10 Ways to Overcome Anxiety with Creativity
Life is stressful. Don’t let anxiety control your life or creativity. Here are 10 ways to overcome anxiety with creativity.
For many creatives, anxiety is a common uninvited guest. In the creative process, anxiety can distract the mind, add unneeded pressure, create fear, and lead to depression. The good news is when you accept anxiety as part of life, you can learn to move through it and transform it into creativity and self-actualization.
Symptoms of Anxiety
- Excessive Worrying
- Agitation and Anger
- Restlessness
- Fatigue
- Unfocused – difficulty concentrating
- Irritability
- Fear
- Racing thoughts
- Inadequacy
- Negativity
- Social phobia
- Lack of Control
Resources for Anxiety
If you suffer from anxiety, you’re not alone, and it’s highly treatable. Here are some resources from ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America) to treat and overcome anxiety.
Negativity and Insecurity
Turn Negative Thoughts Into Creative Confidence
Studies have found that negative automatic thoughts can lead to burnout, mental health symptoms, and decreased self-esteem. This is not a healthy mindset for creativity.
“People tend to dwell more on negative things than on good things. So the mind then becomes obsessed with negative things, with judgments, guilt, and anxiety produced by thoughts about the future and so on,” states Eckhart Tolle in The Power of Now.
So how can negativity be turned into creativity? The science behind mood and creativity is complicated. Well-being is by far the best state for creative flow, but negativity and sadness are opportunities to grow. These difficult emotions can often promote deep thinking and motivation. They’re not meant to be sustained. They’re meant to be overcome. When sadness, anger, and negative thinking are tools for creativity, it’s because they’re challenged with positive thinking. Creativity is the opposite of despair. This hope and exploration of self is a tool for self-expression.
“You are not your thoughts; you are the observer of your thoughts.”
―
It takes time and practice, but you can retrain and rewire your brain. Instead of living in the past or worrying about the future, you can focus more on the moment, find flow, and unleash creativity. Turn negative thinking into creative confidence by finding purpose and motivation to embark on a creative journey of self-actualization. Don’t let your thoughts control you, build awareness and challenge the narrative.
Tips
- Identify the source of your negative emotions and reframe the problem as a process of self-discovery and expression.
- Journaling is a great tool to build awareness and challenge negative thoughts. Write thoughts down to get them out of your head to gain perspective.
- Embrace curiosity and question your thoughts and their sources.
- Consider your strengths and aptitudes and use them to challenge your weakness and negative thinking.
- Use affirmations to train positivity and respond to negative thoughts.
- Remember, you’re not alone – We all deal with anxieties. Here are some quotes from creative minds about overcoming anxiety.
- Practice the stoic catastrophizing exercise to follow the negative thoughts and their falseness.
- During idea generation, challenge and remove negative thinking when coming up with ideas, but embrace negative thinking when evaluating ideas to facilitate an organized innovation process. (2014 study)
Anxious Energy
Redirect Adrenaline Into Creative Energy
Anxiety wasn’t always harmful to our well-being. In fact, it was an evolutionary advantage that helped humans survive in the past. Anxiety is a fight or flight response that alerts the body to an unknown or anticipated threat. When the body feels anxiety or fear, the heart rate increases, the body releases chemicals to sharpen the senses, as well as pump more oxygen to the brain for faster responses. The problem is we don’t face as many dangers as our ancestors did, so now this chemical response can sometimes work against us.
“The energy of the mind is the essence of life.”
―
When you understand the chemical nature of what’s happening, you can reframe your thoughts and use that adrenaline to focus, express yourself, and work harder. Adrenaline is a hormone released by the endocrine system, and it’s responsible for our “fight or flight” response. It’s great for action-oriented tasks but not so great for free-flowing thinking. Adrenaline often builds up throughout the day as we encounter different forms of stress. The problem is most of us don’t channel it or do anything with that built-up chemical and instead try to focus on tasks that are counterintuitive.
