MENTAL HEALTH

Mental Health Risks Writers Make Too Often

How you can avoid these common pitfalls

Introduction

There are some common mistakes that writers and creatives make that can be very detrimental to their mental health. This article will address a few of these mental health risks, and what you might do to protect your health and wellness. You do not have to “suffer for your art.”

Writers are a unique bunch. We are often entrepreneurial, yet creative. Creative, yet sensitive. Sensitive, yet reclusive. Reclusive, yet lonely. Do the paradoxes ever end? Can we really pursue a creative life and be a healthy, well-balanced person? I am glad you asked — YES, we can.

We are a conglomerate of strong feelings and big goals. So, how do we manage these goals without jeopardizing our own mental health? As writers and creatives, we often do just that —thereby suffering for our art. Some of these common pitfalls can be avoided.

Let’s unpack the big ones.

Self-abuse and self-denial

Writers, we have GOT to start taking better care of ourselves. We abuse our bodies entirely too much — because we can be a moody bunch? Or because we work ourselves to pieces? Regardless of why we do this to ourselves, we need to drink more water, walk more, take care of our mental health and put down the “coping” tools that aren’t good for us.

Just ask prolific writers like Stephen King, author of On Writing and some 90 other books, about the alcoholism and drug use that has blurred the writing of some of his books completely from his memory. Just because he was capable of producing phenomenal material while intoxicated does not mean it was good for him or his body.

It is good to set health standards for ourselves that we value as much as our writing.

Selling ourselves short

Name one other business where people will do 3 hours of work for $5.00.

Can’t think of many, right? WHY are we willing to work for pennies when we know the value we add to society? It makes no sense to sell ourselves short — so much that we feel overworked, underpaid, and undervalued.

Pssst….they can only do that to use if we give them permission. Know your value and don’t be afraid to ask for professional courtesy and fair rates of pay.

We undervalue our talents

Name one other profession where it is common for people to apologize for their talent, make excuses for their talent, and walk around acting like they have no idea the value of their own talent.

Writers are hard on themselves. We doubt every line, every word, every article or poem. We self-criticize and treat our work as extensions of our souls. While the inspiration may be, the work is a reflection of talent.

We need to think of how many people would love to have the talent to wordsmith — and remind ourselves that not only do we have talent, we have potential, promise, and the ability to continually improve our craft.

We are vulnerable — and trolls pick on us for it

We put ourselves “out there” in a way that is very personal. Because of this, trolls do their best to eat us alive. (Just ask Shannon Ashley, who is having a particularly hard time with trolls — and now internet stalkers who seek to ruin her reputation and her livelihood. All because of the vulnerability she reveals through her writing.)

It is a mental health challenge, to say the least, that we find ways to overcome the haters and the criticism. We must seek ways to stay healthy in the midst of great opposition. Yes, sometimes that means ignoring comments, blocking, or reporting others. Develop a “troll management” strategy that works for you — but puts your own mental health at the center.

Isolation

Isolation can be a tricky thing for introverts — as many of us writers are. it can be the best thing for us at times and can also lead to sadness, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. It is essential that we seek balance in our lives, know when to seek help, and take the time we need to ‘come up for air.”

Don’t let the four walls and that blinking cursor on your screen completely dominate your existence. Get outside. Get some fresh air. Make time to reach out to others and build yourself up.

(Another person here that comes to mind is the incredibly brave Jason Weiland, who shares his mental health stories with truth and transparency. The isolation and pressures of writing can be at times burdensome to his mental health and he bears that burden with conviction, determination, and honorable strength.)

Taking our art too personally

One of the things we do as artists and writers is to pour our souls into our work. Ultimately, this is a beautiful thing. But sometimes we forget that while a portion of ourselves does go into our work, our work functions independently of our own self-esteem. We can often get tangled up in the connection between our own personal sense of self and the way the world responds to our work.

Criticism can be devastating. A lack of enthusiasm for our work can also be disheartening. It is important to take a step back when you realize that you are putting too much of your own self-worth into the success of your work and the response it receives from readers. It is not healthy to give that kind of power over our own self-esteem to other people. These other people have varying opinions and education levels. They are from different cultures and different places in the world. They have real stuff going on in their own lives. If other people bash your work or receive it with a lackluster enthusiasm, you cannot interpret that as a reflection of who you are as an individual. It reflects more on what that particular reader is experiencing than it does on you as a writer.

Maintaining a sense of identity outside of your work is important to maintaining healthy self-esteem.

Multi-tasking ourselves into unproductivity

To say that we as writers have a lot of “irons in the fire” is an understatement. Writers often employ various sources to monetize, manage an array of social media outlets, and many of them do so while having full-time jobs. We have a lot going on in a lot of different places and this can lead to multitasking ourselves into a lack of productivity.

One of the things I do to stay on top of all of these various things that are shouting for my attention is to use an app called Milanote. The organizational aspect of the app combined with the creative application it offers helps me to envision my day and be more creatively invested in the planning of my day. It functions like a hierarchical vision board, of sorts.

I use the app to organize all of the various channels of my freelancing career while also balancing personal goals and objectives. I find it easy to locate the information I need quickly, check things off a to-do list, and plan for new projects coming up without forgetting any of the ideas I have while brainstorming. It’s also collaborative and I use it when I am working with mentoring clients.

Writers must find what works for them so that the stress of managing in the midst of all of these competing deadlines and goals does not get overwhelming.

We get out of balance

Creative spirits will understand what I mean when I say that we get out of balance. Writers often work days and nights and all their in-betweens, trying to accomplish a list of objectives or meet the demands of a list of clients. We forget to eat. We forget to sleep. We forget to invest in our own relationships. It is crucial as a writer that you take the time to enjoy a life outside of writing. Don’t let other things in your life slide to the point of creating chaos for you.

Maintaining a healthy balance between your writing lifestyle and your living lifestyle is the best way to find success in all of your writing endeavors. It’s also the best way to not lose your mind while doing so.

Exposing others and hurting our relationships

This one gets ugly.

As writers we are constantly looking for new material and what feeds us the best is what is happening around us in our lives. Sometimes writing gets personal and sometimes that getting personal hurts our relationships.

Set boundaries for yourself as far as what is okay for you to write about and what is not okay for you to write about. Discuss these boundaries with your family members and friends so that they know what they can expect from you. Consider the outcomes of your writing and discuss it with people that may be involved so you can be sure to protect your own personal relationships, yet stay true to your own writing and your own creativity.

And be prepared for backlash. Sometimes, you have to be willing to compromise in order to smooth things out with your loved ones.

How we can do better

As writers, we need to do better for our own mental health.

STEP ONE is simply to prioritize your own mental health. There is no “mental health faerie” that’s going to drop in on your writing career and remind you to keep yourself mentally well. You must prioritize this on your own. Add it to your to do list. Literally put take a walk or take a bath on your to do list and do not skip over it. Consider it a part of your workday to do those things that keep you sane, keep you mentally well, and keep you in a positive mental state so that you can do your work.

STEP TWO is to know when to ask for help. There will be times when your mental health is at risk and likely, you know it. Do not be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Do not be afraid to step away from your work when it is jeopardizing your mental health. Do not be afraid to talk to your doctor or your counselor or your partner or your family and friends about what you are going through and ask for support.

Writers give so much to society. Our contributions are important to the entertainment, to the informative, to the educational, and to the newsworthy for the whole of society. (Think of one single day without television, books, social media, blogs, songs, poetry, etc.)

Writers give. But writers should not forget to be generous with themselves as well.

Thank you for reading. I wish you the best of health and wellness in your writing career.

Christina M. Ward is a freelancing professional from the lovely state of NC.