Derangement of the senses: comeback or timeless trend?

Derangement of the senses: is it relavant again or did it always prevailed?

As an awkward teenage girl with an outstanding IQ minus the EQ to match; one of my first reads was Rimbaud’s “Season in Hell”, then there was his mentor, Baudelaire “Flowers of evil” shaped my beauty standards at the time.

Rimbaud’s core principle was to achieve the derangement of the senses as a creative source. A force of creation.

Time after, this notion was reinforced by the beat generation, pondering drug abuse and risky behaviour. I have to admit I was heavily incluenced by all this figures. I held a sense of self-hatred that had finally found an outlet. Experiencing life in its most bizarre, excentric versions made me feel alive.

Nonetheless, I was no beat and this lifestyle became self-destructive, more and more each day. The truth is I was no Rimbaud. I remember my theraphist at the time telling me “all your idols are dead”.

We acknowledge this and can hold a critical eye on these past trends. But, is this ideal over?

Movies, series, you name it, portray self-destruction as a resource to achieve greatness.And social influence is strong.

So here we are: self-love /positivity/wellness on one hand, creative geniouses aided by chemicals on the other.