The trick is to build up the awareness of the chemical reactions happening in your body and use them for optimal activities. For example, If anxiety is rising and adrenaline is pumping, engage in active activities like exercise or learning something new. Creativity grows out of new experiences, and adrenaline can be leveraged by pursuing new experiences.
Tips
- Use the energy from adrenaline to exercise like running, which can turn that energy into dopamine and other chemicals to fuel creative thinking.
- Direct the energy towards a problem by brainstorming solutions.
- Clean your home to trigger a flow state and improve your creative environment.
- Learn something new.
- Use adrenaline to motivate yourself to step out of your comfort zone and experience something new.
Fear and Failure
Befriend Fear – Find Creative Inspiration in The Unknown
Fear is a natural emotion and can even be a good thing in the creative process, but it can also make life stagnate and hurt creativity. For many creatives, fear is one of the biggest blocks to creativity. Will anyone like what I’m creating? Am I good enough? What if I fail? Am I even creative? These are all questions we ask when we’re being vulnerable and creative. But the truth is fear can be one of the most powerful tools for motivation and learning.
“Fail, fail again, fail better.”
― Samuel Beckett
Embrace the growth mindset and see failure as part of the creative process. Accept failure as a vulnerable environment to learn and grow. Fear of the unknown is an environment that inspires creativity. When we embrace the unknown, the brain can make new connections, see new perspectives, and learn new things.
Fear = opportunity
Accept that failure is part of the process. Reframe failures to be experiments, so you’re always moving upwards.
Tips
- Try new things (hobbies, unique travel experiences, etc) that you’re bound to fail at to support a growth mindset.
- Share your failures as part of the process. Enjoy the process of growing and moving forward.
- Use catastrophizing meditation to visualize what it feels like to face and overcome your fears.
- Separate the logical and creative thinking in your creative process – Don’t try to create and judge at the same time.
- For example: If you’re writing the first draft of a story, let it be as messy as possible. Editing comes later.
- Find comfort in the unknown. Take small steps of putting yourself into the unknown and consider the good that comes out of it.
- Your inner critic will often be worse than any judgment from others, so practice compassion and self-love. Reward and celebrate your creativity.
Anger and Agitation
Use Anger to Overcome Constraints
Anger and anxiety share many of the same symptoms and can often go hand in hand. Emotions like anger are our brains using memories and past experiences to judge a current situation, i.e., making connections in the brain. No one likes to get angry or the negative feelings attached, but these feelings can be channeled into creativity. Anger can be a powerful tool for self-expression, finding deeper understanding and meaning, and can ignite a problem-solving mindset.
“It is wise to direct your anger towards problems — not people; to focus your energies on answers — not excuses.”
―
A 2014 study actually found that anger can sometimes be more beneficial with idea-generation. They found that positive emotions can sometimes constrain creativity, whereas negative emotions can foster creative performance. Sometimes negative feelings, especially ones that rise up when angry, are actually our brain’s attempt at protecting us from being hurt again. By nurturing a moderate degree of hostility towards opposing ideas, a creative can be more thoughtful and facilitate better organizational innovation processes.
Anger can also be used as a motivator. You can embrace the anger and use it to push yourself or use it as an indicator that it’s time for a break. Emotions aren’t meant to be suppressed. They’re meant to be listened to and learned from.
Tips
- Consider problems that make you angry to motivate brainstorming.
- Use anger to test your ideas from brainstorming. Does the idea hold up to your judgment?
- Express your anger through creative work.
- Keep an anger journal.
- Write down angry events that take place and consider: What made you angry, how did you respond, and what you can do better next time?
- Overcome anger with curiosity. Explore every element of your anger to understand yourself better and support growth.
Self-Doubt
Turn Doubt Into Motivation and Perspective
All creatives deal with self-doubt. Even the greatest creative minds are racked with this anxiety, but they turn it into a driving force. When those inside voices tell you you’ll never succeed, you’ll never be good enough, turn to the doubt and say, I’ll prove you wrong.
