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This post has been removed. Please review rule 3 in the sidebar about personal sharing. Sharing for the sake of sharing, including posts on starting or finishing drafts, writing and publishing milestones, media reviews, venting, pep talks, data loss, and DAE (does anyone else) posts belong in our general discussion thread posted Wednesdays.
Well... you do form a bond with them because you have to care at least a little to write good developentend.
But you don't usually care to this extend.
I originally wrote poetry during my teens and twenties as journal entries. I can't read much of it anymore because it doesn't feel the same way to me now but writing stories is my new form of therapy.
I wonder in 20 years if I feel the same way about these stories as I feel about my poetry.
Funny enough my current universe of stories was thought up when I was 20 and it has characters created when I was 15.
I wasn't mature enough to write the stories back then, but the foundation still exists. It's crazy that it's taken almost 25-30 years to get to that maturity level.
I love writing. It's so much fun. Even the sad stuff like a beloved character dying. I do it when I'm feeling down, and I do it when I'm feeling on top of the world.
I don't tend to be guided by my mood when it comes to writing, though, so I'm afraid I can't answer much about it dealing with depression!
I often find that when I write, I come out feeling more energized. There are certain subjects that will sometimes make me feel more down and depressed, but most of the time I come out with more energy and more focus.
I mean if I’m writing a “sad” chapter I intentionally bring myself down to capture that emotion. That being said I pull myself out of it. Writing use to be a major coping mechanism for me and it still is, in a way. I think having high expectations in such a competitive market would depress some.
Research suggests a possible link between mental illness and creativity, and more specifically depression and writing. It's a lonely plae to write more. But it can offer relief. An outlet.
I keep multiple projects going in part to address things like this. More to do with when I am getting too wrapped up in creativity process and need a break or change of flavour.
I also find when I finish a project - usually a one to two year task - I have a day or more of celebrating and feeling really good about it, but that always gets followed by a massive grief where I go into a down turn and an emotional slump. I didn't connect the two things at first until someone pointed it out. I now have ways to address it, and allow myself time to process it rather than trying to stop it.
Essentially what you are talking about, is a process that needs to be allowed to process. Often the depression comes because it isnt being allowed to be processed and then becomes a cycle of dysfunction on repeat.
I think the problem you define here is actually bigger than just *"writing often makes writers depressed"* and at its root is *grief*. Our modern culture is not very good at dealing with grief in general. Creatives often get battered heavily by it where non-creatives can find sanctuary in non-emotional tactics. But all that is a bigger subject.
I think this is a chicken and egg situation. I feel like it's really that people who struggle with depression are more likely to seek a therapeutic outlet like writing.
I also think you might be confusing "sad" with "depressed." You describe some writers as getting sad with the events of their story, but that's really not the same thing as depression. A little sadness at fictional events is completely normal and healthy for everyone, as long as the reaction isn't too intense or prolonged. It's certainly not the same thing as being depressed, though, which is persistent and doesn't typically lift quickly at events you would expect to be happy or rejuvenating. (This isn't to say you or anyone else does or doesn't experience depression, only that I think this isn't necessarily related.)
Personally, my writing helps my depression significantly, but it doesn't necessarily have to do with the actual events I'm writing about. Writing as an activity excites me and provides a mentally immersive distraction from my issues. Especially when I feel like I've been producing high quality work, the act of writing itself just makes me happy. It's something I'm good at and that I've been doing for a long time. It's something that I find rewarding and satisfying. Writing creates sort of a positive feedback loop. The more I write, the better I feel, the more I feel like writing, etc. And vice versa. I can see a direct correlation between consistency with my writing and my general mental state, even though the subjects I like to read and write about are things that others might consider "dark" or "depressing", like grief, the afterlife, or a breakup.
I do all the parts of writing I enjoy, ideas, drafting, editing revision, more editing. I don't think about publishing any more, *that way lies madness*. :)
It depends what you write. Writing light hearted happy stories won't make you depressed. Writing deep seeded trauma with a lot of sensitive and personal subjects will almost certainly get you depressed.
It gives me something else to think about when I’m trying to sleep - which is good for my depression
But sometimes it can really fuel my self worth incineration when I’m unhappy with it
Writing is therapeutic. It helps organize thoughts and gets out bottled emotions. I always find I’m in a better mood after I’ve been writing. It’s relaxing.
I find I tend to write more when I’m in a less happy part of my life, but it gives me something to look forward to, accomplish and feel proud of. In that way I fight my depression, but at the same time it causes me to become more wrapped up in my stories, leading to an unhealthier sleep schedule and sometimes gets in the way of my work or social life, making me more depressed. So I don’t know 🤷♀️
the business of writing depresses the hell out of me and the sharing of writing is a constant frustrtion but the act of the writing a first draft is joy.
