Managing Stress and Making Art
Stress is a natural part of life, but it can also be detrimental to your health and creativity if not appropriately managed. Many artists and creative professionals find themselves feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and paralyzed when they cannot meet their work’s mental and physical demands. Here are some tips on managing stress so you can continue being productive despite it.
Mindfulness Practice
The mindfulness practice of journaling is an excellent stress management tool. It helps you put your feelings into words, making it easier to calm down and solve the problem causing you anxiety or frustration.
- When we journal, we also help ourselves see the bigger picture and how our actions affect those around us.
Not All Stress is Bad: Healthy Stress
Having the right amount of stress can improve our creativity because it activates us and allows us to push through mental barriers without feeling overwhelmed
- The type of stress you feel when you’re enthusiastic is called good stress, or eustress. Your heart rate speeds up, and your hormones rise, but there’s no danger or fear
Keep a Gratitude List
Express gratitude by writing down just five good things that happened today or thinking about someone who did something for you without expecting anything back, then write them a letter thanking them.
Get Plenty of Sleep
To help you fall asleep and stay asleep, experts recommend that you practice good sleep hygiene
- This means having healthy sleeping habits such as avoiding caffeine before bedtime or keeping to a regular schedule for going to bed and waking up in the morning.
- Sleep experts also suggest taking time every day away from technology.
Finding Your Sweet Spot
The right amount of stress can improve performance and health and is especially beneficial for improving brain function
Spend Time with Family Members & Close Friends
Stress is inevitable, but how we respond to it reveals a lot about our personalities
- Women have an advantage in mental health because they are more likely than men to seek social support
- Having a friend by your side can help you cope with stress and improve your mental outlook
What is stress?
Chronic stress refers to the fact that these stressors are ongoing and related to life responsibilities we all have in common.
- In addition to daily stress, we also experience one-off events that are much more acute in nature, such as getting fired from a job or losing a loved one.
What’s Best for You?
We all need to find the techniques that are best for us
- Which strategy resonated most with you? Which one do you think will work well in your life as a whole? What’s something new about yourself or perhaps some aspect of your personality that came up during this post?
Stress in Creative Careers
Our creative work is directly affected by our level of mental health and physical well-being
- When our stress levels are too high, our creativity declines because it can be challenging to focus
- We might be overwhelmed by mental stress since it can affect our judgment and cause us to experience mental blocks
Belly Breathing Technique for Stress Reduction
Deep breathing exercises are a great way to reduce stress in your body.
- This type of deep breathing can be done anywhere without anyone knowing what you’re doing or thinking about while performing them. Breathing techniques make an excellent alternative stress relief technique compared to others like yoga, which require special equipment or lots of room space.
Avoid Excessive Alcohol or Substance Use
Take the long view to ensure that your drinking habits are healthy.
- Research shows that excessive drinking may hurt your creativity as well as your health. To keep yourself inspired and productive without being distracted by other factors in life, moderation is key!
Yoga
The focus is to join your mind with your body through deep breathing and holding body poses
- Yoga has been the object of significant study when it comes to mental health, and the majority of studies have found that yoga may improve mood.
- Evidence suggests it may even be as effective at treating depression and anxiety as antidepressant drugs are.
Eat Healthy and Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise is an excellent form of stress relief.
- It is believed that exercise releases endorphins, which are chemicals in the brain whose feel-good effects work as natural antidepressants and reduce pain sensitivity levels.
- Regularly exercising also helps us deal with negative thoughts by increasing serotonin production (which reduces anxiety) and decreasing cortisol release.
Affirmations and Positive Self Talk
Studies show that affirmations can be shown to lower stress levels and increase creativity-in other words, it’s good for your mind and body!
- Positive statements like “I am happy with myself the way I am!” or “I know how to do this, and I can do it well!”.
Laugh More
Laughing lowers stress and makes you happier
- Studies have found that people who participated in laughter interventions experienced more stress relief than those who did not participate in the intervention
- Positive mood and depression scores after both humor exposures were compared to their respective baselines
Mental Health and Stress
Chronic stress has been linked to various mental health conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse
- Stress can cause mental disorders because it impacts the neurotransmitters responsible for relaying messages between the brain and other body parts
- When we experience prolonged periods of stress, our body produces hormones called cortisol which increase blood pressure levels and interfere with memory functions