“Our doubts are traitors,
and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt.”
―
Doubt is a powerful motivator and can teach humility. When channeled properly, it can drive energy to work harder, learn more, and encourage curiosity and problem solving to strive to be better. Just like a failure, doubt is an opportunity to experiment and fail. Each failure is a lesson to grow. The more you challenge and accept doubt, the more love and support you grow for yourself. Doubt will always be there, but each time you face it, you can be stronger and more confident. Vulnerability is strength and opportunity for creativity.
Tips
- Learn something new.
- Try a creative prompt.
- Appreciate and respect the process.
- Practice a growth mindset.
- Let doubt fuel your curiosity to see problems from new perspectives.
- Practice compassion and self-love.
- Be vulnerable to a trusted community – this promotes your own growth as well as helps others.
- Abandon perfectionism and enjoy the process of growth.
Social Anxiety
Break Social Anxiety Into Creative Purpose and Community
It can be stressful talking and meeting new people, especially when it involves sharing your creativity. This vulnerability can create social anxiety and keep you from the final and perhaps most important part of the creative process, sharing your creativity. In the end, creativity is best when shared. Sharing helps the creative improve, the creative domain grow, and can inspire others. Creatives benefit from time in solitude, but eventually, they must return to the community.
“Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.”
―
This can be scary at times. Being uncomfortable in a social situation is natural, especially when you’re being vulnerable and sharing your ideas. The fact is whether social interaction is good or not, it can benefit creativity. Whether it’s feedback to grow an idea, support, or helping others. Creatives need social interactions and community.
If you’re experiencing social anxiety, approach uncomfortable interactions by reminding yourself of your creative purpose and the benefits you’ll experience. Use social settings as opportunities to learn, not just what the world needs, but what you need.
Tips
- Focus on others, not yourself.
- Take baby steps to practice openness and experience new things.
- Engage in a live streaming creative channel on Twitch.
- Learn and act out a monologue.
- Do your creative work in a coffee shop.
- Design and create your own costume and attend a cosplay event.
- Take a friend to a sip and paint class.
- Join an improv class.
- Roleplay in an online social game.
Lack of Focus
Lean Into a Lack of Focus and Relax
Creative people are passionate people. It’s easy to lose yourself in your art when you’re passionate about it. The flow state is beneficial for many reasons, from productivity to well-being, but sometimes a creative can overdo it. Any kind of extreme can be harmful, which is why so many philosophies teach the value of moderation and balance.
We’re not robots, so we need balance. Sometimes during intense creative periods, we forget to rest. This can lead to burnout and other anxious feelings. Rest helps the body and mind rejuvenate. Stepping away also helps build new connections in the brain and can often lead to innovative ideas. There’s a reason why incubation is the second phase of the creative process. Stepping away helps a problem be internalized into the unconscious mind for unique connections to be made.
“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
― Benjamin Franklin
Sometimes doing nothing is the best medicine. Rest plays a crucial role in mental health and creativity. If your anxiety is racing and you can’t seem to focus on anything. Step away. Do nothing. Pushing boredom can often lead to innovative thinking and spur creativity. What do Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Leonardo Da Vinci all have in common? Yes, they produced many creative works, but they also incorporated rest activities like napping in their creative process. Research has even shown that a nap may improve performance on creative tasks more than caffeine.
When your creativity ignites a passion that makes time slip away, it can sound strange to say you need to take a break. But if you don’t want to face burnout and other negative effects, taking a break can support your creativity and ensure your passion lasts and even grow.
Tips
- Push boredom to its limits.
- Get more sleep.
- Practice self-care – Relax the body, so the mind follows.
- Practice breathing exercises.
- Stretch and practice yoga to relax the body.
- Find time to play.
