Creating when you don't feel like it

[Hopeless Insomniac]

Hello all!

This morning I watched a video by Tessa Violet entitled "My depression + creativity" and it discussed a question someone asked on another forum: "How do you create when you are dealing with depression?". I know not everyone struggles with depression so I would like to open the question up a bit and ask you guys: How do you create (or make videos) when you are sad, dealing with a lot in your personal life, or simply don't feel like it?

Tessa talked about two routes. Either you allow your self to take a break or you use what is going on in your life to fuel your creativity.

I also do a lot of creating when I am experiencing hard times or grief. This winter I really struggled quite drastically with depression for the first time in a long while and although it was one of the hardest experiences of my life so much art was created during this time. I even started a project entitled "Dear Winter" modeled after carrie hope fletcher's (another writer and youtuber) project entitled "dear autumn" where she wrote letters to the season autumn. I set a goal to write everyday and it didn't always happen. But pushing myself to be writing helped me so much. It gave me a sense of purpose, even if it was a small one and at the same time gave me a safe place to express my feelings and hopelessness without being judged. And now that I am much better it is nice to reread those writings and see how far I've come. It is a reminder that things DID get better.

I think it is important to understand what is best for YOU and your creativity and well being. Some people need to take a step back from creating for awhile while others need the distraction, or healing that creating can offer. I've learned sometimes your biggest breakthroughs creatively come from the most difficult times in your life.
I would really like your opinion on this

 

[MattyGreen]

For me personally. A big trigger for my feeling of worthlessness is not doing anything productive. If I stop making videos, writing songs or anything like that I start to spiral downwards. When I'm in a downward spiral I have to force myself to make stuff even if I don't feel like it because I know the next day it'll make me feel better.

Another thing is that I, like you mentioned, use those feelings to fuel my creativity. Some of my best and most honest songs are what I write while upset and bring me out of the cycle. The best thing to do is to find what helps you and realise when something is real and something is in your mind. The reality is always nowhere near as bad as what is in your mind!

 

[Kush Patel]

To be certainly honest, I think creating when you don't want to is one of the most important things. You may be in a slump so take some time off and find the fire that you love. Working with people always helps. Working on something new also helps. You gotta find the passion first!

 

[SmartTheDumb]

Back when I was a drummer, I forced creativity like there was no tomorrow, and never got good results.
Eventually accepted that regardless of technical prowess, I would never be a world class drummer. So I quit the artistic world altogether.
Now, it looks like it's sucking me back into it, as if my channel wasn't just an exercise in English speaking. So, I'm now trying to write a script for my next video. But now I'm not forcing anything. Which I should be! Because procrastination is getting the best of me! The fact that I'm writing this reply is proof of it!

There's probably a balance somewhere between forcing ourselves to put out better content, or just go with the flow of the river...

 

[Truong Nguyen]

I think you need to find your passion. A reason help you work day by day without retiring it!
Pay a price for your super success.

 

[Weirdprodigy]

Usually when I have a lot in my mind I'll take a day or 2 off. Viewers can tell how much you're energy has changed so posting something that's not 100% you or seem depressing can hurt your channel. Or I feel like making a video talking about your problems so your subs can get to know you in a more personal level is good as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[QefkaRetro]

This is a really interesting topic and one that I think a lot of people can familiarise themselves with. I've too been through depression through various stages of life and it does affect your motivation to create and simply get through day to day activities. Just before Christmas I was going through frequent bouts of being ill which greatly changed how motivated I was to upload. I went from October to December with only uploading about 10 videos where as before that I was uploading about 25 a month.

I think the key thing to think about in this situation is how you will appear in front of your viewers. I don't think anyone should force themselves to create any content if they are not 'feeling it' at that point in time, and what I had noticed was I hit some kind of 'creators block' where anything I was trying to create just didn't seem right and I knew uploading it would portray a different person to who I am. Personally, I don't upload anything that I am not proud of or happy with because being proud of something yourself really shows and the quality of what you're creating increases.

Taking a step back whether its a couple days or a month depending on when things feel right again is needed on the most part, not everyone can do that however which I appreciate. I think the important thing is to not create content for the 'sake of it' as opposed to creating content that not only you yourself are proud of, but the viewers you have can enjoy thoroughly just as much. And whatever the best method for achieving that for an individual will be the most beneficial.

 

[Crown]

(Let's not give advice about dealing with depression other than immediately going to get some medical help from a medical professional. )


When not feeling creative, I think the best thing is to take a (short) break from online life and go outside and do stuff, meet people, go for a walk, experience new things out of your comfort zone. That usually helps to see things in a different perspective and to recharge the batteries.

 

[JesusGreen]

If I'm not feeling creative, I sit down for 20-30 minutes to meditate. I do that anyway each day and it's often where the inspiration for video ideas comes to me. Often times you have the ideas all along you just need to get out of your own way and stop getting so caught up in your head for a moment, find a way to clear your mind, and the ideas will be there.

If I don't feel like making a video, then it depends. If I'm behind on schedule, I'll simply remind myself of the purpose of my channel, why I do what I do etc, and convince myself to go ahead with it. If I'm ahead of schedule, then rather than working on a video while I'm not feeling it, I'll do something else productive that makes it easier for me to make the video. Like for example planning video ideas. Designing thumbnails. Writing titles/tags/descriptions. That way I'm still a step closer to releasing my next video.

Also, since my channel is self-development/self-improvement focused, if I'm going through a tough time of some sort, my first thought is: What can I learn from this? Because if I can overcome whatever I'm facing, and learn a lesson from it, then I can then go on to actually share what I went through and help others do the same. A recent example of this was I was having some really big issues with insomnia etc and a messed up sleep pattern. So when I resolved the issue, I made a video about how I did it.

 

[GrimPeter]

Depression is the ultimate killer of creativity and motivation. I wish I had some advice on how to combat it, but I have yet to find a decent solution. Take advantage of the days you have energy and hope that more are in your future.