Three months ago, you promised yourself this would be the year you’d finally take your art seriously.
Now you’re here, heart racing every time you try to start, the inner critic’s voice growing louder with each attempt.
Creating used to be your escape – when did it start feeling like just another source of anxiety?
As artists, we pour so much of ourselves into our work that sometimes we forget to fill our own creative wells back up.
Even more so if you’re working a Cozy Girl Job, when you feel like you can spend so much time focusing on the biz part of your creativity, that the creativity can feel stuck and stagnant.
We all need a little bit of creative healing to bring ourselves back to that childlike wonder for more mindful art making. ✨
What is Creative Healing?
Creative healing is about helping you reignite your love for art-making, especially when you feel disconnected, burned out, or overwhelmed.
We can sometimes feel discouraged when we’re in a winter season of creativity. It can feel like we can’t get out of the planning, the strategizing.
Creative healing happens through your artistic practice. Yes, it happens because you have creativity inside of you because even if you don’t feel it, you already have enough creativity inside of you to make your artistic dreams come true!
💕 Related: How to Build a Sustainable Morning Routine *For Creatives*
Signs You Need Creative Healing
Creative Blocks That Won’t Budge
We all face creative blocks from time to time. They’re as natural as the changing creative seasons. 🌱
But when these blocks persist, when they feel less like temporary obstacles and more like permanent walls, it’s a great time for some creative healing!
This can come from when you feel like you’re:
- Constantly second-guessing yourself and your choices
- Feeling paralyzed (should I even start this project?)
- Finding yourself stuck in comparison loops
This can often come from when you feel “stuck” in your creative winter — you’re planning, strategizing, and reflecting, and it feels a little alien to start creating again.
Emotional Exhaustion in Your Art
You know that amazing feeling when creating feels energizing — even when it’s challenging. When you find yourself emotionally drained even thinking about creating, it often means you just need a little creative healing.
Maybe you feel:
- Overwhelming anxiety about sharing your work — like feeling terrified of posting online
- Tears of frustration
- Emotional numbness — “but I don’t feel anything right now”
- Difficulty connecting with your artistic voice and understanding what you really want in your career
Your emotional wellbeing and creative energy are intricately connected. When one suffers, the other often follows.
When Creating Feels Heavy Instead of Light
Remember when making art felt like pure magic? When hours would fly by in what felt like minutes?
If that joy has been replaced by a sense of heaviness or obligation, your creative spirit might be calling for healing.
Pay attention if —
- Creating feels more like a chore than a choice
- You’ve lost the sense of childlike play in your practice
- The pressure to produce overshadows the joy of creating
- You can’t remember the last time you created just for fun!
The Answer to Creative Healing: Letting Go of Tension
The good news! Creative blocks aren’t really blocks at all — they’re tensions living in your space, body, or creative career that need gentle release.
I have a video all about this below if you want to check it out 👇
When we understand this, we can approach creative healing with more intention and compassion.
Collaborating with Others (Tension in Your Career)
Sometimes the most powerful parts of creative self-care come from other people. When career tension builds from isolation or overwhelm, connecting with other artists can release that pressure.
Join local artist meetups, participate in collaborative projects, or find an accountability partner who understands your journey. Create opportunities to share your work in progress, not just finished pieces.
This community connection helps transform career anxiety into creative momentum.
The acting technique I studied, the Esper Technique (derived from the Meisner Technique) is all about placing your attention on others so you have a more truthful emotional life.
I believe that to be true in your real life, too! The most powerful creative healing moments have come up when I was able to talk to other creatives, either about my struggles, about their creativity, or about being an artist.
It helps us feel less alone. It’s therapeutic. It’s amazing how knowing we have a community can make us feel lighter, and how witnessing others’ journeys can illuminate our own path.
✨ Related: Your Guide to Growing as a Creative Entrepreneur
Revisiting Your Rituals (Tension in Your Home & Body)
Your body holds wisdom about what it needs to create freely.
Your body (and your home) needs habits and tasks — cleaning, organizing, planning, things like that. These things aren’t always things we get excited about.
But I remember my friend Ash said something I absolutely am obsessed with —
What if we replaced the word “habit” with ritual?
These rituals can be energetic both for your physical vessel and creative space — lighting a candle before starting the day, listening to a Headspace meditation in the morning for artistic meditation, things like that.
But rituals can also answer a question I have multiple times a day:
What things do I dread doing that I can make more fun?
I remember my “word” for 2024 was “intention,” and it helps me implement lots of rituals in my daily life. I especially need rituals for things I’m not super crazy or excited about. Like Cozy Girl Job duties — planning Google Docs, updating Asana tasks, things like that.
Rituals make tasks and habits more enjoyable. And they help your body and home stay more intentional. Think about things like this:
- Play your favorite music while doing boring admin tasks
- Put on your favorite sitcom while doing the dishes
- Use high-end, delicious-smelling cleaning products (all-natural, of course!) when cleaning your home (I love Supernatural Cleaning!)
Consuming Art (Tension in Your Career)
Sometimes the best way to release career tension is to step into the role of art-appreciator.
Go to your friend’s shows. Attend gallery openings, even if you know nobody. Go to a live show. Discover new music without the pressure to produce.
Focus on how the art makes you feel rather than comparing it to your work. Let yourself be moved and inspired by others’ creativity — this receptive state often dissolves the tension of constantly feeling like you should be creating.
There’s a positive karma that comes back when you focus on how the art makes you feel rather than comparing it to your work. When you can remember that we’re a collective consciousness. When you can see other people’s successes as your own. When you see that other peoples’ successes just show you what’s possible for you.
Let’s Make Art a Healing Journey Together
Healing through creativity is a beautiful, ongoing artistic journey.
If you’re ready to dive deeper into creative healing and connect with other artists on similar journeys, join our community! Subscribe on YouTube for weekly inspiration and gentle reminders that your creative spirit is worth nurturing.
Together, we can transform our artistic practice into a pathway for healing, growth, and joy. ✨Your creative spirit is ready to bloom again, sweet friend. Let’s tend to it with love and intention.
