--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you manic you create, when you…" description: "\"“When you manic you create, when you depressed you edit”\" — Leo Kottke" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png" --- # When you manic you create, when you depressed you edit ![“When you manic you create, when you depressed you edit” quote by Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png) > ““When you manic you create, when you depressed you edit”” [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mania fuels creation, depression fuels editing; mood influences creative process. **In simple terms:** Manic energy drives creation; depression drives refinement. Key Takeaway Leverage mood to balance creation and refinement. Themes creativity mental\_health process Mood introspective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - music composition - visual art Key Concepts bipolarity artistic\_flow self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain productivity across moods? - What routines support steady creative output? A Different Perspective Relying solely on mood can cause inconsistency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bipolar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) [Create Depressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-depressed-3693120/) [Depressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed/) [Depressed Edit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressed-edit-3693118/) [Manic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manic/) [Manic Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manic-create-3693119/) ## Related quotes > [When you're depressed, you know, it's like the world has ended. Even getting out of bed takes the most massive amount of effort. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/when-you-re-depressed-you-know-it-s-like-the-world-has-ended-even/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“You're manic-depressive and you're manic-depressive too and you, you're definitely manic-depressive, girl. And you over there in the corner, you're just plain fucking depressive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/you-re-manic-depressive-and-you-re-manic-depressive-too-and-you-you/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [In total, I was diagnosed with depression by eight psychotherapists and psychiatrists over a period of thirteen years. Diagnosed wrong. Absolutely wrong. My accurate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/in-total-i-was-diagnosed-with-depression-by-eight-psychotherapists/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [I think almost all manic depressives exhibit some kind of criminal behaviour, even if it's something as minimal as shoplifting, but then they often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/i-think-almost-all-manic-depressives-exhibit-some-kind-of-criminal/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [I have had manic-depressive illness, also known as bipolar disorder, since I was 18 years old. It is an illness that ensures that those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-have-had-manic-depressive-illness-also-known-as-bipolar-disorder/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Manic-depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to live.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/manic-depression-distorts-moods-and-thoughts-incites-dreadful-2/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Weekly $25,000 shopping binges at Barney's and "high end" boutiques for clothes I barely wore were the norm. So were lavish meals with friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/weekly-25-000-shopping-binges-at-barney-s-and-high-end-boutiques-for/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [Evidence is strongly suggesting Bipolar Disorder - previously known as Manic Depression - may be dramatically increasing in modern society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-parker/evidence-is-strongly-suggesting-bipolar-disorder-previously-known-as/) [Gordon Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-parker/) > [The point about manic depression or bipolar disorder, as it's now more commonly called, is that it's about mood swings. So, you have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-point-about-manic-depression-or-bipolar-disorder-as-it-s-now-more/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I wish I had never got manic depression. When I was in junior high, I didn't know what was the matter with me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-johnston/i-wish-i-had-never-got-manic-depression-when-i-was-in-junior-high-i/) [Daniel Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-johnston/) > [The little depression I experienced during my manic-depression was not like depression as anyone else had ever described it. It was very violent and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/the-little-depression-i-experienced-during-my-manic-depression-was/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [“Her parents, she said, has put a pinball machine inside her head when she was five years old. The red balls told her when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/her-parents-she-said-has-put-a-pinball-machine-inside-her-head-when/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Manic depression distorts moods and thoughts, incites dreadful behaviors, destroys the basis of rational thought, and too often erodes the desire and will to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/manic-depression-distorts-moods-and-thoughts-incites-dreadful/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [You can have manic depression without having an ounce of creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patty-duke/you-can-have-manic-depression-without-having-an-ounce-of-creativity/) [Patty Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patty-duke/) > [I compare myself with my former self, not with others. Not only that, I tend to compare my current self with the best I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/i-compare-myself-with-my-former-self-not-with-others-not-only-that-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) ## More by Leo Kottke > [I seem to find different material every four to six months and I frequently forget it which is a shame because it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/i-seem-to-find-different-material-every-four-to-six-months-and-i/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [I have always thought of myself as a performer first and way down the line as a recording artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/i-have-always-thought-of-myself-as-a-performer-first-and-way-down-the/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [You can't really tell what the audience wants but you can tell what will keep everybodies attention in the same place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/you-can-t-really-tell-what-the-audience-wants-but-you-can-tell-what/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [The first music I was exposed to was Stravinsky and I loved it but I don't remember it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/the-first-music-i-was-exposed-to-was-stravinsky-and-i-loved-it-but-i/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [You can't really tell what the audience wants but you can tell what will keep everybody's attention in the same place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/you-can-t-really-tell-what-the-audience-wants-but-you-can-tell-what-2/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [I will literally open my mouth not knowing what is coming