Going Crazy
[ 7 September 2007 ]
I recently received an email from a girl who had just moved city & it seemed like everything was going wrong. She hates her job, she feels lonely, she has gained weight, she is stressed out, her family is sick, etc.! It was insane! Mostly, though, she wanted to know how to get her creative bent back. It had neglected her & she was desperate for it to return.
Here is my response…
Wow, it sounds like things are going pretty crazy for you right now.
As hard as it seems, my advice would be to concentrate on the positive as much as you can. I know it seems impossible, but the thing is, we get what we focus on. So if all of this stuff is sitting in your brain, you can’t help but attract more of it.
If you don’t know how to get it out of your head, use EFT.
Focus on the good things in your life. Write a list every morning of the things for which you are grateful. Even if it is just that you have a roof over your head, that the sky is blue, that your partner loves you.
Take things slowly. Allow yourself time to decompress. Go for walks. Get as much sleep as you need. Don’t try to force your creativity — it never works. When you are relaxed & feel safe, it will start to come back to you.
Allow yourself pleasure. Read good books or magazines. Watch videos on Youtube which fill you with wonder. Go swimming.
I hope this helps…
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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ooh! oh! i have advice too!
check out “the artist’s way” by julia cameron, a 12-week creative recovery program. the book is divided into twelve chapters and each week you read a chapter and do the exercises at the end. in addition, every morning you are supposed to sit down and write out three pages of whatever is on your mind. it had changed my life so much and i’m only on week three! some of the exercises tricked me into opening up to my actual wants and tracked down the things in my past and present keeping me from being more creative and productive. writing out a game plan/rant/whateverisonyourmind first thing every day really helps me concentrate on what i want and need to get done. it’s like writing out all the thoughts floating around in my mind frees up the space for more important things.
it’s helped me so much in the last month that i just had to pass along the knowledge to someone else. :)
rachel — I’ve heard good things about that book! I think I started doing it once but the routine got up my nose so I stopped, ha! Naughty…
I find getting outside, doing some physical activity and listening to uplifting music (with or without searing guitar solos) all help, ideally all at the same time. And if I have too much on my mind, writing it down helps get it out of my head. EFT works too -thank you, Gala! Also laughing – watching a funny TV programme or movie. Or if I’m at the end of my rope and need an extended amount of rescuing, an uplifting movie with plenty of opportunities for emotional weepiness (like the 12-hour extended cut of LOTR. Or something.)
I find one thing that helps me a lot is to just make it possible for me to be creative. Setting up my apartment so that I have access to both inspiration and materials goes a long way to helping my creativity when it’s ready to come out, and also ensures that it’s easy for me to do what I want to do when I want to do it.
When I’m feeling stressed or crazy like that I like to do mini-escapes. I find a free time (for example- a client meeting gets done early) and “escape”. No one is expecting me and everyone thinks I am somewhere else. Don’t answer your phone or email and go and sit somewhere and be quiet. I like to go to the bookstore or a coffee shop, have a chai tea and relax or read. It’s a small break but the lack of expectations and input helps.
I also self-medicate with my pets and books. Just laying down on the bed with my pets and focusing on them is very theraputic.
Luv
Poochie
www.shoedaydreams.com
I totally agree with you about rest and pleasure being essential parts of creativity. I’m starting up my own business selling my handmade jewelry and sometimes I can overdo it and work too hard. Recently I read somewhere (it was in a career book for artists) that you have to reward yourself and give yourself time off to play and relax even if _____________ (fill in the blank) doens’t go as well as you had hoped. I recently had a string of very unsuccessful arts and crafts faires and was working double time to try to make up for it. . . when I started to feel quite depressed I realized I hadn’t given myself the open/spontaneous time I had promised myself after the shows for the month (of August) were over. . .
so that was basically my long way of agreeing with you about the resting and the playing. They are def essential!
I always find watching favourite movies (Amelie, Lost in Translation) help to get me motivated & inspired. The ones that make you think seem to work the best. :)
I second The Artist’s Way recommendation. That book changed my life. Or rather, totally transformed.
The best advice I’ve ever heard is the slogan for most recovery programs: H.A.L.T. (which stands for doing your very best to never let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired). If you start feeling bad for any reason, one of these factors is likely to blame… And once you realize what is influencing your unhappiness, you can take steps to fix it. Hungry? Go out for your favourite take-out. Angry? Punch a pillow, rant in your journal. Lonely? Call a friend, or call anyone just to talk. Tired? Curl up in your favourite blanket with your cat or another comfort object and nap. It is similar to your EFT, Gala, I think. Focusing on what is really causing you sadness and realizing you are not to blame and you CAN fix it. Makes me feel better, anyways :)
I had to share this link, it goes very well with your article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4436482.stm
xoxo