Down... and out?

Have you ever noticed how often creative types seem to be struck with depression? It's almost as though creatives have this innate need to please, and as though when they do not succeed, they don't know how to handle it.

But it's deeper than that, isn't it?

That's how a non-creative type would see it, perhaps. We creatives know it's different. It's not that we have this innate need to please, to be seen, to show you everything within ourselves through our work.

But then, what is it?

For me, the answer is very simple. It's also something that I believe we'll be able to adjust for, if we're all careful enough.

That's why I've written this. For you. So you'll know what I've been through, and so hopefully you'll now be armed with new weaponry in getting through it.

We wear our emotions as an ensemble. 

Some say we wear our hearts on our sleeves. Others say it's the cheek. But it's really that we just use our emotion more thoroughly and wholeheartedly.

There's not a problem with that. Not an innate one at least.

The problem comes when we have so much emotion that we no longer know what to do with it.

Take this for example:

I'm writing a book with five main characters, editing another (of mine) with six, and about to sign a contract with RAD Writing where I'll be editing a client's novel. That's a lot of characters, a lot of minds, inside my head. It's almost like having a hoard of friends that I have to look after and give voice to, day in and day out. Their emotions become mine, because I'm so close to them. They feed off me and I off them.

How then do I avoid the pitfall of this depth of emotion?

My solution has always been this:

Deep breath. Light music. Dimmed lights. Journal. (seasonal variants: park bench or bubble bath).

The key, at least for me, is relaxation. I need that time to sit down and think through my own thoughts, to straighten out what was me and what was them. Once I've had that time to myself (usually at the end of a work day, which is when I tend to feel the most overwhelmed), I find that I'm better able to face the rest of my life. I can sit down with friends and laugh--and really mean it. I can curl up on the couch with a glass of wine--not a bottle. I can put on upbeat music and clean the house... because that's what I like to do for fun, not because it needs doing.

That's how I do it, personally.

I know, however, that it's not the same for all of us. Which is why I've found this for you all to listen to. It's one of my favorite authors, Tosca Lee, speaking with Kevin Kaiser about her personal battle with depression:

Finding Freedom From Depression [Podcast]

And don't forget, you're not alone. If you're like this, if you're so down that you just don't know how to get up anymore, remember: I'm here for you. Even if you feel like no one else is. Send me a message, drop me a comment, let me know you're out there.

We'll take a stand together, and we'll always know we're never alone.

[love]

{RD}