Did you know creative types are 8 to 10 times more likely to suffer from mood disorders – depression, anxiety, or bipolar? There is also substantial research showing that situational factors influence creativity – meaning, your pain or your pleasure will ultimately affect your creative expression. The Dark Side to Creativity
There is something else that affects creative expression, community. For the creative who tends to lean into introversion, community can feel like a lonely and draining “situational factor.” However, sometimes your feet land next to another thinker/creator/maker … and the conversation feels life giving and purposeful.
I found myself in one such conversation – and I realized, after leaving the table feeling inspired and motivated, I need more creative community. How about you? I’ve listed a few of my indicators below:
You may need Creative Community if . . .
You react to the status quo with a challenge.
Questions like “What if…?” and “Why not…?” allow us to redefine possibility. By challenging the everyday normal, we seek to create something out of the predicable, mundane, or life-less areas. And at times, the questioning reveals what ourselves or another is holding onto tightly. Limitations feel irritating when we can see possibility.
You seek authentic over popular.
Creatives seek to stay true to themselves; valuing their personal heart work, they connect deeply with those who expose the truth of their struggles. In a room full of chatty-Kathy’s, you may feel as though you have nothing to contribute because the depth you desire to give feels too heavy to entrust to those around you.
You understand the wrestle of creative work –
– Inspired, motivated, disappointed, despair, potential, vulnerable, repeat – Somewhere in the wrestling work of cultivation and creation, you wish someone would remind you of how good you are, how far you’ve come, and how your work will never match the beauty and strength of your soul. You desire to see yourself in the work, and hope you’ve given room for another to find themselves as well.
Sometimes, you struggle to believe in yourself.
Even the seemingly self-confident creative person often wonders, Am I good enough? We constantly often compare our work with others and fail to see our own brilliance, which may be obvious to everyone else. There is a lingering fear that you don’t have what it takes – and you could use some encouragement, not flattery, simply a perspective from another creative.
You live on the edge of happiness and depression.
Because we feel deeply, highly creative people can often quickly shift from happiness to sadness or even depression. Our sensitive heart, while the source of our creative spark, is also the source of our suffering. We desire joy and lightheartedness – however, without an outlet to let the noise out, it becomes trapped inside us.
What if the reason we creative types feel depressed or heavy burdened is simply because we ache for community; a community of thinkers/creators/makers? Let’s create what we long for! I’d like to challenge you to examine your friend/family circle – are you engaging with creative people? If so, I’d love to hear (seriously, I would) how you incorporate and cultivate creative relationships into your life?
As I endeavor to create something I’d like to be a part of – I’ll be sharing what I learned, failures and successes. It’s a good idea to subscribe to my blog now as to not miss anything! ♥
In the meantime, here is a fun quiz to take regarding your creative type – https://mycreativetype.com/ I’m a Dreamer, what’s yours?
Blessings,
