Stress Kills Creativity

queenofthefuzzybugs

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I firmly believe this to be true. I'm going to use the anecdotal evidence of myself as an example.

When I was younger, for some reason, I kept trying to motivate myself to be creative by a system of internal punishments. Basically, if I didn't do XYZ then I suck, I'm a failure, I'll never amount to anything. I'd impose deadlines on myself and then fail to met them, hate myself even further. I found a thousand little ways to beat myself up mentally when I didn't meet my own expectations. (Don't even talk about OTHER people's expectations!)

My life wasn't horrible by any means, but I went through a long period of being deeply unhappy. I suppose it could be classified as depression or something, but I never saw a professional so who knows? All I know is I felt helpless and hopeless and getting up everyday and finding enjoyment in anything had become a big achievement for me. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know how wrong.

And yet I still was ruthless to myself. I didn't do my creative-whatsit because I feel down? EXCUSES! WORK SLAVE WORK! Every time I indulged in this form of self-loathing, my ability to create took another hit.

It wasn't until I had a 10 year bout of creative constipation that I finally figured out I was being stupid.

Stress kills creativity. Let me repeat that: Stress kills creativity. If you ever sat down in front of your computer (or for you hard-workers, paper notepad) and said "I need to write" but found your mind going blank as you stared at that white page..... then congratulations you've just experienced stress killing your creativity.

External stress is such a wide and varied topic I can't even begin to cover it. I will say, if you've got external stresses (doesn't matter the amount or why), give yourself some slack. Legit, it's ok not to be creative. If you don't find being creative, like writing, to be fun, don't do it. And don't feel guilty for not doing it. Go find something that eases your stress first and then come back to writing or whatever when you feel better. When you push yourself to create, to the point that it's not fun anymore, you're ADDING TO YOUR STRESS and that just makes it even harder to create next time. Stop the cycle. Give yourself a little grace and figure yourself out first. You can always come back to writing, drawing, etc. Whatever it is, you can come back to it.

Internal stress is something you absolutely have control over. Seriously, stop being so hard on yourself. You don't need to be perfect right this second. That chapter doesn't have to be flawless before you post it. It's okay to be bad at the thing you like doing, it's alright to make mistakes. It's fine if you write yourself in a corner 30 chapters in. You know why? Because everything you write, not matter how trivial, is practice. And PRACTICE is what makes perfect. It's a process, and every failure is something you learn from that makes you better later. You'll start bad, you'll get better, you'll look back and wonder how anyone liked your old works, and that's fantastic! Because it means you grew!

When I figured out to motivate myself by being positive (rather than negative) and mostly got my external stresses sorted out, I was on fire again. I've been writing consistently for well over a year. I've got a story going into it's 5th Vol, at 100+ Chapters (300K words). Don't even get me started about all the random stuff I write that have nothing at all to do with the story I'm posting. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes I'm bored, sometimes I do a terrible job of it... but even then it's ok. Because all that is just practice, and practicing makes me better at my craft. And so I love it even when I fail or struggle, because it's in the striving I improve.

What about you? How has stress killed your creativity? How did you overcome it?
 
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Scribbler

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I'm literally the exact opposite. Now and when I was a kid, I always thought to myself if I can finish this thing then I'm awesome.
 

MrTiemos

DinoSir, thank you very much!
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For me, whenever I feel too stressed to be creative, I read. I tend to immerse myself in what I’m reading which not only helps me abate my stress, it also can give me ideas in its own way
 

Elateam

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When I get too stressed I decide to do other things. Can't study? Clean the house. Can't work? Take a walk. Can't think? Play a strategy game. All these things help me get back on track quickly without further stressing me out because I've realized after so long that the more you stress out, the more you can't get work done. And the more you can't get work done, the more stressed out you become.

It's like a wheel that continuously spins without rest, the creaking noise it makes further pissing you off. You can't just stop the wheel, but you can slow it down. That's how I think of stress at least. Did that make sense? I hope it did.
 

ArcadiaBlade

I'm a Lazy Writer, So What?
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Meh, creative or not, i'm just lazy. If being stress can kill your creativity, stress for me actually makes me write faster. Its like a motivation to not get beaten up like its my natural instinct.