out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/i-will-literally-open-my-mouth-not-knowing-what-is-coming-out/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [I think if you are writing an instrumental you are dealing with more of an aesthetic in a sense but a lyric is more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/i-think-if-you-are-writing-an-instrumental-you-are-dealing-with-more/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [Musically, I am still hooked and just hypnotized by the sound of the guitar itself. I mean, a guitar sounds good if you drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/musically-i-am-still-hooked-and-just-hypnotized-by-the-sound-of-the/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [With all these great (guitar teachers) around here, don't cop their licks, COP THEIR ATTITUDE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/with-all-these-great-guitar-teachers-around-here-don-t-cop-their/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [I don't spend a lot of time thinking of what they'll do musically, I try to imagine being locked into a windowless room with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/i-don-t-spend-a-lot-of-time-thinking-of-what-they-ll-do-musically-i/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [I do have a library of events I can talk about and I always expect to find a different point of view on it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/i-do-have-a-library-of-events-i-can-talk-about-and-i-always-expect-to/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [The bulk of my set is instrumental and you have to give yourself and the audience some relief because a performance is not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/the-bulk-of-my-set-is-instrumental-and-you-have-to-give-yourself-and/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [We spent a lot of time on that record with the sound and recorded it on the Paramount sound stage which is this huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/we-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-that-record-with-the-sound-and-recorded-it/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [That was when I found out that you could talk to them and it was a whole other way to blow your stack, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/that-was-when-i-found-out-that-you-could-talk-to-them-and-it-was-a/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) > [There are nights when you can feel stale because you've fallen into a pattern by touring too much, but it's easy to get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/there-are-nights-when-you-can-feel-stale-because-you-ve-fallen-into-a/) [Leo Kottke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) [Explore all 37 Leo Kottke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/) ## More Bipolar quotes > [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count, because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/society-takes-what-it-wants-the-artist-himself-does-not-count-because/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Every seventeen minutes in America, someone commits suicide. Mostly, I have been impressed by how little value our society puts on saving the lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/every-seventeen-minutes-in-america-someone-commits-suicide-mostly-i/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Flippin up my phone, touch screen motorola. They figured I was bipolar the way I sipped that syrup and soda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riff-raff/flippin-up-my-phone-touch-screen-motorola-they-figured-i-was-bipolar/) [Riff Raff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riff-raff/) > [“Creativity is closely associated with bipolar disorder. This condition is unique . Many famous historical figures and artists have had this. Yet they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preeti-shenoy/creativity-is-closely-associated-with-bipolar-disorder-this-condition/) [Preeti Shenoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preeti-shenoy/) > [Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/ordinarily-he-was-insane-but-he-had-lucid-moments-when-he-was-merely/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [I was hoping that I could say stuff about mental illness that maybe people didn't know. You know, speak up for bipolar disorder and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-millegan/i-was-hoping-that-i-could-say-stuff-about-mental-illness-that-maybe/) [Eric Millegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-millegan/) > [I have never gone for a diagnosis and I don't consider myself to be bipolar, but I have extreme moods. I get heightened. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-quentin/i-have-never-gone-for-a-diagnosis-and-i-don-t-consider-myself-to-be/) [Caroline Quentin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-quentin/) > [When you're depressed, you know, it's like the world has ended. Even getting out of bed takes the most massive amount of effort. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/when-you-re-depressed-you-know-it-s-like-the-world-has-ended-even/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“I thought I would inaugurate a Bipolar Pride Day. You know, with floats and parades and stuff! On the floats we would get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-thought-i-would-inaugurate-a-bipolar-pride-day-you-know-with-floats/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [I just always wanted to study human behavior because every psychologist that I would talk to would tell me I was bipolar, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-gates/i-just-always-wanted-to-study-human-behavior-because-every/) [Kevin Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-gates/) > [“Insomuch as the structure of this book parallels that of my own mind, it boasts about as much order and linearity as a hallucination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-moezzi/insomuch-as-the-structure-of-this-book-parallels-that-of-my-own-mind/) [Melody Moezzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-moezzi/) > [“In our family "whim-wham" is code, a defanged reference to any number of moods and psychological disorders, be they depressive, manic, or schizoaffective. Back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lovelace/in-our-family-whim-wham-is-code-a-defanged-reference-to-any-number-of/) [David Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lovelace/) [Browse all 373 Bipolar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bipolar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When you manic you create, when you depressed you edit”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leo Kottke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depressed-you-edit/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bipolar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depressed-you-edit/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/leo-kottke-17569_bipolar_when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depre_2025733.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you manic you create, when you depressed you edit” — Leo Kottke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Leo Kottke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-kottke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When you manic you create, when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depressed-you-edit/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-kottke/when-you-manic-you-create-when-you-depressed-you-edit/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```