"Artistic activity contains elements that are unhealthy and antisocial." ~ Haruki Murakami.

"When we set off on a creative path, like it or not a kind of toxin that lies deep down in all humanity rises to the surface."

"All artists have to come face-to-face with this toxin and, aware of the danger involved, discover a way to deal with it, otherwise no creative activity in the real sense can take place."

"There's a widely held view that by living this unhealthy lifestyle, an artist can remove himself from this profane world and attain a kind of purity that has artistic value."

I've distorted the real essence of this thread by replacing the original *writer* with *artist*, to include a larger audience.