I had gotten used to belittling myself that just by talking hurts me already. I never got any achievements to what i did, i always been alone and i was either betrayed or isolated by everyone.

I had gotten used to being alone that i developed my creativity under stress conditions of being everywhere with people around.

The only problem that kills my creativity is laziness since i prefer to sleep than to write.
 

Wintertime

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Stress is something common, and although high amounts of stress can directly adverse creative thinking, having a certain goal to strive for; or a limited time frame to complete tasks is often what drives creativity.
 

BenJepheneT

Light Up Gold - Parquet Courts
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I usually find stress to be a driving motivation to my works.

It usually gives a good insight on my characters. I'd have bad times and close my eyes and envision that stress in one of my own characters in my mind. Give them something to overcome through your stress. Like a pipeline from the real world to transfer your stress to your mental characters. Give them a one-shot storyline all in your head, like a Sunday cartoon villain and have them demolish the absolute shit out of them.

Then I open my eyes, relish in the mental, lonely glory and get back on track stress-free.
 

Llamadragon

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Oh yes. I used to find stress motivating as well, some of my best works are done with some light stress as a motivator, but that only worked until a certain point. I agree - in the long run, stress kills creativity. I'm probably in some sort of light state of self inflicted burn-out - I can't even read properly anymore. Like, that's coming from a person who sat down and finished Harry Potter in three days when I was five or six. I was ALWAYS reading. I could read all day every day for weeks and remember all of it.

Now I'm lucky to read for half an hour before starting to forget the previous sentence. It's why I shifted to easy-to-read light novels. Writing is a game of pacing myself, or I end up writing mindless crap towards the end of my hour-long "creativity window". Never realized how important self-care is before I had gone for too long without it. It's not too late for me to recover, it's just that I need more time to do so than I actually have.

I'm planning to wildcamp for a week once I find the opportunity. No people, no screens, no reading, no stimulating foods like coffee or sugar, just meditating, walking, and waiting until my thoughts stop churning and then I'll wait some more. Maybe I'll leave all food at home and spend some time harvesting and preserving wild foods, or I'll take the opportunity to teach myself to weave grass baskets. It's something I like doing and calms me down, there's something about keeping my hands occupied with works that don't require thoughts that helps a lot and I would be able to spend much of my time doing that too. Stuff like weaving is the same but I don't have the materials on hand right now, so yeah. But some of my most relaxed days have been the ones I spent weaving willow baskets.
 
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Scribbler

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Oh yes. I used to find stress motivating as well, some of my best works are done with some light stress as a motivator, but that only worked until a certain point. I agree - in the long run, stress kills creativity. I'm probably in some sort of light state of self inflicted burn-out - I can't even read properly anymore. Like, that's coming from a person who sat down and finished Harry Potter in three days when I was five or six. I was ALWAYS reading. I could read all day every day for weeks and remember all of it.

Now I'm lucky to read for half an hour before starting to forget the previous sentence. It's why I shifted to easy-to-read light novels. Writing is a game of pacing myself, or I end up writing mindless crap towards the end of my hour-long "creativity window". Never realized how important self-care is before I had gone for too long without it. It's not too late for me to recover, it's just that I need more time to do so than I actually have.

I'm planning to wildcamp for a week once I find the opportunity. No people, no screens, no reading, no stimulating foods like coffee or sugar, just meditating, walking, and waiting until my thoughts stop churning and then I'll wait some more. Maybe I'll leave all food at home and spend some time harvesting and preserving wild foods, or I'll take the opportunity to teach myself to weave grass baskets. It's something I like doing and calms me down, there's something about keeping my hands occupied with works that don't require thoughts that helps a lot and I would be able to spend much of my time doing that too. Stuff like weaving is the same but I don't have the materials on hand right now, so yeah. But some of my most relaxed days have been the ones I spent weaving willow baskets.
*pat pat*
 

S-Scherr

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I firmly believe this to be true. I'm going to use the anecdotal evidence of myself as an example.

When I was younger, for some reason, I kept trying to motivate myself to be creative by a system of internal punishments. Basically, if I didn't do XYZ then I suck, I'm a failure, I'll never amount to anything. I'd impose deadlines on myself and then fail to met them, hate myself even further. I found a thousand little ways to beat myself up mentally when I didn't meet my own expectations. (Don't even talk about OTHER people's expectations!)

