All healing is creative—and all creativity is healing.

When I share this with my clients, most respond with a puzzled look—or some version of a protest: But I’m not creative. 

I’d like to suggest that all of us are creative. And no, I don’t just mean that we all have latent skills in the standard realms of creative expression: painting, writing, theater. I mean that we are all inherently expressive beings endowed with the unique capacity to imagine the impossible–and to make it happen. 

Creativity is an oft-misunderstood concept. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, creativity is “the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form.” You’ll notice that “art” is an addendum–almost an afterthought. That’s because making art is just one small component of creativity. The realm of creative expression is vast–and it’s worth exploring.

If creativity is bringing something new into the world, imagining alternative worlds to the one we’ve been given, then the possibilities are endless. Most things are arguably creative. Writing an e-mail is a creative act. Disciplining your child is a creative act. Choosing a workout is a creative act. Walking to work and noticing the world around you is a creative act. 

So why don’t we feel creative? Why do we all feel so, well, blocked?

The answer is simple: habits.

We live in a habit-forming world. As our world grows more complex and the breadth of our choices becomes increasingly vast, we are compelled to seek automation and simplicity. The advent of the modern technological era has made it that much easier to capitalize on automation–to reduce creativity to convenience. Add to that the fact that most of us are busy–and growing increasingly busier. According to researchers, the more overwhelmed we are with choice and possibility, the more likely we are to experience choice paralysis: the inability to make choices at all. 

This paradox is at the heart of habit formation. We form habits to simplify the complex task of making decisions. And habits, in a habit-forming world, easily become compulsions: choices that, once we’ve made them once, we can’t seem to escape. From there, it’s just a short distance to addiction. 

It’s been said that the opposite of addiction is connection–and that’s partially true. But I also think that the opposite of addiction is freedom, otherwise known as creativity. If compulsive habits reduce our choices, limiting us to our patterns, then freedom from those habits lies in our capacity to be creative–to construct a reality that breaks from the rote and the mundane. That’s why the much-maligned concept of creativity is actually so crucial to recovery. Because creativity isn’t just the product of healing–it’s also the road that leads us there. 

How Creativity Promotes Healing 

You’ve likely heard of the healing potential of creativity. Ample studies suggest that practicing creativity can promote recovery in several ways. Engaging with the arts can allow you to: 

• Express and process your thoughts and emotions 
• Lower stress and anxiety 
• Connect with yourself and your identity, promoting confidence and self-esteem.
• Find meaning in your life’s experiences and relativize your suffering 
• Cope with grief and loss 
• Form new connections with other people 
• Contribute to your sense of accomplishment and fulfillment

As a result of this research, there has been a concerted movement to bring creativity to healing spaces. For example, you might have heard of art therapy programs in oncology clinics, or you might participate in a music therapy session in a rehabilitation facility. 

Although such approaches are highly valuable, they are often limited to traditional modes of creativity, reinforcing the myth that creativity exists only in the production of tangible art. But creativity is so much more than that. 

Creativity, as we’ve seen, is simply the practice of making something new. In this way, it isn’t just something we do as a means of assisting the healing process: it is the healing process. I’ve mentioned several times that recovery–the return to wholeness–is something of a misnomer. We aren’t returning to anything; we are creating something new. Creativity is thus a spiritual process, an act of faith. We practice creativity by throwing ourselves into the vast abyss of the unknown—and making do with what we find there.

And this is why creativity is so hard–and so important. I believe that most of us are blocked creatively. We encounter these blockages because we have fear–the fear of the unknown, that nagging, persistent fear that underlies so much of what we do. But if we want to recover ourselves—as we are, as we wish ourselves to be—that’s exactly where we have to go.

Recovering Your Creativity 

We’ve established that all people are fundamentally creative. We veer from creativity when we fall into habitual patterns and fall back on old coping mechanisms–which, if you’re anything like me, happens a lot. So what does it mean to recover your creativity, to return to that state in which you are open to everything and wield agency over outcomes? 

Creativity expert Julia Cameron phrases it best: 

“If you think about the universe as a vast electrical sea in which you are immersed and from which you are formed, opening to your creativity changes you from something bobbing in that sea to a more fully functioning, more conscious, more cooperative part of that ecosystem.”

It sounds appealing, doesn’t it? So how do we get there?

Reclaiming creativity is akin to the recovery process; it is messy, iterative, and frequently consists of taking a few steps forward and a few steps back. But at its core, it requires a willingness to surrender your need for security and control, to open your awareness to something greater, and to take a leap of faith. 