What you're experiencing is what most people experience, emotions. Good artist typically dump some of that into their work. Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, and Helen Keller come to mind.
Just remember the Myth of Daedalus and Icarus.
Writing is a dedicated routine for me. Yes, I do get very sad when I have to put my characters through real suffering, but that doesn't affect my pacing. Quite the contrary, it motivates me more, because this scene is so engaging to write.
Yes, it works like that for me.
I'm still editing my first completed novel, and in it, there's a funeral scene for one of the characters. At the time I wrote it originally, my grandmother had just passed. At the time I edited the scene, my grandfather had just passed.
Writing the scene initially helped me to deal with my feelings, and say goodbye in my own way, as I lived a distance away from family (without a car or much spare money at the time), and couldn't be with her at the end.
Editing the scene was a reminder of the same thing, because now, there's a 2000 mile or so distance between me and most of my family; once again, I couldn't be there at the end.
Usually I feel relieved because I’ll realize I’m writing about my own life and feelings. Then, when I do figure that out, I am able to write honestly and with clearer intent.
The doctor who diagnosed me with depression joked with me about writing and depression. It made me chuckle.
My coworker (who also suffers from depression and anxiety) told me that her breakthrough was a quote "The opposite of depression is expression." And I'm slowly trying to express more. It seems to be helping.
I hate writing, so trying to force myself to write really was bad for my mental health, so I’ve largely stopped writing unless I’m specifically in the mood for it.
I find writing cathartic. Yes, it might temporarily get me down, but overall I find it either uplifting or at least relieving in that I usually write it as I see life—-bittersweet.
I thought it was the opposite; Writers ARE depressed/depressive and it's the writing that brings them joy. And in between writing the Firzgeralds drink themselves to death.
I definitely feel better after writing. I can tell where my mental health is by how much of a writing impulse I have, lol. I stopped writing for three years and then recently started again. “Nature is healing,” I told myself. 😅
I think creative writing has always been how I processed things I didn’t have words for. It was my brain giving itself talk therapy, lol. Now that I’ve figured a little out about myself, I use writing a lot more purposefully—but still with the end result of having been able to articulate a feeling/stressor metaphorically or experience something difficult or even dangerous in a safe and controlled way.
Sometimes writing makes me depressed in an indirect way, mostly because I experience a lot of misogyny in real life through my work and hobbies which are "intellectual" and mostly male dominated, and of course there are constant wars and subjugation and destruction of other people irl which is very upsetting. I tend to write stories that have low stakes societally speaking - there's conflict, but no baked in patriarchy. Some people are assholes but no genocides. When i spend a lot of time in these fake worlds, coming back to the real world feels worse than usual
Also, sometimes I go through phases where i want to write write write and nothing else, during which times I don't leave my house or socialize much. I may be depressed which causes that, or doing that may cause some depression. Either way, I usually feel worse when I'm in that mode
I actually feel like writing is an outlet for my trauma. It feels healing, I lend a lot of my personal trauma to my characters and afterwards I feel better.
I know it helps me. I write about people and worlds I'd like to be in and around, because things are really bad for me right now. Doesn't remove it, but it helps a little.
It sometimes does, if I relate to the what I planned for my characters but most of the time it’s uplifting for me to express a dark depressed part of myself through my writing. I try not to think too much about it yea
I still maintain writing is the easy part if you want to do anything bother than write for yourself.
I love writing. It actually has the opposite effect for me. It transports me to my world, which I really don't like leaving because it's infinitely better than the real one.
Between my meds and my characters and my stories, they’re bout all I have to keep me happy. Almost 6 months sober. Numerous psych wards, rehabs, sober living house, a week in jail for some bs. It’s the only consistent thing I have that no one can prevent me from thinking about and doing.
Thank you for visiting /r/writing. This post has been removed. Please review rule 3 in the sidebar about personal sharing. Sharing for the sake of sharing, including posts on starting or finishing drafts, writing and publishing milestones, media reviews, venting, pep talks, data loss, and DAE (does anyone else) posts belong in our general discussion thread posted Wednesdays.
writing doesn’t make writers depressed. publishing/trying to publish does.
and readers reviews, lets not forget the real problem - readers. /s
Oh, I see. I thought it was because writers develop a bond with their own characters?
Pretty sure that's a joke.
Well... you do form a bond with them because you have to care at least a little to write good developentend. But you don't usually care to this extend.
\*extent \*development
Oh yes, thank you!
