Creativity and Chronic Illness

Episode 4 of Unwell, Not Undone is out. After our last episode on Grief, this one’s a bit of a lighter one. Has somebody ever innocently said to you, “You should get yourself a hobby” (you know, with alll that time you have on your hands because you’re just lying around sick, right?) and suddenly it’s one more thing on the to-do list you need to do, on top of the pacing and the family and the job and the appointments and the paperwork? Well, today we’re talking about creativity and how that fits with chronic illness and we’re going to take all the pressure out of it. We’re talking about what creativity actually is, what it does for our heads and for our bodies when we’re chronically unwell, and we ask the question how do we get a little bit more of it into our lives without big costs to our wallets or our capacity. I talk about how creativity and play are intertwined and how play is often one of the first things we let go of once our lives change with chronic illness. What’s in this one * How ‘taking on a hobby’ often becomes just another job * What does being creative actually mean? Is it drawing on the back of an envelope, is it making up a song while you’re cooking, is it growing one herb in a pot that you’ll probably forget to water, or something else that means something to you? * How anxiety is the opposite to creativity * How remembering what we used to do as children can be a hint on where to get started * A little body check-in, with nothing to be fixed, just practicing noticing your shoulders, your jaw, your feet and hands * How creativity impacts the body and the brain (and how it’s not a cure) * Some gentle house rules, starting with how being creative is allowed to be rubbish! * A personal story about learning to sew on a machine as an absolute beginner with one super patient friend, and the lined tote bag I finally made…see below (and as my friend told me, if someone can see your wobbly seams, they’re standing too close!) Also, this is big example of creativity, and I worked up to this after trying all the little examples here. Today’s Glimmer Practice Try and choose something today, doesn’t matter what it is. Draw something on the back of an envelope, put together a few songs on a playlist that cheer you up, take a photo on your phone of something that makes you smile or that you find interesting, write a note you’ll never send, rearrange three items on a shelf until they look better to you. Try and give it five minutes of your attention. With absolutely no goal. Not five minutes to perfect it, or five minutes to pressure yourself into being creative. Just give it five minutes because you felt like it. And if the thoughts pop up somewhere when your mind goes quiet, you know the ones that say, this doesn’t count, or nobody’s going to see it, or I’m no good at this, let them be there, without chasing them away. Let them be annoying for a second, and then go right back to what you were doing anyway. Two things can be true! The power of AND. You can listen to Episode 4 on Substack, or on Apple or Spotify podcasts. If you have a moment, I’d love if you could leave a rating or comment on the show on the platform you listen on as it helps new listeners find it. If you want to reach me specifically, email is best. Try [email protected]. Our next episode is about rebuilding trust in a body that may feel like it has let you down, and how that trust gets rebuilt. If this episode kept you company today, I’d love if you could share it with someone if they popped into your mind while you were listening. It’s how a show like this finds the people it’s meant for. And if you’d like to support the show, you can donate the cost of a coffee or chai at ko-fi.com/unwellnotundone My love, please remember, you are unwell. You are not Undone. See you in a fortnight. Kris This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit unwellnotundone.substack.com