So, I think I have posted a little bit about this before. My son has what he calls “creative shocks.” He has had them since he was about three (that I noticed). He is basically overcome with a “story” in his head - images and all the characters are talking. And you can see that my son is ‘somewhere else’ … when he was younger we would say “pause” to get him to sort of snap out of it and pay attention to us and he would essentially ‘pause’ the story/movie in his head… He paces around when he has them, he is muttering to himself often (that’s the characters having dialog), etc. Often, he dictates these stories but plenty of them go unrecorded. They have toned down a lot as he has gotten older. But, yesterday, he was saying that he wonders what “disorder “this is. He says that everyone says that creativity is a gift but, it seems to him, it is also a disorder because he feels like he cannot control these incidents and they can be problematic. He says that he doesn’t even realize the “creative shock” is happening until he is “paused” or it is over (hence he cannot stop it). And, so, without realizing it, he is up, pacing around, talking to himself with a story happening. He says he never remembers it coming about but always remembers the entire story that results from the episode. Obviously, this looks weird. He is seriously wondering if this is a disorder….or is it really just creativity. And, if it is creativity, he insists that creativity is a double edged sword and it is also a pathology to a certain extent.
When I looked into creativity and the creative process of different writers, etc. I found this to not be uncommon, i.e. that the artist feels “taken over” by their story - that it happens to them and they have little control… However, still, I am concerned considering what my son said yesterday. He is ten now and looking weird is not an option these days so he is a little frustrated. He did say he feels lucky that it doesn’t happen in school much anymore. He said it tends to happen when he is bored. It also tends to happen when he is very excited or happy about something.
My question to you all (since you yourselves have highly intelligent, quirky kids and you yourselves tend to be highly-educated), do you all think there is something seriously “wrong” here? Like a pathology? Is this ADHD? Is this experience common with ADHD kiddos and I just don’t know it and medicine stops it? Is it some sort of autism? Or is it really just creativity/imagination that is dialed a little higher than your normal creative person? More background info: as a small child, my son had many imaginary friends and imaginary adventurers, he also did “imaginary work” at “imaginary places.” As a child he did not need me or anyone else to play with him - he could and would entertain himself for hours with the stories and characters in head. He has always had a more than rich imagination.
Last edited by Irena; 09/15/15 07:51 AM.