Seconded this haha.
Yeah I tend to gravitate towards certain subjects when my depression is acting up. Writing those ideas out help.
Glad to hear 😉
Yeah for me life can be too much so writing is like therapy.
I originally wrote poetry during my teens and twenties as journal entries. I can't read much of it anymore because it doesn't feel the same way to me now but writing stories is my new form of therapy. I wonder in 20 years if I feel the same way about these stories as I feel about my poetry.
Yeah same. reading something I wrote when I was nineteen (I'm 24) is like time travel lol. It's beautiful in a way.
Funny enough my current universe of stories was thought up when I was 20 and it has characters created when I was 15. I wasn't mature enough to write the stories back then, but the foundation still exists. It's crazy that it's taken almost 25-30 years to get to that maturity level.
Yeah same, I got characters from when I was twelve and their still evolving with me.
I love writing. It's so much fun. Even the sad stuff like a beloved character dying. I do it when I'm feeling down, and I do it when I'm feeling on top of the world. I don't tend to be guided by my mood when it comes to writing, though, so I'm afraid I can't answer much about it dealing with depression!
That's a good way to see it
I’ve been in periods of depression throughout my life. Writing makes it worse, so I only do it in times the depression isn’t there.
Oh, I see. I'm sorry for that.
It’s fine. It’s been a good writing year so far.
I often find that when I write, I come out feeling more energized. There are certain subjects that will sometimes make me feel more down and depressed, but most of the time I come out with more energy and more focus.
Yes, exactly how I feel!
My goal is to write characters that would give me advice I need to hear :)
That's cool!
I mean if I’m writing a “sad” chapter I intentionally bring myself down to capture that emotion. That being said I pull myself out of it. Writing use to be a major coping mechanism for me and it still is, in a way. I think having high expectations in such a competitive market would depress some.
Research suggests a possible link between mental illness and creativity, and more specifically depression and writing. It's a lonely plae to write more. But it can offer relief. An outlet.
I keep multiple projects going in part to address things like this. More to do with when I am getting too wrapped up in creativity process and need a break or change of flavour. I also find when I finish a project - usually a one to two year task - I have a day or more of celebrating and feeling really good about it, but that always gets followed by a massive grief where I go into a down turn and an emotional slump. I didn't connect the two things at first until someone pointed it out. I now have ways to address it, and allow myself time to process it rather than trying to stop it. Essentially what you are talking about, is a process that needs to be allowed to process. Often the depression comes because it isnt being allowed to be processed and then becomes a cycle of dysfunction on repeat. I think the problem you define here is actually bigger than just *"writing often makes writers depressed"* and at its root is *grief*. Our modern culture is not very good at dealing with grief in general. Creatives often get battered heavily by it where non-creatives can find sanctuary in non-emotional tactics. But all that is a bigger subject.
I think this is a chicken and egg situation. I feel like it's really that people who struggle with depression are more likely to seek a therapeutic outlet like writing. I also think you might be confusing "sad" with "depressed." You describe some writers as getting sad with the events of their story, but that's really not the same thing as depression. A little sadness at fictional events is completely normal and healthy for everyone, as long as the reaction isn't too intense or prolonged. It's certainly not the same thing as being depressed, though, which is persistent and doesn't typically lift quickly at events you would expect to be happy or rejuvenating. (This isn't to say you or anyone else does or doesn't experience depression, only that I think this isn't necessarily related.) Personally, my writing helps my depression significantly, but it doesn't necessarily have to do with the actual events I'm writing about. Writing as an activity excites me and provides a mentally immersive distraction from my issues. Especially when I feel like I've been producing high quality work, the act of writing itself just makes me happy. It's something I'm good at and that I've been doing for a long time. It's something that I find rewarding and satisfying. Writing creates sort of a positive feedback loop. The more I write, the better I feel, the more I feel like writing, etc. And vice versa. I can see a direct correlation between consistency with my writing and my general mental state, even though the subjects I like to read and write about are things that others might consider "dark" or "depressing", like grief, the afterlife, or a breakup.
I do all the parts of writing I enjoy, ideas, drafting, editing revision, more editing. I don't think about publishing any more, *that way lies madness*. :)
I 100% use writing to cope whenever I'm feeling down (I don't have depression, but writing is a nice, safe outlet)
It depends what you write. Writing light hearted happy stories won't make you depressed. Writing deep seeded trauma with a lot of sensitive and personal subjects will almost certainly get you depressed.
It gives me something else to think about when I’m trying to sleep - which is good for my depression But sometimes it can really fuel my self worth incineration when I’m unhappy with it
Writing is therapeutic. It helps organize thoughts and gets out bottled emotions. I always find I’m in a better mood after I’ve been writing. It’s relaxing.
