Mental Health for the Creative Mind
One of my biggest fears is that I will one day run out of ideas. I'm always worried that one day I won't have any more to give. I fear that I'll disappoint my readers, friends, family, and followers when I somehow revert to the boring version of myself that I fear I truly am behind all of the Spoken Black Girl positivity and inspiration. Whenever I go through a creative dry spell, I'm sure that I'm at the end of my journey. But then I get another idea or scribble something in my journal that I think is pretty damn good and order is restored to my creative world once again.
Many creatives go through this, periods of low productivity, self-doubt, and plain exhaustion. After all, what could be more draining than constantly coming up with fresh ideas and being the sole person responsible for their proper execution? If you're like me and you're a creative with a pre-existing mental illness, the challenge is that much greater. Anxiety and depression don't care about consistency. Mental illness can steal your passion (here's how to get it back) and eat at your creativity with the illusion of worthlessness despite the fact that belief in your own self-worth is key to creative life. In the past year, I have gained a whole new respect for creatives, entrepreneurs, and anyone who decides to bet on themselves and take the huge risk of believing in their talents and abilities. With that huge risk comes an equal amount of stress, so I just wanted to take a moment to show love to my fellow creatives and remind you all to take care of those brilliant minds!
Keeping your Mental Health in Check
1.Practice Self-Awareness
Just talk to any creative for ten minutes and there's a good chance that their passion for their work will surface. At a certain point, your passion becomes all consuming, but we must practice self-awareness to make sure that our passions do not over-ride our mental wellness. For me personally, I see blog posts, short stories, character ideas, and opening lines everywhere I go. While that might sound wonderful, it can sometimes prevent me from being present with family and friends, keep me up late at night when I should be sleeping or cause me to put off lunch because I'm almost done... Just. Ten. More. Minutes! And while I might think that the benefits of forgoing self-care outweigh the risks, this past year has taught me otherwise. Don't let your creativity push your mind into overdrive.One solution that I find useful is mindfulness. It allows me to be aware of the thoughts that are going through my mind and choose what I want to do with them, not just instinctively act upon them. Don't just listen to your thoughts either, listen to your body and what it needs. Take a moment to be quiet with yourself. Check in with yourself mentally instead of just going on creative autopilot.
2. Develop routines. And stick to them.
I'll be the first to admit that I suck at sticking to routines, but they are undeniably beneficial to your mental health. If you pursue your passion after your 9-5, it might be tempting to spend every other waking second working on your creative endeavors, but it's probably more helpful to set aside a certain time for your creative projects. Your loved ones will thank you, your tired body will thank you, and most of all your roadrunner-like creative mind will be eternally grateful.
3. Self-care, Self-care, Self-care
This is pretty self-explanatory. Take care of yourselves, creatives! There are a lot of different understandings of the term self-care floating around the internet, but here at Spoken Black Girl, I take the term quite literally. Feed yourself. Shower. Exercise. Meditate. Go outside. You don't have to go get your nails did in order to practice self-care. Cover the basics first!
4.It's okay to take a break
Try not to get caught up in the "hustle day and night" "No days off" philosophy. It's okay to rest after you've finished a big project. If you feel like your imagination is drained, take a break to recharge.
5. Consciously restore your self-worth
Use affirmations to boost self-love and set intentions for the day. Don't wait until you're feeling exhausted, frustrated, uncertain or just plain crappy to say affirmations. Say them whether or not you think you need to. Constantly refill your cup and reaffirm your own worthiness as well as the fruits of your creative mind.
6. Don't compare yourself to others
Don't waste your energy doing comparisons. Whatever is meant for you will always be meant for you, no matter what anyone else is doing. Instead, celebrate the talents of others and uplift them.
7. Take care of your body
If there's one thing that I've learned along my mental health journey, it's that taking care of your body goes a long way towards taking care of your mind. Feed yourself brain food. Exercise in a way that is both convenient and enjoyable to you. I'm no dietician, but my mind is usually sharper after a healthy meal or brisk exercise.
8. Write things down & stay organized
Are you bombarded with ideas all day every day? It's a typical issue for creatives, but we usually bask in this constant stream of ideas, not wanting to stem the flow of our creative minds. As tempting as it is to be the romanticized creative dreamer, you might find yourself losing track of ideas if you don't write them down. Writing things down is a great way to "de-clutter" your brain. You don't have to keep wasting energy trying to remember the idea and adding stress to your already crowded mind. Along the same line of thought, the more organized you are the less you will have to worry about how your projects will come together. It's an up-hill battle, but I feel like I'm getting more organized every day. You can do the same!
9. Talk it out
As always, I encourage you to seek out therapy if your creative endeavors become overwhelming or draining. Sometimes as creatives, we channel so much of ourselves into our art that we might neglect personal reflection, so even if you don't choose to go to therapy, make sure that you have someone that you can confide in. So creatives, resist the urge to be "on" all of the time. You've already got the magic flowing through your veins! Be kind to yourself and keep following your passion.