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DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.
PASSAGE

From Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.
However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?
Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.
(2015)
Q. Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?
  • a)
    It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angst
  • b)
    Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a myth
  • c)
    In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestyles
  • d)
    Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrence
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
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DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questi...
Option (b) is incorrect because it cannot be deduced from the passage. Option (c) is incorrect because the passage doesn't mention it. Option (d) is incorrect due to the term 'common occurrence'. Only option (a) can be inferred from the passage so it is the correct answer.
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DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following options depict the main idea of the passage?

DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following statements by a famous musician can substantiate the perspective that mental illness helps creativity?

DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.What can be inferred about Alanna McArdle from the passage?

DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.How is the idea of mental illness as a creative force harmful to people in general?

Answer the question based on the passage given below.People with higher intelligence test scores in childhood and early adulthood tend to live longer. This result has been found among people from Australia, Denmark, England and Wales, Scotland, Sweden, and the United States. In fact, it has been found within every population that has been studied. Indeed, the impact of intelligence on mortality rivals well-known risk factors for illness and death, such as high blood pressure, being overweight, high blood glucose, and high cholesterol. Its effect is almost as important as that of smoking. Differences in human intelligence have environmental and genetic causes. An intelligence test score in early life ispartly a record of what the environment has wrought on the brain and the rest of the body up to that time. Babies who have lower birth weights, for example, are more prone to chronic illnesses later in life. They also have, on average, slightly lower intelligence. But tests of whether birth weight might explain some of the link between intelligence and mortality have found no connection. Parents occupations are also related to their childs intelligence and later risk of illness: children from more privileged backgrounds tend to have higher intelligence and better health, and to live longer. However, there is no convincing evidence that parental background explains the link between higher intelligence and longer life. Other researchers have viewed intelligence test scores as possibly more than just an indicator of an efficient brain. After all, the brain is just one organ of the body, so people whose brains work well in early life may also have other organs and systems that are more efficient than others. But this system integrity idea is somewhat vague and difficult to test. The best we have done to date has been to examine whether peoples reaction speeds are related to intelligence and to mortality. They are. Reaction-time tests involve little thinking, and merely ask people to respond as fast as they can to simple stimuli. People who react faster have, on average, higher intelligence scores and live longer. But we need to think of better measures of the bodys integrity to test this idea more fully.A third potential explanation is that intelligence is about good decision-making. Every day, as we live our lives, we make decisions about our health: what, when, and how much to eat; how much exercise to take; how to look after ourselves if we have an illness; and so forth. Therefore, the reason that intelligence and death are linked might be that people with higher intelligence in childhood make better decisions about health, and have healthier behaviors. As adults, they tend to have better diets, exercise more, gain less weight, have fewer hangovers, and so on. So far, so good. But we do not yet have the full story. There have not been any studies with data on childhood intelligence, lots of subsequent data on adult health behaviors, and then a long-term follow-up for deaths. And only such a study could tell us whether it is these healthy behaviors that explain the link between intelligence and death. A fourth type of explanation is that people with higher intelligence in childhood tend to attain better educational qualifications, work in more professional jobs, have higher incomes, and live in more affluent areas. These variables are related to living longer, too. So, perhaps thats it: higher intelligence buys people into safer and more health-friendly environments. Certainly, in some studies, social class in adulthood seems to explain a lot of the link between intelligence and death. The problem is that this explanation is statistical. We are still not sure whether, say, education and occupation explain the effect of intelligence on health, or whether they are, in effect, merely surrogate measures of intelligence. Researchers have also searched for clues about the intelligence- mortality link in specific types of death. This has been revealing. Lower intelligence in early life is associated with a greater likelihood of dying from, for example, cardiovascular disease, accidents, suicide, and homicide. The evidence for cancer is less certain. As we have come across these specific findings, we have realized that each link might need a different explanation.Finally, we know that how intelligent we are and how long we shall live are caused by both environmental and genetic influences. There are experimental designs, using twins, that can find out the extent to which intelligence and mortality are linked because they share environmental and genetic influences. Among the most informative exercises we can undertake in cognitive epidemiology is to obtain a large group of twins on whom there is data on early-life intelligence and who were tracked for a long time to find out who had died. We havent yetcome across a large enough group of twins with such data. Finding one is a priority. The ultimate aim of this research is to find out what intelligent people have and do that enables them to live longer. Once we know that, we will be able to share and apply that knowledge with the aim of achieving optimal health for all.Q.Which of the following would the author agree with?