My life wasn't horrible by any means, but I went through a long period of being deeply unhappy. I suppose it could be classified as depression or something, but I never saw a professional so who knows? All I know is I felt helpless and hopeless and getting up everyday and finding enjoyment in anything had become a big achievement for me. I knew something was wrong but I didn't know how wrong.

And yet I still was ruthless to myself. I didn't do my creative-whatsit because I feel down? EXCUSES! WORK SLAVE WORK! Every time I indulged in this form of self-loathing, my ability to create took another hit.

It wasn't until I had a 10 year bout of creative constipation that I finally figured out I was being stupid.

Stress kills creativity. Let me repeat that: Stress kills creativity. If you ever sat down in front of your computer (or for you hard-workers, paper notepad) and said "I need to write" but found your mind going blank as you stared at that white page..... then congratulations you've just experienced stress killing your creativity.

External stress is such a wide and varied topic I can't even begin to cover it. I will say, if you've got external stresses (doesn't matter the amount or why), give yourself some slack. Legit, it's ok not to be creative. If you don't find being creative, like writing, to be fun, don't do it. And don't feel guilty for not doing it. Go find something that eases your stress first and then come back to writing or whatever when you feel better. When you push yourself to create, to the point that it's not fun anymore, you're ADDING TO YOUR STRESS and that just makes it even harder to create next time. Stop the cycle. Give yourself a little grace and figure yourself out first. You can always come back to writing, drawing, etc. Whatever it is, you can come back to it.

Internal stress is something you absolutely have control over. Seriously, stop being so hard on yourself. You don't need to be perfect right this second. That chapter doesn't have to be flawless before you post it. It's okay to be bad at the thing you like doing, it's alright to make mistakes. It's fine if you write yourself in a corner 30 chapters in. You know why? Because everything you write, not matter how trivial, is practice. And PRACTICE is what makes perfect. It's a process, and every failure is something you learn from that makes you better later. You'll start bad, you'll get better, you'll look back and wonder how anyone liked your old works, and that's fantastic! Because it means you grew!

When I figured out to motivate myself by being positive (rather than negative) and mostly got my external stresses sorted out, I was on fire again. I've been writing consistently for well over a year. I've got a story going into it's 5th Vol, at 100+ Chapters (300K words). Don't even get me started about all the random stuff I write that have nothing at all to do with the story I'm posting. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes I'm bored, sometimes I do a terrible job of it... but even then it's ok. Because all that is just practice, and practicing makes me better at my craft. And so I love it even when I fail or struggle, because it's in the striving I improve.

What about you? How has stress killed your creativity? How did you overcome it?

I wholeheartedly agree with you. I've come to the conclusion, for myself anyway, that there is no such thing as 'writers block'. Only 'writers interference'. We are our greatest enemy when it comes to the creative process and simply allowing it to flow. We come to the table with our high expectations, our overly critical thinking, and every other damn real-world problem that gets in the way when we sit down to enjoy the writing, that we forget that we're supposed to enjoy it, too. I'm not saying that there isn't a lot of hard work involved, but that can come later in the editing process after, or, the research/planning prior, etc. I often tell myself when I'm struggling to get the hell out of the way, to just sit down, take a deep breath, and get something--anything-- written on the pages. I don't care if it's complete crap, or the best scene I've ever written, so as long as I push myself past those 'annoying myself' moments... and write. I'm often surprised by what comes out after a few rough paragraphs when I start out not in the mood, or in the right frame of mind to write, and then suddenly tap back in to the creative process that takes over. Most often, we need to just push ourselves at the start, put a pause on the swirling mess of thoughts that distract us, and then enjoy the journey ;)
 

Underload

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Write in short bursts. Take long breaks in between the sessions. DO it five times a day and you'll a chapter.
 

