My biggest pitfalls at uni have been financial and mental health related, mainting good mental health is important to sustain my practice
A reality I continue to face living as an artist is that my mental health continuously stops me from being productive. I have been diagnosed with depression, and my depression has consistently impeded me from progressing, so much so that I had to defer a year of university in order to manage my mental health during an extreme low period. In order to produce work regularly and achieve the momentum needed to get my work seen and heard by more people and grow my audience, I need to be able to manage my mental health well.
To feel happy in both my personal and professional life, managing my mental health is crucial. In order to do this, I have arranged a mental health plan based on the resources listed at the end of this blog. I have lived by similar plans before, but as I am leaving university, I will be adjusting these previous plans to suit how I will be living life as a graduate. I have tailored this plan around working as an artist whilst also working a full-time job, and its aim is to maximise creative productivity during time off without burning out.
Exercise
I will be making the time to go climbing at least once per week. Climbing is a sport that I enjoy both mentally and physically; it provides relief and de-stresses me. I know that it is beneficial for my personal mental health, as during periods where I climb often, I feel alleviation from stress and feel great positivity afterwards. This activity will allow me to feel continuously energised, calm and happy, which will allow me to continue to make art in a way that is sustainable.
Isolation
Oftentimes, I feel most depressed when I haven’t interacted with other people for extended periods of time. I am planning to live with close friends soon, and I will ensure that there are plans in my schedule with other people, which will ensure that I don’t feel isolated. Spending time with others is great not only for my mental health but also for talking about ideas for my work and potential collaboration opportunities.
Therapeutic Activities
For me, daily meditation, meal prep and writing stories are activities that help me feel grounded and keep me organised. Meditation and writing short stories are activities that help me organise my thoughts and remain calm; they prevent my depression from spiralling into intense lows that prevent me from working.
Routine
I will be creating a rough schedule for each week on a Sunday that I will use to manage workloads and fit in personal activities. Having a schedule allows me to feel organised and gives me the motivation to do the things I need to in order to achieve the best work I can. This schedule will include the things discussed previously and more, consisting of: exercise, socialising, therapeutic activities, life admin, regular breaks, my job, working on personal projects, time for guitar pedal building, freelance work and practising guitar.
https://www.mind.org.uk/media/8461/mind-mental-health-guide-for-artist-managers-final.pdf
https://blog.sketchar.io/8-tips-to-support-your-mental-health-as-an-artist