Stress and Creativity - Weathering the Storm
We’ve long known that chronic stress is bad for our physical health, but what about our creative health? I’ve been experiencing a creative ebb over the past several weeks, and last week I went looking for ways to reignite my creative fire. What I’ve realized is that my creative self is still there, but its control over my brain seems to have been hijacked by stress.
Like many, I’ve been under more stress than usual lately. Covid is on the rise here in Barcelona, the school situation for my kids is ever-changing, and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to next see my extended family. And don’t even get me started on the US elections and what may well be weeks or months of continued stress in the form of lawsuits, posturing, and protests.
Much as I’d like to blame stress for all my creativity problems, the relationship between stress and creativity is not straight-forward. Some studies have shown that stress can actually boost creativity. Many of us use stress to our advantage – we say yes to projects that we’re not quite sure how we’re going to pull off and we commit to deadlines that we know will leave us scrambling. By setting ourselves these challenges, we’re creating the type of stress that can spur us on and lead to creative leaps.
Other studies have found that stress can turn off creativity. Joao Sousa, at the University of Minho in Portugal, and his colleagues did a series of experiments showing that chronically stressed rats lose their ability to break out of ingrained habits when making decisions, even when those habits are no longer serving them. In other words, when rats are stressed out, they are less able to creatively respond to changes in their environment. When the researchers looked at the brains of these rats, they found changes that helped explain this behavior – the parts of the brain involved in problem solving and creativity had atrophied while the parts involved in habitual behavior had strengthened.
James Shanteau and Geri Anne Dino found similar results in a study of people. They had four groups of eight people spend one to two days in a crowded uncomfortable room – a situation that caused considerable stress. They then gave them a range of cognitive tests at various times, including tests of memory, analysis (solving word anagrams), and creativity. They found that creativity took a nose dive during stressful confinement while the other cognitive processes were unaffected.
The mental bias away from creativity and toward habitual thinking during times of stress makes sense in the short term. Thinking creatively requires mental energy and time – resources that might be better spent running away or fighting when push comes to shove. Enter the “fight or flight” stress response – stress hormones are released, the brain goes into survival mode, and decisions and behavior quickly revert to those that have worked well in the past. By relying on habitual responses, we don’t have to waste precious time and energy actively thinking.
The problem is that when stress becomes chronic our brains may become hijacked by this primitive habitual way of thinking, squashing creativity and our ability to adapt to changes in our environment.
When do our brains rise to the challenge of stressful situations with increased creativity and when does stress shut down creative thinking? Looking across many studies, it appears that the effect of stress on creativity depends on how much stress we’re under, whether we can control it or not, and whether it is related to our purposes or goals. This explains why the stress of having to juggle interesting multiple projects or meet a meaningful deadline (submission to an art show, finishing your article, pulling together your child’s Halloween costume) can encourage creativity. Stress, in this context, is framed by the brain as a challenge and can add fuel to the creative fire. On the other hand, stressors that are imposed on you (being forced to continually work late because management has decided on an overly ambitious deadline), that you can’t control (rising Covid cases), or that are actively hindering what you’re trying to do (having to fight through red tape at work) tend to squash creativity.
Photos by Laura Fuhrman, Bernard Hermant, and Thom Milkovic on Unsplash.
Reclaiming Your Creative Brain
So how can we help our creative selves if we’re under stress that we didn’t choose and about which we can do little? The good news is that the negative effects of stress on brain structure and creativity are reversible. Subsequent rat studies, for example, show that after four weeks of rat vacation – hanging out in a supportive, stress-free environment— the rats’ brain structures and creative responses were back to normal. While I await the possibility of a vacation, there are a number of things that I’ve been doing in the shorter term to wrest my creative brain back from the clutches of stress. I highly recommend the following:
Get into your art studio. Stress can reduce creativity, but paradoxically creative pursuits can reduce stress. If your creative juices aren’t flowing while standing in front of your easel, try easing yourself in by doing something creative but low pressure. Play some music, dance, doodle, make color charts with your paints, go on an art date, or decorate cookies.
Distract your runaway brain. Once you make it into the studio, do something to occupy the part of your brain that is spinning doomsday scenarios and causing further stress. I often listen to podcasts that fit the sweet spot between being interesting enough to distract my inner monologue but not so riveting that they demand all my attention. Lately though, I’ve found the continual talking on podcasts annoying. Instead, I’ve been blasting my Spotify playlists and dancing while I work. Don’t assume that your usual way of working is the best way in times of stress – try shaking it up and see what happens.
Take a walk. I wrote in my last post about how walking can promote the kind of free-flowing, non-linear thinking that supports creativity.
Take a news break. Although it’s good to be informed, the news is full of stressors about which we can do nothing. Why let these stressors flood your body with stress hormones, manipulate your brain, and rob your creativity when neither fight nor flight are useful?
Bolster your brain. I’ve written before about the problem of mental fatigue and what to do about it. Dealing with stress and uncertainty can also leave us mentally wiped out. Try a mentally restorative activity like walking in nature, exercising, meditating, practicing yoga, or baking.
I know that the stressors in my life aren’t going away any time soon, so I’m going to be extra vigilant about protecting my creativity. What about you? Is stress a help or a hindrance in your creative practice? What do you do to protect and nurture your creative self?
