These days people are finding a lot of time on their hands. While time can give us the opportunity to get a laundry list of tasks done, this can also give us time to think. Spending time with yourself and the multitude of thoughts can be scary. We normally keep ourselves busy with the daily routines. That way it keeps those unsavory thoughts at bay.
Now bring in the writing. We writers have very active imaginations. If you are anything like me, the fantasy life is rich, layered, and playing out in tandem with reality. But I also have some thoughts and memories that I keep buried underneath a truck load of daily actions and routine. I listen to music almost all day, in the car, at my desk at work, while I make dinner, doing schoolwork, writing, and going to sleep. It keeps an ongoing cacophony of noise to mute the rest of what my brain is trying to put forward.
When I was younger my imagination kept me away from the bullies. The expansive world I built made it safe for me to walk forward. From that fantasy world, I began to write. I use it to come up with the vast array of started novels I must finish. One reason I have not finished them is from my own self-doubt. The voices of my enemies and bullies calling out my failures and everything that is wrong with what I do.
It is different for everyone how we deal with depression. How we get through those moments of self-doubt are fought in many ways. With the current state of the world, isolation and quiet can be the enemy. With all this extra time, one might think we writers would finally have the time we always wanted to get that novel completed. With depression that plan gets a little awry.
In some of my other posts I have mentioned routine and how it keeps even the simplest task on track. Depression can be handled in slightly the same way. Keeping that routine, even if it must be altered to make room for the lack of places to go. Keeping positive quotes around to remind me of the right way of thinking. We cannot let those dark thoughts overtake us. We can use those feelings in our writing but also remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We can survive it and tell everyone the tale.
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” – Willie Nelson (Musician)
