Kate Spade and Avicii are just two of many successful people who fought and struggled with depression.

It's been hypothesized among researchers that a gene associated with mental health problems could also encourage creativity.

While several studies suggest a tie between success and depression, the link hasn't been explored in-depth yet.

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A thin, blond man is sat in a chair in his hotel room. "I can't do it," he says. "I can't do this. I get scared just thinking about it." He slumps over, shielding his face with his hands. The man opposite him tries to reassure him: "There's no need to freak out. We don't have to talk about it now."

The emaciated man interrupts him: "The problem won't go away just because we don't discuss it."

His hands drop from his face, he stares at the carpet and it's then that he decides never to go back on stage.

This was a scene from the Netflix documentary "Avicii: True Stories", featuring real footage of Tim Bergling.

Better known as Avicii, the DJ sold millions of albums, received numerous music awards and performed in almost 1,000 concerts — and took his life at the age of 28.

Musician Avicii accepts the EDM Song of the Year award for 'Wake Me Up' in 2014. Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Clear Channel

Earlier this year, American handbag designer Kate Spade committed suicide. Her sister stated in an interview that Spade had been suffering with severe depression.

Some may be surprised by the fact that so many successful people suffer with depression, but the real question is: does depression propel people to success or is it success that drives people to depression?

Perhaps there's simply no link at all, and successful people merely raise awareness about the illness through their fame.

"Why is it that all outstanding men are melancholic?"

Comedian Jim Carrey, once one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors, has spoken openly about his depression on several occasions, saying "Jim Carrey" was also a character he'd been playing, thinking he'd created a worry-free man people would like — but this is exactly what he said was what set him on the path to depression.

"Depression is your body saying f--- you, I don't want to be this character anymore, I don't want to hold up this avatar that you've created in the world. It's too much for me."

Jim Carrey attending the premiere of "I'm Dying Up Here" in 2017. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

And Carrey isn't the only one; Lady Gaga, Kristen Bell and Dwayne Johnson have admitted to having gone through a depressive phase, and whole books have been written on Abraham Lincoln's supposed depression.

There is still very scant academic literature on the connection between success and depression — and yet the question of whether there is a connection was posed over 2,300 years ago by Theophrastus, a pupil of Aristotle.

Kate Spade, who was recently found to have taken her life. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

"Why is it that all men who have become outstanding in philosophy, statesmanship, poetry or the arts are melancholic?" he wrote.

People can't be productive during depressive phases

In his book "A First-Rate Madness" 2011, American psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi put forward the controversial hypothesis that: "In times of crisis, we are better off being led by mentally ill leaders than by mentally normal ones."

He highlighted that Mahatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill are said to have suffered from depression — and that it was these depressive phases themselves upon which they drew their abilities as leaders — especially during their darker hours.

The problem with Ghaemi's thesis is that he's unable to support it with studies.

Winston Churchill is also said to have suffered with depression. Evening Standard/Getty Images

There's currently no conclusive evidence that depressive people are more successful.

"Anyone who's in a depressive phase can't work properly, so it's rather a disadvantage," said psychiatrist Michael Deuschle from the Central Institute for Mental Health in an interview with Business Insider.

Ulrich Hegerl, Chairman of the German Depression Relief Foundation, took a similar view: "Depression is a serious illness in which the smallest tasks become a mammoth and those affected are often barely able to care for themselves."

However, there are some behaviors associated with depression that may be conducive to success.

"Depressively ill people are often more responsible, helpful people when they are healthy," said Hegerl.

Despite not necessarily being rational, feeling inadequacy compels some people to do more than others.

"Compulsive behavior and anxiety disorders can also lead people to behave in this way, but these conditions are also closely linked with depression," said Deuschle.

A difficult childhood can lead to success, depression or both

Some successful people, like Carsten Maschmeyer and Richard Branson, claim to draw strength from traumas experienced in childhood.

Many who come from broken families often claim to have promised themselves that they'd do better by their own families.

At first, this may not seem directly related to depression, but childhood traumas can also lead to depression in adulthood.

"Even if these people are highly successful in adulthood, inner conflicts from childhood are usually left unresolved," said psychiatrist Michael Schulte-Markwort in an interview with Business Insider.

Richard Branson is one of many who attribute their success in life to a hard past. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

What doctors do seem to know is that depression affects all social classes and environments.

It's therefore statistically possible that executives or famous people suffer from depression.

The question is whether they will be successful despite or because of their depression — or whether it's success that brings out their depression.

The link between creativity and depression

The connection between creativity and depression has been better researched.

It's been hypothesized among researchers that a gene associated with mental illness could also encourage creativity.

Neuregulin 1, as the gene is called, is available in variants C and T, although people who carry the T variant on both chromosome copies are also more susceptible to mental illness.

In a study by psychiatrist Szabolcs Kèri, carriers of the two T-variants were found to have more creative approaches to answering questions.

Another study showed people in creative professions have a 25% higher risk of suffering from a mental disorder.

The German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was vivid in his descriptions of depression. Painting by J H Tischbein/Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"Depression, like any serious suffering, leads to an inner differentiation, to deeper reflection on our lives, and that's a prerequisite for artistic creation," said Hegerl.

The German poet Johann Wolfang von Goethe is said to have drawn on emotional crises for creativity.

"A darkness comes down my soul; a darkness as thik as fogs in the October are," Goethe wrote in a letter to his sister.

Anyone who has ever read "The Sorrows of Young Werther" has probably come to the conclusion that no one could possibly write about the abysses of the human soul in such vivid detail — unless they were already in the abyss.

Is it bipolar disorder rather than depression we need to study?

Depression can inspire people in art, but it can also inhibit them.

In depressive phases, it's usually very difficult for those affected to work productively.

Several studies suggest, for example, that pupils' and students' marks deteriorate when they suffer from depression.

As depression often makes people unable to work, success and creativity are more often attributed to another mental illness: bipolar disorder, in which those affected suffer manic and depressive phases.

Kanye West has said he suffers from bipolar disorder, which he himself describes as his "superpower".

He alleges that it doesn't limit him; rather it is the driving force behind his art.

Kanye West allegedly suffers from bipolar disorder. Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

While it should be underlined that the correlation isn't necessarily causal, a study by the University of Glasgow suggests people suffering from bipolar disorder perform better in IQ tests.

Several studies have shown a striking number of people in creative occupations have bipolar disorder compared to the proportion of the total population.

What's the reason for this?

"Neither in a manic nor in a depressive phase are those affected really productive, but there is a weakened phase of mania called hypomania, in which those affected are easily exuberant and driven, but can still work in an organized way," said Deuschle.

People affected often want to make sense of depression

Psychiatrist Hegerl doesn't rule out the following: "People talk about the connection between their success and their illness. Therefore, it may well be that people don't perceive this disease as a foreign body, but as part of life."

Even if there is a connection between depression and success, the dilemma of those affected always remains the same: success doesn't alleviate the symptoms of depression.

"I looked at everyone around me and they looked as if they were doing well. I felt crazy. I have everything I've always wanted, so I should be happy," Avicii said in "Avicii: True Stories".

It transpired it wasn't just inflammation of the pancreas that was causing him problems; he was also struggling psychologically. He kept canceling concerts and tours to go to therapy before eventually retiring completely.

Unfortunately, it seems he may not have found happiness in the end.