“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
I’ve often heard it said that creativity can have a positive impact on your mental health, but what about the other way around?
Having depression and social anxiety, I dove into research for this blog post and was surprised by the results. I should preface this by saying, it was just a quick google search to see what kind of results it would bring back. 90% of the results it did return talked about how creativity helps relieve anxiety and depression, and how to tap into your creativity to improve your mental health and wellbeing. But I was hard-pressed to find an article that addressed the issue of what to do when your creativity drops because of your mental health.
The more I thought about it the more I couldn’t understand why it was being addressed one way, but not the other. It was my husband who pointed out what I had failed to see. “Wouldn’t you just take care of your mental health first? Shouldn’t that lead into the other?” *Insert facepalm here* Seriously!? That should have been the obvious solution. The logical one. But my brain couldn’t get there on its own. Usually, I would berate myself and just completely break myself down for not realizing that there was an obvious answer to that question, but in the last couple of weeks, I’ve been learning to go easy on myself. Neither of us is having an easy time right now with the way the world is.
Last week, when Dr. Bonnie Henry adjusted the rules again with an expected end date of Dec 7th, I was at the Staples Studio with a friend and completely broke down. The week before, my mental health had taken a nose dive and I had just barely crawled myself up again, and now with the added restrictions, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to survive the rest of the year. For the purpose of this blog and to put it into context, I’ve struggled with self-harm in the past from the time I was 12 until my early 20s. I was afraid that if, or when, my mental health took another dive during those two weeks, would I be able to resist going back to old ways of coping?
“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.” – Brene Brown.
My mom and husband used to ask me why I would put so much ink on my skin. I’ll tell you what I told them. My tattoos serve two purposes. One, to cover up my scars, and two, I get tattoos so that I won’t self-harm. I know this blog might be a bit too vulnerable for some to read, but it’s taken me a long time to be able to talk about my struggles with mental health. And I believe that if we aren’t willing to talk about it then we’re not really moving towards stopping the stigma around it. We can keep educating people about the statistics and ask them to be understanding, but if we’re not willing to be at least a little vulnerable then can there really be change?
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close
After calling up my tattoo artist and making an appointment for December, I realized that in the last ten years I’ve learned other ways of dealing with my depression and anxiety. What I needed to do was go easy on myself. If the only thing I did that day was get out of bed, then that was okay. I also had to take time for myself each day and put myself first. That was a hard one because I’m such a people pleaser. I have this fear that if I say no to someone, they will hate me. Even at the risk of my mental health and wellbeing, I’ll put everything aside to help them.
Self-care is much more important now than it’s ever been. The things we were used to doing for self-care have been drastically reduced or canceled (traveling, getting our hair and nails done, visiting friends and family, attending a fitness class, having an in-person session with our counselor, etc.) and it’s affecting us drastically. We were made for community not isolation from each other. So, I came up with a list of all the things I’ve been doing for self-care over the last several months. I thought I would share five of the things that have helped me. You’ve probably already heard some of these before, and if not then I hope you find a couple that will help you.
- Take a Social Media break
I know for a lot of people this will be the hardest thing to do because we already feel so isolated from each other, but it’s important to give yourself that break. Since March all of my social media accounts have been flooded with COVID-19 related articles, memes, and the ever-changing rules, as well as people arguing with each other, and just general hate towards each other. Add the past US Election on top of it and it was a lot. It was overwhelming. Especially because I tend to take on other people’s emotions (yay for being an empath).
- Have a bath
Take 10 minutes and lock yourself away in your bathroom. Add a bubble bar from Lush or some essential oils, and a glass of wine (or your favourite non-alcoholic drink), and take the time to relax and clear your mind. Even taking just a few minutes a day to spend with yourself will make the world of a difference. I’ll even bring my kindle in the bath with me. Which brings me to my next point.
- Read a book (not a textbook!)
I find reading very relaxing. It’s also one of the many ways I find can refuel my creativity with new story ideas or even just help clear my head after a busy day. Getting lost in a fictional world for however long can is great for relieving any anxiety one might be feeling about the day or an upcoming event. The one positive thing that’s come out of COVID for me is I was able to put a sizeable dent in my to be read pile. I’ve also added a lot to it because of other’s recommendations whether from friends, family, or BookTok.
