Never ever, not ever, never stop
It’s Not Worth The Break
If you want to lose the streak, go on, don't write, take that break!
It is so easy to burn down what you built, painstakingly. It takes nothing, almost zero effort to bring down something.
In the throes of the lows and highs of my emotional world, my writing suffers the most. My other interests too disappear into the dark cloud over my head during that period. It's just dark and hopeless and I can just think of surviving in those days.
Depression is debilitating and that's a fact no one denies. Yet do you want to stop writing because of the dark shadows?
I want to share today, what happens when we stop writing?
Loss of ideas —
The first thing that happens is, that we may be thinking of ideas, but nothing that works, nothing that can be translated over paper or computer. It's just a big blah that one feels where words are there but trapped. It's a terrible claustrophobia that won't go away by magic.
Feeling like a looser —
This feeling is true and legitimate. I have been here too many times. It's like nothing we write is good enough. Our ideas are ordinary or even pathetic, it's better not to even attempt to write.
This is a mind trick, most people fall for. I am not good enough. The truth is my emotions are getting in the way of my creativity. My sadness and utter sorrow are taking over everything I built over months of consistent showing up.
The feeling of being stuck increases —
You may think that it's just a few days and you will be back before you know it. But the reality is that the more you wait, the more difficult it becomes to start writing. Life may never be perfect. And the depression may bring about something dark and deep to write. Sit with the emotions and write them out.
Don’t stop. There is a lot to lose if you do. Just remember that.
Write through the lows —
There is nothing like being able to write through the depth of your emotions. When you hit rock bottom, the words flow in a really authentic direction which hits the right chords with anyone who reads you.
And writing really helps to feel and articulate feelings better than talking to a therapist. I mean there is no substitute for professional help, but writing can come close.
Writing is tough - admit it
It's tough, but you are tougher. You are the phoenix that is written about as a legend. Get back, work hard, be sad, and still write. Read a page a day. That way, you will be 30 pages in a month, it's still better than 0 pages plus the feeling of worthlessness for not being able to do all the things you want to do.
Depression is real, get help —
Don’t wait for the depressive episode to end, by simply hoping. Get up, get help, and keep writing. Even if it is your daily journal, put it in your thoughts. It will feel less tough when you want to start writing again. Since you kept up while you were down, your mind still moves and your fingers still remember how to type type tap.
Keep writing. Don’t stop. These are the only wise words, I have to say, as I feel exhausted after writing this article which I have been sitting over a week. It's real, the struggle is real. But consistency and only consistency will help.
No matter how many times this has been said, I'll say it again. Nothing can beat the consistent effort of writing a few words every day.
Come to Medium. Come back. Write again. Start again. Read your old articles again. It's okay, you broke down again, you fell into the rabbit hole of self-destruction, yet again. It's ok. No one is judging you. Write.
Just write!
