Thing is... most people suffering from mental disorders are not geniuses. Not even close. It seems to me that some people succeed in making their madness work for them. In Virginia Woolf's case, only up to a point. Of course today there'd be a whole range of meds that would make her "almost" normal, at least according to the TV commercials I see. Would she have wanted to try them?
Kusama has lived to 96, and is still working. I like her polka dots.