How to reduce anxiety as an artist

Hey, if you want to reduce your anxiety and you're an artist, please listen to this public announcement.

If you want to reduce your anxiety and stress, guess what you have to do?

You have to make art.

Which means if you are an artist, you have to create your drawings and paintings. If you're a writer, you have to write. If you're a musician, you have to play music. Compose music. If you're a coder, you have to code.

You know, being an artist means that you have been given gifts.

The idea of gifts is that they make you happy.

And if you think about gifts in general, what does it actually mean? It's like if you go to a shop and buy a birthday present to someone, what is the whole idea or aim of the gift? It's to make them happy.

The same goes for the artistic gifts that were given to you. Your artistic gifts were given to you with the idea that they will make you happy.

Now, what gifts are NOT about is merely making other people happy.

So if I buy you a dress for your birthday, I am NOT expecting you to wear the dress and go out to make OTHERS happy by looking at you. I'm going to buy you that dress because I feel that dress would make YOU happy. Do you see what I mean? Or if I buy you this luxurious, amazing set of pyjamas that feel so good against your skin, I'm not expecting you to go outside and show the pyjamas to everybody else to make them happy for you.

So your artistic gifts that have been given to you by your Creator, the universe, or DNA, or whatever, were not given to you so that you can make other people happy. That's a bonus.

So if you're wearing the dress that I bought for you, and you love it, DONE! I'm good! You're good.

If somebody else comes and says, "Oh my god, amazing dress," that's a bonus, but not the aim.

So your artistic gifts were given to you so that you can USE them.

If you're an artist struggling with depression, anxiety, or stress, your inherent gifts are like a bottle of medicine that you can carry around with you, drink, and use whenever you need it by engaging in creating art.

So here's some science:

studies show that using your gifts, in this case, engaging in the creation; typing, making brushstrokes, hitting those keys, is what lifts your sense of well-being, release oxytocin, positively impacts your life, help relieve stress, improves your immune function, bolsters trust, and simply makes you happier.

As humans, we are the happiest when we are creating

and sometimes sharing our creations, especially when we're doing and creating with people who also have the same urge to create. It's like healing in a community.

Now, here's another thing: it's as easy to create as NOT to create.

I mean, try to remember a time (or maybe you are living this time right now) when you haven't been creating, when you haven't been writing, haven't been painting. That's the time when you actually feel weirdly “off”. Like you're not aligned, like something's just not right. Maybe this makes you go “Oh yeah, that must mean because I AM INHERENTLY WRONG”. No!

What that indicates is that you are NOT doing what you are supposed to do - according to the gifts you've been given.

Remember, these gifts are for you and not for other people.

So use your gifts.

If you want to share them, that's fine, but it's not the goal.

If somebody likes it, it's not a goal. It's a bonus.

Also, the more you create, the EASIER it becomes for you to create.

If you are creative, the whole point of your entire existence is to ALIGN with the reality and become that abundant creator that you are. Why? Because it feels good.

Think about an apple tree. An apple tree just loves creating lots of apples year after year. It kind of feels good for the apple tree…I assume. An apple tree doesn't care if anyone's going to eat those apples or if anybody's going to make an apple pie out of it. No! The apple tree just feels great creating apples because that's what an apple tree IS ALL ABOUT.

So if you have been given gifts like this abundant apple tree that just creates apples, unapologetically BE like that tree! And see HOW it affects the levels of your stress and anxiety.