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Tell Us How You Stay Creative When Your Mental Health Gets In The Way

It's hard, but don't worry. You're not alone.

Anjali Patel
by Anjali Patel

BuzzFeed Staff

There are a lot of perks to creative pursuits. Not only are they freeing and expressive, but they're also a great way to cope when you're not feeling your best.

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But what do you do when your mood gets in the way of you living up to your creative potential?

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Creators are often encouraged to establish routines to improve at their craft. For instance, "write every day" or "draw every day" or just "practice every day" in general. But when your mental health goes south, that pressure is just another layer of stress.

Maybe you might write "done" lists along with "to do" lists to remind yourself of how much you still manage to accomplish on bad days.

Perhaps you have a mantra you recite to yourself when you feel overwhelmed or under pressure.

If your creative work is stationary, maybe you encourage yourself to change gears entirely by running or doing yoga to get yourself out of your head.

It could even be as simple as giving yourself permission to take breaks for hours, days, or even weeks at a time.

So tell us: what you do you do to stay creative when your mental health gets in the way? Comment in the box below for the chance to be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post!