Imagine being a writer and feeling down all the time and not having the motivation to write. Imagine having a depression that prevents you from doing anything. Writing was something that you enjoy, but you don’t feel like you felt the way you were before. When I faced depression, it was like being stuck in bed for days and not wanting to get out. It was utter misery. I didn’t want to hear from anyone who would have helped me out and I lost interest in my craft. Why does something like this happen where we lose our confidence and stay in depression. How does someone get out of this mess so they can work on their writing project again?
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| Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash |
There are many reasons why someone can become depressed. It can be a bad situation with a relationship, a work situation, and a family situation. Also, an individual may lose the confidence to write due to negative feedback or criticisms received regarding their writing projects. But let’s focus on the lost confidence. Many times confidence could be lost by looking at a blank screen and you struggle with writing even a single word. It may just be depression settling in because you are fighting against yourself to write those very words. This is the reality for a writer, and it can be crippling. Before you were a writer who could come up with very good storylines and now you are stuck at a blank page.
How does somebody get their confidence back to do what they love such as writing? There are many steps such as journaling and writing exercises to build your confidence up. For me the exercise of composing this blog series helped me build the confidence I needed to write again. I have struggled recently with my confidence in writing and in other areas of life. It helps me to become a part of something bigger than myself with Joe’s Writers’ Club.
As for journaling, it helps by getting my thoughts on paper and gives me the structure to release those anxieties. Journaling for me means you can put anything down on the paper and you can map out your thoughts.
Another thing that has helped me so much with my depression was therapy. With therapy you can get your thoughts straight to overcome your fears. Also, it helps give you somebody to talk to who can understand and relate to your problems. It is the same as having a coach who could lead you to embrace your depression. Maybe your therapist or your coach can give you writing exercises to build your confidence up again. I am not a doctor, but going to a therapist may help out.
Another thing that may help out is listening to motivational tapes or videos on YouTube. This will help give you strength to gain more confidence. Also, reading some self-help books can help. My favorite authors to read are Jack Canfield, Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins, or Brian Tracy. If you find any of your own favorite authors please let me know.
These are some tips that will help someone to face depression. Depression can be a daunting thing, but depression can be dealt with, and you can get your confidence back. Depression can be an ongoing thing throughout life. It can be rough feeling down and not getting the writing satisfaction you need, but a great solution to this problem is having fun with writing exercises which help you think and write again. Sometimes changing strategies can help you to write again.