I can be an anxious person, but the one thing I’ve found that helps my stress is being creative.
With the help of some counseling in the fall of 2020, I realized that almost all of my anxiety is health related; sure, I may worry about climate change or money here and there, but the thing that really gets my heart pumping and my nervous system on high alert is when I think something is wrong with my body.
Knowing this has really helped me. I no longer see myself as someone who has crazy high anxiety, I see myself as someone who worries about her health/body too much, but now has tools to deal with it.
One of my tools for dealing with anxiety has always been distraction (which is a totally legit option, even my therapist was cool with it!). Before the pandemic I had plenty of distractions, like playdates and work and friends. Since the pandemic, those distractions have been cut down to almost nothing.
The reason distraction works so well is that stress is created in the mind. The mind thinks and thinks and thinks, and all that thinking is usually negative junk that adds worry and anxiety. When you’re distracted, you’re not thinking!
During the height of the pandemic, my only distraction was creativity. And even now that life is somewhat back to “normal,” creativity is still one of the best possible ways to reduce stress—because it frees your mind from constant worry!
When I’m in my studio with a podcast going while I paint my heart out, or in my living room at the coffee table with an episode of Schitt’s Creek or Sex and the City on in the background, time both stops and moves more quickly than I could ever imagine.
When you’re in the creative zone, you’re not a tiny human with huge worries about your health (raises hand), finances, or romantic life, you’re a piece of the universe, letting magic flow through you!
I also heard on a podcast that you can’t be creative and fearful at the same time, so if you’re in the creative zone, you’re not going to be feeling stress (which is a form of fear), right?
Having a creative practice is, in my opinion, a wonderful way too soothe your spirit and reduce stress, whether you consider yourself artistic or not.
What’s your one thing? What’s that thing that makes you feel alive and takes away all your troubles, at least for a short time? Is it running? Filling out a spreadsheet? Making a mix tape?
Find it. Seek it. Do it!
We humans spend way too much time doing things we think we “should” and not nearly enough time doing things that bring us joy. This is it. You get one chance as this you, this human, with these interests. Go do them! Escape the madness of the mind for a while. Just be.
And for a lovely marriage of creativity and calm, try this therapeutic art exercise.