!) but man, the creative juices flow easier when the wine flows with it. Is there so much going on in our heads that to calm it down, we use (or abuse) drugs or alcohol? Are there so many people, places, and plot lines all slamming against the day to day bullshit we have to slog through to keep the lights on and the roof patched that to just free the muse and get him/her to focus, you have to ply inspiration with a shot of bourbon? Is non-creative life so abysmal to us that a line of cocaine is the only way to push it completely out of the way to let us work?

Its an odd thing to afflict so many of us; and the best of us at that. What is haunting us? What’s haunting you?