You’re Not Lazy—You’re Just Wounded: The Link Between Trauma and Creative Block

If you read my blog posts: From Burnout to Breakthrough: How To Protect Your Creative Spark and The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: What Nobody tells you about Starting Something New, then you already know I’ve burned out before. And I told you why. Every creative has felt it. Burnout is no stranger to us.

This just might be the hardest part of being a creative. Because creativity isn’t just what we do, it’s what we love. It’s the second language we spoke growing up. It was our safety net. Our security blanket.

So when you finally share it with the world, and people start recognizing it, it’s beautiful… and terrifying. You become a deer in headlights, frozen. Because you don’t know what to do.

Then come the voices. Everyone is telling you what to do, where to go, who to talk to, and how to move. And just like I said in my last post, it can get confusing. Fast. Even overwhelming.

IS THE WATER HOT OR COLD?

One moment we’re praised, the next we’re being cursed while people march with pitchforks in their hands. No one teaches you how to navigate it. And when that happens, it can get a little messy for everyone involved. So I’m gathering knowledge and handing it to you.

Do you know how I always talk about mental health checks in my blogs? Do you even read that? If you said yes, okay, good. Let me break this down even further: the reason why I tell you to get mental health checks is because being a creative can be draining if you don’t properly take care of the creator.

And the creator… is you.

DON’T BE BLINDED

Let me use an example, an example that should be well. Back in the year 2017, there was a Manchester bombing that happened at an Ariana Grande concert. The bomb killed 22 and injured over 250 people. The bombing that took place deeply affected Grande’s mental health.

Tragedies happen every day, but sometimes, we walk away wounded, even for a lifetime. What happens can affect anyone, but when it happens to a creator in the spotlight, it can feel like millions, if not billions, of people digging at a wound that you’re desperately trying to heal.

What happens stops your whole world. And at that point, your body stops responding. You’re paralyzed not just in the body, but your spirit is too.

You don’t want to pick up a pen and write your next masterpiece, or strut down that stage to strike a pose. You’re just over it. Not even that. You physically can’t. As I said, in this industry, there’s no such thing as stopping, so you try to get up and put on a brave face for others.

THE DARK CLOUD THAT LUMES

Unfortunately, this has happened to many others who create and if they’re mega successful for a living. If you think about it, I bet there’s a list of people you can name from the top of your head. A list that haunts you. There’s a good possibility that the star you’re thinking of that dimmed out was battling something behind closed doors.

There are a few names on the top of my head that I can tell you that they struggled in the public eye—people just weren’t listening or didn’t care to listen.

THE TOP DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LONELY

As your big sister, just know—I’m listening to you. You don’t have to do this alone. In this industry, you tend to be vulnerable to the point of exposing truths about yourself that shouldn’t be anyone’s business but your own. It can really be like living in the unknown because a lot are scared to explore this topic.

What are you struggling with? It’s okay, it’s a safe space. If you want to share it with me, you’re welcome, and if you don’t, you’re still welcome.