5 Tips for Healing Creatively 

If you’re ready to harness the power of creativity to promote your recovery, consider the following research-backed tips. As always, if you need support or have any questions, you can always book a free coaching session with me. 

1. Be Here. Now.

It might sound trite–and I’m sure you’ve heard it before–but there is no healing modality more powerful than simple mindful awareness. There’s no way around it; you need to develop the ability to inhabit the present moment in order to make the kinds of decisions that promote your healing. 

Think about it: you can’t become a more patient person without noticing when you’re being impatient. You can’t quit smoking unless you are present and aware of your urges. Your capacity for healing depends on your ability to make different choices–and agency is the byproduct of awareness.

Being present may sound like a vague directive, but it’s actually quite simple. It consists, in essence, of paying attention–to your mind, body, and surroundings. It requires you to surrender your hold on the past and future and to remain in the ambiguous, evanescent present. Mindfulness isn’t just the path to healing; it’s where healing happens. The truth is that most of the suffering you feel, and the creative blockages you are experiencing are the product of a busy mind. Learn to stay still.

There are many ways to develop mindfulness. Meditation is the most tried and true of them all. There’s no need to use pricey meditation apps or try to “quiet your mind” (that’s a myth–it’s impossible and unnecessary). Simply focus on observing. Sit for 10-60 minutes and observe your thoughts as they come and go. When you find yourself straying, return to the present without judgment or frustration. This is the work of healing. 

If you find meditation difficult, you can practice mindfulness in other ways. Choose one daily activity and practice being fully present for it–washing the dishes, for instance, or taking a shower. There are innumerable paths back to the present. Choose one.

2. Make Time 

If you’re anything like me, you never have time for anything–ever. You might rush through your day from commitment to commitment, spending through tasks to get to the end of your lengthy to-do lists. You might neglect self-care in favor of your obligations. And you might end each day wishing you had just one more hour to dedicate to yourself.

But if you’re committed to embracing creativity, you’ll need time to practice it. Creativity is a generative act–and bringing something new into the world takes effort, deliberation, and a clear mind. You can’t exercise creativity if you feel pressed for time because you’ll fall back into rote habits instead. So, how can you make time to be creative?

Time isn’t friendly to any of us–but that’s partly because we don’t befriend it. There are several strategies you can use to find time for creativity. Here are some of my favorites.

1. Wake up 15-20 minutes earlier and journal. Write 2-3 pages longhand in a journal. Just let the debris out of your mind to make space for the new–trust me, it works.
2. Schedule time for your creativity as you would anything else. Treat it like a commitment. During this time, explore new ideas, read new books, or talk to new people. This is your time to explore new ideas. 
3. Learn to say no. You have to get comfortable protecting your time if you want to begin relaxing into it. 

3. Get Bored 

Boredom gets a bad reputation–but it’s integral to both creativity and healing.

Research has found that boredom amps up your creativity. When your mind isn’t focused on anything in particular, it has the time and space to wander. Social neuroscientists have determined that the brain has a default network mode that turns on only when we aren’t doing anything. This network allows you to develop creative ideas, replenish productivity, and ignite inspiration. 

So find some time to do nothing. Walk outside or sit in a chair and look at the wall. Take a long shower and think about nothing in particular. Let your mind wander. This is creativity.

4. Try Something New: Every Day

My life completely changed when I implemented this one simple rule.

Every day, I do something spontaneous.

For me–a creature of rigid routines and chronic task-masker–this was hard. Sometimes, it just meant foregoing a workout or taking a different route to work. Other days, it was something big–I might ditch class to go for a hike or skip my morning writing to go down to the beach. Whatever it is, I do something new and unexpected every single day. And my creativity has, as a result, expanded into diverse and unexpected directions. 

If you never experience anything new, you’ll never create anything new. So try something different each day! I promise you won’t regret it. 

5. Join a Community of Recovering Creatives 

Creativity thrives in moments of inspiration–and inspiration is the product of novel experiences and ideas. There is no better way to access the new and unfamiliar than to connect with others. 

Research suggests that recovery happens best in communities–whether it’s recovery from addiction or from creative blockages. That’s why fellowship is a foundational tenet of most healing programs. 

If you’re looking for an accessible, diverse, and open-minded community in which to share and process your blockages–and access resources to help you heal from them–consider signing up for more information on my upcoming Recovering Together group coaching sessions. You’ll get to connect with others who share your goals–and benefit from personalized coaching without the lofty price tag.

Creativity is within you–you have only to clear the debris away to access it. And it starts here. Now. 

Feel free to book a free session with me or to contact me personally with questions, comments, concerns, or ideas at [email protected]. Until then, may you be a conduit for the universal creative force that binds us all.