"Did you know that your mental health could be the key to unlocking your creativity?"

Many of you guys probably don’t know this but I’ve went through a mean heartbreak the past couple of months which really played a negative role to my mental health. I was not feeling as energetic as I used to less inspired and overall my creativity took a huge dip. So now that I’m over that and actually started dating again my mental health and creativity has been through the roof. This lead to me being curious, is there a correlation between mental health and creativity? The answer might or might not shock you, in this blog post I want to explore the relation between these two subjects with you.

Why is the impact of mental healt on music production so important? For some people it might help them fuel their creativity and for some people it becomes a hindrance in their creativ endeavours. It is important to understand the relation and how you can use it to your advantage by either learning to harness the power or doing the right steps to get back to a state of clarity, well being and happiness to maximize your creativity.

The Connection Between Mental Health and Creativity

The research shows conflicting data. Some studies suggest that people with e.g. Schizoprhenia or Depression show higher levels of creativity. While on the other hand people with no diagnosed mental illness show an increase in their creativity when their mental well being is at its peak. Additionally a creative process has positive effects on mental health as it can be used to express your emotions and therefore “decluttering” your brain. I also just realized that this blog post probably was a bad idea as the relationship is way more complex as I thought 😀.

To make this a bit easier for all of us I have decided to create this empiric overview to discuss how mental health may or may not impact the creative process.

Hindering Creativity:

• Bad mental health can drain your energy which in return leads to a decrease in focus and creativity
• Bad mental health can lead to negative self talk and self doubt which again can lead to a decrease in focus and creativity
• Depression or anxiety for example can really mess with your motivation (speaking from experience)

Enhancing Creativity:

• Mental health issues can make you more sensitive to emotions which makes it easier to express in form of music

How good mental health can increase creativity:

• Better emotional regulation which helps you to have a deeper and clearer understanding of what you’re feeling
• Good mental health is shown to boost focus and concentration which helps to tap in that flow state we all love
• Good mental health helps to build us confidence and self esteem, these two factors just help in every aspect of life
• Greater flexibility encourages us to start new projects with an open mind allowing creativity to flow

The Challenges of Mental Health in Music Production

In the following part I would like to discuss some issues musicians might struggle with.

The most common one is probably writers block, from my experience this is a result of stress and or lack of inspiration. This again ties in with mental health and its effects on creativity. Another big problem I have observed is the fear of criticism and rejection, especially if you put a lot of emotions and time into a project. Hearing people talk negatively about it really can mess with you and sometimes even hurt. This again shows how importan a clear mind and the ability to control your emotions are for artists.

Strategies for Supporting Mental Health in Music Production

Now that we have briefly discussed the effect of mental health on creativity and the problems that can come from it is time to make sure we all can deliver the most creative and emotionally capturing work possible. Below is a list of steps I chose to take everyday to help me get back to my bullshit and take my mental health to new heights.

• Getting enough sleep everyday
• Meditating everyday
• Getting sunlight everyday
• Exercising everyday (even a 20 minute walk can do wonders)
• Journal to declutter your mind
• Eat healthy
• Drink enough water
• Doing new things and achieving goals was a big one for me

Conclusion

To summarize I have come to the following conclusion.

The relationship between mental health and creativity can be really complex and varies from person to person. While in some cases it might help to harness power and help to build up emotions to express it is not a good idea to rely on bad mental health for creativity. A lot of the times it actually has an negative impact by for example reinforcing doubt or negative self talk. Additonaly bad mental health can have a negative impact on focus and concentration. Musicians suffering with mental health issues might experience signs of writers block or over proportional fear of rejection and performance anxiety. But there are a couple of strategies one can do to shift their focus and improve mental healt. Sunlight, exercise and meditation just to mention a view. It is also important to try and make new experiences to broaden the horizon and gather new inspiration. It's important to recognize the impact of mental health on creativity and take steps to promote well-being and maximize creative potential.