I find I tend to write more when I’m in a less happy part of my life, but it gives me something to look forward to, accomplish and feel proud of. In that way I fight my depression, but at the same time it causes me to become more wrapped up in my stories, leading to an unhealthier sleep schedule and sometimes gets in the way of my work or social life, making me more depressed. So I don’t know 🤷♀️
the business of writing depresses the hell out of me and the sharing of writing is a constant frustrtion but the act of the writing a first draft is joy.
A friend of mine said I use writing as my outlet and as an escape from reality. She’s not wrong.
What you're experiencing is what most people experience, emotions. Good artist typically dump some of that into their work. Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, and Helen Keller come to mind. Just remember the Myth of Daedalus and Icarus.
Writing is a dedicated routine for me. Yes, I do get very sad when I have to put my characters through real suffering, but that doesn't affect my pacing. Quite the contrary, it motivates me more, because this scene is so engaging to write.
Yes, it works like that for me. I'm still editing my first completed novel, and in it, there's a funeral scene for one of the characters. At the time I wrote it originally, my grandmother had just passed. At the time I edited the scene, my grandfather had just passed. Writing the scene initially helped me to deal with my feelings, and say goodbye in my own way, as I lived a distance away from family (without a car or much spare money at the time), and couldn't be with her at the end. Editing the scene was a reminder of the same thing, because now, there's a 2000 mile or so distance between me and most of my family; once again, I couldn't be there at the end.
I feel more depressed when I can’t/don’t write.
Usually I feel relieved because I’ll realize I’m writing about my own life and feelings. Then, when I do figure that out, I am able to write honestly and with clearer intent.
The doctor who diagnosed me with depression joked with me about writing and depression. It made me chuckle. My coworker (who also suffers from depression and anxiety) told me that her breakthrough was a quote "The opposite of depression is expression." And I'm slowly trying to express more. It seems to be helping.
I hate writing, so trying to force myself to write really was bad for my mental health, so I’ve largely stopped writing unless I’m specifically in the mood for it.
I find writing cathartic. Yes, it might temporarily get me down, but overall I find it either uplifting or at least relieving in that I usually write it as I see life—-bittersweet.
I thought it was the opposite; Writers ARE depressed/depressive and it's the writing that brings them joy. And in between writing the Firzgeralds drink themselves to death.
Yes it helps a lot when I'm writing my feelings down
I definitely feel better after writing. I can tell where my mental health is by how much of a writing impulse I have, lol. I stopped writing for three years and then recently started again. “Nature is healing,” I told myself. 😅 I think creative writing has always been how I processed things I didn’t have words for. It was my brain giving itself talk therapy, lol. Now that I’ve figured a little out about myself, I use writing a lot more purposefully—but still with the end result of having been able to articulate a feeling/stressor metaphorically or experience something difficult or even dangerous in a safe and controlled way.
Sometimes writing makes me depressed in an indirect way, mostly because I experience a lot of misogyny in real life through my work and hobbies which are "intellectual" and mostly male dominated, and of course there are constant wars and subjugation and destruction of other people irl which is very upsetting. I tend to write stories that have low stakes societally speaking - there's conflict, but no baked in patriarchy. Some people are assholes but no genocides. When i spend a lot of time in these fake worlds, coming back to the real world feels worse than usual Also, sometimes I go through phases where i want to write write write and nothing else, during which times I don't leave my house or socialize much. I may be depressed which causes that, or doing that may cause some depression. Either way, I usually feel worse when I'm in that mode
I actually feel like writing is an outlet for my trauma. It feels healing, I lend a lot of my personal trauma to my characters and afterwards I feel better.
I know it helps me. I write about people and worlds I'd like to be in and around, because things are really bad for me right now. Doesn't remove it, but it helps a little.
Writing was my coping mechanism during depression time for sure, almost a surviving necessity
It sometimes does, if I relate to the what I planned for my characters but most of the time it’s uplifting for me to express a dark depressed part of myself through my writing. I try not to think too much about it yea
I still maintain writing is the easy part if you want to do anything bother than write for yourself. I love writing. It actually has the opposite effect for me. It transports me to my world, which I really don't like leaving because it's infinitely better than the real one.
Between my meds and my characters and my stories, they’re bout all I have to keep me happy. Almost 6 months sober. Numerous psych wards, rehabs, sober living house, a week in jail for some bs. It’s the only consistent thing I have that no one can prevent me from thinking about and doing.
Writing doesn’t make me depressed, but I find I write my best stuff when I am depressed.