Ninetailed_Furball

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I feel like you're writing about me specifically for some reason.
I've had a few readers say some similar things after making some White Rabbit jokes about my releases being late all the time lately.
Personally, I think a bit of stress is important, or else you'll just slack off too much, and thus I'm a firm believer in deadlines, but only realistic deadlines. It's all about balance, and if you're getting more than a little stresses, there's a good chance you don't have the balance quite right yet.
Adjust your deadlines, schedule your work differently, maybe even adjust your goals to be more achievable?
Stress does kill creativity, but stress is also the impetuous that makes you put pen to paper in the first place.
 

Azrie

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I have only read the main subject and not the replies, I just felt like I had to mention it.

Anyway, I am in a constant state of void, what do I mean by this? Am I stressed out? Absolutely, life is like that, unfortunately. What do I mean by 'void'? Well, sometimes I sit down and just look at the wall, not thinking about absolutely anything, try to think about what comes tomorrow? There is nothing, what in a year? Also nothing, it feels temporary, it feels empty. It's something that will come and I can't help but feel scared but at the same time indifferent. I used to have severe anxiety, and while I still have it to some extent I have grown numb to it. I worry a lot about things, but once that initial worry is done, it turns into indifference, lethargy, apathy. It's hard to describe.

Anyway, regarding writing, sometimes I do pressure myself to write because I hate not doing it for a bit. Procrastination ruined my life once, it took inhumane amounts of work to get it back on track, so I follow the same philosophy for everything I do. I cannot tell myself, "Hey, don't write today," it's impossible. So needless to say sometimes I just feel a lot of stress regarding the thing, however, I don't feel like it's creativity what kills it for me, it's more of my inexperience. I can pretty much picture everything perfectly in my head, but when it comes to writing it, is just... It can be painful.

So, why did I even bother to mention my weird state of mind at the start? Well, when writing I kind of feel the same, I feel like if I don't do it right now there is nothing tomorrow nor in a year, it's something I must do, the path I chose, and just something that is not really a chore but something that keeps me "in-line" if you will. It is certainly quite a destructive mentality, but sometimes I just feel like I have to be doing something productive. Be it writing, be it doing something like research, just something that will serve me in some way in life other than entertainment.

I personally like to believe, no matter the amount of stress there is, as long as there is fun to be had, whatever you produce that time, it will be your best work. Because you had fun, and that's all that mattered. This is probably the weirdest reply and it might even make some people tilt their heads and just wonder what is wrong with me, but I thought it was nice to bring another point of view.
 

Scribbler

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I have only read the main subject and not the replies, I just felt like I had to mention it.

Anyway, I am in a constant state of void, what do I mean by this? Am I stressed out? Absolutely, life is like that, unfortunately. What do I mean by 'void'? Well, sometimes I sit down and just look at the wall, not thinking about absolutely anything, try to think about what comes tomorrow? There is nothing, what in a year? Also nothing, it feels temporary, it feels empty. It's something that will come and I can't help but feel scared but at the same time indifferent. I used to have severe anxiety, and while I still have it to some extent I have grown numb to it. I worry a lot about things, but once that initial worry is done, it turns into indifference, lethargy, apathy. It's hard to describe.

Anyway, regarding writing, sometimes I do pressure myself to write because I hate not doing it for a bit. Procrastination ruined my life once, it took inhumane amounts of work to get it back on track, so I follow the same philosophy for everything I do. I cannot tell myself, "Hey, don't write today," it's impossible. So needless to say sometimes I just feel a lot of stress regarding the thing, however, I don't feel like it's creativity what kills it for me, it's more of my inexperience. I can pretty much picture everything perfectly in my head, but when it comes to writing it, is just... It can be painful.

So, why did I even bother to mention my weird state of mind at the start? Well, when writing I kind of feel the same, I feel like if I don't do it right now there is nothing tomorrow nor in a year, it's something I must do, the path I chose, and just something that is not really a chore but something that keeps me "in-line" if you will. It is certainly quite a destructive mentality, but sometimes I just feel like I have to be doing something productive. Be it writing, be it doing something like research, just something that will serve me in some way in life other than entertainment.

I personally like to believe, no matter the amount of stress there is, as long as there is fun to be had, whatever you produce that time, it will be your best work. Because you had fun, and that's all that mattered. This is probably the weirdest reply and it might even make some people tilt their heads and just wonder what is wrong with me, but I thought it was nice to bring another point of view.
Everyone feels that way.