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DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?
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DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? for CAT 2025 is part of CAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the CAT exam syllabus. Information about DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for CAT 2025 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?.
Solutions for DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? in English & in Hindi are available as part of our courses for CAT. Download more important topics, notes, lectures and mock test series for CAT Exam by signing up for free.
Here you can find the meaning of DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? defined & explained in the simplest way possible. Besides giving the explanation of DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?, a detailed solution for DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? has been provided alongside types of DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? theory, EduRev gives you an ample number of questions to practice DIRECTIONS: The passage given below is followed by a set of six questions. Choose the most appropriate answer to each question.PASSAGEFrom Billie Holiday to Kurt Cobain, Jeff Buckley to Lana Del Rey, we enjoy the music of suffering and sadness, songs that help us through our worst moments – broken relationships, melancholy, mania. Summed up by John Cusack’s indie-sad lad in the film of High Fidelity – “What came first? The music or the misery?” – we espouse the miserable and the hopeless.However, the musicians behind the songs are often an afterthought. Or if not that, they’re subject to the notion that their depression is a creative spark and their mental illness the driving force behind compelling art. As someone who has suffered from severe depression, the romantic notion of the doomed artist is not all that. You put on weight and then lose it, you sleep too much or too little, and the myriad other symptoms dictate that it’s not the gladiola-swinging, woe-is-me fest it’s talked up to be. But does this connection between art and angst have any foundation?Research earlier this year linked high childhood IQ to an increased risk of experiencing bipolar traits in later life. “There is something about the genetics underlying the disorder that are advantageous,” said Daniel Smith of the University of Glasgow, who led the study. “One possibility is that serious disorders of mood – such as bipolar disorder – are the price that human beings have had to pay for more adaptive traits such as intelligence, creativity and verbal proficiency.” Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, a mental health charity, considers this concept potentially harmful, given that not all cases of bipolar disorder are the same. Although tormented geniuses exist – figures such as Robert Schumann and Van Gogh – she says their talents are not necessarily a byproduct of being bipolar. “The majority of people may have the illness but not the gift.” “There is,” she adds, “the possibility that somebody who has fragile mental health can be sensitive to other dimensions. I also think that there is a ‘tormented genius’ link, particularly with people who have bipolar disorder. However, not everybody with mental illness can possibly be gifted artistically or musically. So it can make people who aren’t feel even less adequate, and even more of a failure.” So is the troubled artist fallacy damaging the music industry? Alanna McArdle, formerly of Joanna Gruesome, believes so.“It’s a harmful trope that leads to ignorance and a lack of awareness of what mental illness actually is and what it can do to a person,” she says. “I went out with a guy who told me that I shouldn’t be so resentful of my mental illness because it’s allowed me to create some amazing art. But I think that’s wrong, and I also think it’s a very offensive stance to take. I would much rather never write another song if the tradeoff was to not have my illness.”The idea of mental illness as a creative force is, to most people who suffer from it, a myth. The chronic lack of self-esteem caused by mental illness, the numbing effect of antidepressants and the grip of anxiety on a performer who looks as if they have it easy are barriers that can prevent a musician from doing their job. Pete Doherty, for example, cancelled a number of Libertines shows in September after suffering from a severe anxiety attack. “Depression and anxiety, in different ways, have the effect of limiting someone’s capacity for expression and reaching out towards the world,” says Simon Procter, a programme director at music therapy charity Nordoff Robbins, who has co-headed a paper on music therapy and depression.(2015)Q.Which of the following can be inferred from the given passage?a)It is not clear if there exists a connection between art and angstb)Mental disorders, as a by product of creative genius, is a mythc)In most successful artists the presence of a mental disorder is a likely result of their lifestylesd)Ignoring mental disorders because it adds to creativity is a common occurrenceCorrect answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer? tests, examples and also practice CAT tests.
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