Creative Healing

Creative energy is a strange beast. On one hand, being create consumes energy—we need to find rest and space in order to be creative. But creativity can also energize us. It turns our emptiness into excitement and our weariness into healing. 

“I’m too tired to be creative today.”

I’ve said that a lot—especially lately. As someone who deals with limited energy from multiple chronic syndromes, I often feel like I don’t have enough reserves to pour into writing. (I’ll admit that sometimes even writing a blog post feels overwhelming!)

But here’s something I’ve discovered just recently—sometimes finding a different form of creativity can also be a way to find rest. Let me explain. 

At one time, writing was a form of escape for me. I wrote to explore my emotions—emptying them on paper freed me from whatever I was facing at the moment (anxiety, depression, social fatigue, etc.). But when writing became my career, suddenly it became work. I had to produce something on a page worthy of publication. If I didn’t, I felt I had wasted time and energy. The constant pressure drained me. 

When writing became my career, it became work … The constant pressure drained me.

Don’t get me wrong. I still love writing! But I often had to escape from everyday life—to spend a day or a weekend away in order to focus on my work. I had lost the ability to escape into it even for just a few hours at a time. 

But recently, I’ve started exploring other forms of creativity. 

For years, I played piano professionally at churches. It, too, had become “work.” I only sat down to play to practice a new song or for rehearsals before Sunday worship. Five years ago (in 2020), I stepped down. Years of constantly trying to keep my hand tremor steady while playing the keyboard had injured my tendons. I could no longer endure playing music for several hours each week. 

Over the past few months, I started to play the piano again—this time, just for fun. I didn’t have to learn a new song or practice a set for Sunday. I simply sat down without any sheet music or chord charts and just escaped into the music. And you know what? It was invigorating! My hands were relaxed instead of tense. When I got up, I felt refreshed. 

Then I became interested in learning something new—watercolor. Hear me out. I’m NOT an artist. I barely can draw stick figures and had not played with watercolors since elementary school. Honestly, I can’t tell you what the draw was, but I became fascinated with watching watercolor videos on Facebook reels. It just looked SO relaxing! But the thought of actually trying it—especially with my hand tremor—terrified me. 

A friend invited me to an art therapy session—an afternoon just to play with watercolors. No pressure to create anything publishable or that even looked good. For the perfectionist in me, this was incredibly frustrating at first. But then I relaxed, and as I did, I began to simply enjoy the creative process. At the end of the session, I didn’t want to stop. I felt energized and even healed! 

As I relaxed, I began to simply enjoy the creative process … I felt energized and even healed. 

Now I keep some watercolor materials on my desk for when I feel stuck. I use creativity to energize my creativity. I just had to break the mold—to get out of the creative rut through a new or different artistic form. Nothing I paint is professional quality. It’s simply play and experimentation. It helps my mind relax so I can simply enjoy the creative process. I even started doodling on post-it notes! 

What about you? Have you found a different creative outlet when you feel stuck? Or is there something new you’d like to try? If you feel dry creatively, maybe try something new to take the pressure off. Write a poem. Switch to acrylics. Or, dive into a craft project—create a wreath, build a birdhouse, make a bead bracelet. Just. Have. Fun. Let the exploration bring rest and heal your mind, body, and soul. 

Happy creating! 

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