You should read more books to increase your vocabulary.

I don't understand your third paragraph. Ohhh, that's what you meant.

I don't think it was weird at all.
 

YuriDoggo

Angery Doggo >ᴗ<
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Everyone feels that way.

You should read more books to increase your vocabulary.

I don't understand your third paragraph. Ohhh, that's what you meant.

I don't think it was weird at all.

Imagine being so stuck up you're criticizing someone's vocabulary based on what, five paragraphs? Also, I'd imagine that being a writer is more than just having a large vocabulary--life experience is important too. Cough Betrayal Cough.

I don't really stress over writing, but there are times where if I force myself to write, I do worse instead. However, having a deadline is also a good motivator. I think it just comes down to how you're feeling when the "stress" comes. If you're feeling uncreative, stress can make it worse, but at the same time, if you're on a writing roll, stress can make you eat up that word count like none other.

Just don't overstress or make it chronic, which I think is your problem.
 

Llamadragon

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I don't really stress over writing, but there are times where if I force myself to write, I do worse instead. However, having a deadline is also a good motivator. I think it just comes down to how you're feeling when the "stress" comes. If you're feeling uncreative, stress can make it worse, but at the same time, if you're on a writing roll, stress can make you eat up that word count like none other.

Just don't overstress or make it chronic, which I think is your problem.
Everything is balance in the end. Had a teacher who used to say that eating too much is as bad as starving, exercising too hard is as bad as being sedentary. When it boils down to it, no stress at all is as bad as too much in its own ways.

A tricky line to work but you're right.
 

Ninetailed_Furball

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Everyone feels that way.

You should read more books to increase your vocabulary.

I don't understand your third paragraph. Ohhh, that's what you meant.

I don't think it was weird at all.
Please don't disparage another's honest efforts like this, especially when it's obvious he's opening himself up to us, it's cruel to simply dismiss his words and instead insult him.
I have only read the main subject and not the replies, I just felt like I had to mention it.

Anyway, I am in a constant state of void, what do I mean by this? Am I stressed out? Absolutely, life is like that, unfortunately. What do I mean by 'void'? Well, sometimes I sit down and just look at the wall, not thinking about absolutely anything, try to think about what comes tomorrow? There is nothing, what in a year? Also nothing, it feels temporary, it feels empty. It's something that will come and I can't help but feel scared but at the same time indifferent. I used to have severe anxiety, and while I still have it to some extent I have grown numb to it. I worry a lot about things, but once that initial worry is done, it turns into indifference, lethargy, apathy. It's hard to describe.

Anyway, regarding writing, sometimes I do pressure myself to write because I hate not doing it for a bit. Procrastination ruined my life once, it took inhumane amounts of work to get it back on track, so I follow the same philosophy for everything I do. I cannot tell myself, "Hey, don't write today," it's impossible. So needless to say sometimes I just feel a lot of stress regarding the thing, however, I don't feel like it's creativity what kills it for me, it's more of my inexperience. I can pretty much picture everything perfectly in my head, but when it comes to writing it, is just... It can be painful.

So, why did I even bother to mention my weird state of mind at the start? Well, when writing I kind of feel the same, I feel like if I don't do it right now there is nothing tomorrow nor in a year, it's something I must do, the path I chose, and just something that is not really a chore but something that keeps me "in-line" if you will. It is certainly quite a destructive mentality, but sometimes I just feel like I have to be doing something productive. Be it writing, be it doing something like research, just something that will serve me in some way in life other than entertainment.

I personally like to believe, no matter the amount of stress there is, as long as there is fun to be had, whatever you produce that time, it will be your best work. Because you had fun, and that's all that mattered. This is probably the weirdest reply and it might even make some people tilt their heads and just wonder what is wrong with me, but I thought it was nice to bring another point of view.

In terms of vocabulary, being probably one of the most verbose writers on this site, I can tell you having an extended vocabulary isn't as important as how you envision your story and put it to words. Bear your heart out, and while some will attack you, others will feel the dedication and enthusiasm in your words.
Learn to grow confident in yourself and your works, while always striving to grow, and you'll one day look behind and marvel at what you have accomplished.
 
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