Helplessness and Control
Let Go of Control and Go With the Flow
Trying to overcome anxiety can become an obsession and endless thought loop that will leave you exhausted and hurt your mental health. The stoics have a great lesson on control, separate what you can control and what you cannot, and let go of what you can’t control. Anxiety can make us over plan and try to control the uncontrollable. This is a waste of time.
“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything – anger, anxiety, or possessions – we cannot be free.”
―
Ruminating on anxious thoughts only builds more anxiety. Trying to control how one feels instead of letting it flow will only result in more problems. Overcoming anxiety to be more creative isn’t about control but accepting and letting go. When you let go of control, self-love will grow, you’ll free your mind, improve awareness, and you’ll get more of what you want by doing less.
Tips
- Practice mindful meditation by recognizing thoughts and letting them go.
- Recognize what you can control and what you can’t. Focus on what you can and let go of what you can’t.
- Recognize what triggers your need to control things.
- Write it all down, do a “mental dump” of your feelings to gain perspective, and let go.
- Use affirmations to reframe negative thoughts and the need to control them.
Racing Thoughts and Restlessness
Get Your Body Moving to Clear Your Mind and Get Ideas Flowing
Exercise is not only a great way to improve well-being but also turn anxiety into creativity. Exercise helps relieves tension, boosts energy, increases blood flow, and relax the mind. When the body relaxes, the mind follows. Ignoring health can put stress on the creative mind, both physically and mentally. When you exercise, your body releases “feel-good” neurotransmitters that fuel your brain with endorphins that can inspire optimism and creative thinking throughout the day.
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
―
Do you have a creative problem that’s clouding your mind? Take it on a run. Exercise is associated with improved divergent and convergent thinking. What this means is you can think both abstractly because of new connections being formed in the brain as well as make better decisions. Convergent thinking also increases more when exercise is done regularly.
Tips
- Reduce caffeine intake.
- Take up active and creative hobbies like dancing.
- Aim for 30 to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 days each week or at least 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity 3 days a week. (Health & Fitness Journal, 2008)
- Exercise outside for additional benefits like the boost mentioned above with being in nature.
- Try exercises that are continuous and rhythmic:
- Rhythmic exercise like walking, swimming, weight training, martial arts, or dancing have the most benefits for treating depression.
- Increase energy with cycling workouts.
- For more workout tips, check out the Creative Enso Fitness board on Pinterest.
Create a Panic Attack Relief Kit
Anxiety is a natural part of being human. It’s ok to have emotions, and it’s ok to not be ok. Accepting that there will be tough times is the first step to overcoming anxiety and living a healthier, more creative life. When you begin to accept this, you can change your focus of healing to turn anxiety into creativity.
Knowing that sometimes it will be tough, you can prepare for those moments with a panic attack or anxiety kit to better help move through those tough times and learn what works for you to help you reclaim balance and calm.
Explore what’s behind your anxiety and goals and plans for how you want to respond when anxiety rises up. Anxiety will always be there, but you can learn how to live with it and channel it for creative purposes.
Tips
- Collect your favorite affirmations for relaxation.
- Have breathing exercises to redirect focus:
- 4/7/8 breathing
- Breathe in for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds
- Exhale for 8 seconds
- 4/7/8 breathing
- Create a grounding routine to return your thoughts to the present moment.
- Five Sense Exercise
- Consider each sense and name:
- 1 thing you can taste
- 2 things you can smell
- 3 things you can touch right now (your skin against the chair, a soft sweater)
- 4 things you can hear
- 5 things you can see in the immediate environment
- Consider each sense and name:
- Five Sense Exercise
- Save a routine of guided yoga stretches.
- Try an adult coloring book.
- Plan a nature escape.
- Reach out to a friend.
- Close your eyes and visualize your happy place.
- Journal your thoughts and feelings for perspective.
Zach is an international writer, photographer, filmmaker, martial artist, and creator of Creative Enso, the Zen art of creative living. His goal is to empower and inspire creatives to live healthier, happier, and more creative lifestyles.