- Get more sleep
My trainer keeps trying to hammer this into me and I think it’s finally beginning to stick. Working graveyard shifts, my sleep was, and sometimes still is, all over the place. It was never something that was a priority for me because I always had something that needed to get done. I’ve noticed that whenever I deprive myself of sleep, my anxiety and depression get worse. According to the CDC, we should be getting between 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Lately, I’ve been making more of an effort to not look at my phone or be on my computer for at least 20-30 minutes before I want to go to bed and I’m finding that on those nights, I get better-quality sleep.
- Go for a walk / Get fresh air
When I find my creativity waning or even just non-existent, taking a walk to get fresh air is a huge help! Sometimes that spark of creativity can be found in nature or just walking around your neighbourhood. Try going downtown, sitting on a bench, and people watch for a bit.
I would love to hear some of the things you’ve been doing to help get you through this year 🙂
Wow, this is incredibly personal, thank you so much for sharing this with us. As someone who has really been struggling with their mental health, it’s nice to know that I’m not alone. Thanks for including a list! I will definitely be trying these out!
I find your tips super helpful! They may seem like the obvious, but you easily forget how important they are in our day-to-day and how they can positively affect our mental health. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hi Andrea,
Thank you so much for sharing this, it really says a lot about how strong you are. I absolutely love the quotes you provide, especially the one by Glenn Close. I love your self-care list: I’m now heavily considering having a bath tonight 🙂 I totally get what you mean about reading! It is, and probably always will be, my escape from stress, anxiety, family, and school. I would have loved to see some pictures of your tattoos! I think it really would have added another great layer to your post. I’m jealous of your being able to put a dent in your “to read” pile – my just keeps getting higher and higher.
~Marcey
Hi Marcey!
Thank you. I hope you had a relaxing bath tonight. It was honestly one of the things I missed when we didn’t have a bathtub in our place haha. I don’t think I could give it up again. Oh, my tbr list is forever growing haha! Every time I take one off, I add another two or three 🙂 I had considered adding pictures of my tattoos, and honestly, I’m not even sure why I didn’t. Maybe I’ll go back and add a couple of them.
I hope you’re doing well and find time to relax this winter break! Thank you for sharing your experience about dealing with anxiety and depression. There definitely is a stigma when it comes to talking about self harm and being vulnerable with others, it shouldn’t be something one is afraid of and you really inspire me to focus more on prioritizing my mental health and self first. I recently had a mental break down too, because of everything going down in the world and had to get my boyfriend to come pick me up. We ended up going for a walk and looking at all the pretty Christmas lights and it was so needed in a time when everything just feels chaotic and all we can do it sit and wait. I’ve wanted to take a break from social media for awhile now but it seems impossible recently since everything is now online. It also feels as though my whole life is online, which may or may not be a norm for some people and may or may not be pretty toxic haha. Do you have any tips on being more balanced when it comes to ones relationship with technology or are you going through the same struggle?
Hi Ally, I hope you’re doing a bit better now. There’s something about looking at all the Christmas lights that’s relaxing, isn’t there? It was one of my favourite activities when I was a kid. We’d get bundled up and go for a drive around the neighbourhood to look at the lights. Sometimes I’ll still drag my husband with me to get a hot drink and go for a drive around town haha. I’m definitely going through the same struggle, but I’m getting better about being aware of how much of my day is actually dedicated to my phone. A couple things I would suggest; if you haven’t already (and you have an iPhone) turn on the screen time tracker. You’ll be shocked at how many hours a day you’re on your phone and where those hours are being spent. This helps me monitor my screen time throughout the week. Turn off your notifications (even if it’s just turning off the banner that appears on your locked screen). This was huge for me! I find that when I’m not bombarded with notifications, I spend less time on social media because there’s not that temptation to scroll aimlessly. Set a time limit for yourself to only be on social media for an hour or two a day. I hope this helps!
Andrea, thank you so much for all of these tips and tricks. I will definitely consider trying ALL of them! I can definitely relate to you being a people-pleaser. It is exhausting isn’t it? I was finally able to request an extra day off work this semester. It had become too much to balance with online school, and I literally had zero time for myself. It is so incredibly important! Some things that have really helped me this year have been yoga and meditation, as well as finally finding the time to read! I also knocked a few off of my TBR list.