Do you think Mental illness can be more of an advantage than a disadvantage?

[John H]

I was reading an article about mental illness and evolution which suggested that if mental disorders were an evolutionary disadvantage they would be eradicated through 'survival of the fittest' as those who were mentally sound would reproduce and carry on their genes where as the others would simply die out. With the fact that mental disorders are still around by this day it has shown that it has not been a reproductive disadvantage. It went on to say that illnesses such as Bipolar Disorder at one point was an evolutionary advantage, that perhaps at one point in history it was useful to be hyper sexual, full of energy with a decreased need for sleep and at other times to 'shutdown' in an almost hibernation state. It has also said by many, such as Stephen Fry, that the creativity that arrives from Bipolar disorder was a big part to their success.Many theorist have suggest that through depressive realism people have a greater perception of reality as they are no longer influence by positive illusions.This could also be applied with other illnesses such as schizophrenia and autism. Maybe certain academics such as John Nash required to be out of touch of reality to think outside the box. Maybe lack of social skills for the benefit of increased interest and intelligences is essential for autistic's to be successful. So do you think mental illness can be more of a gift than a curse? or vice versa? Do you think we can learn from their different perception of life and reality?