[Ne] Lack of creativity and mentally tired...

[TenebrousReflection]

I considered putting this int he health forum, but I chose here because I'd rather post where only logged in members can read. I could have resurrected my dead blog to do it, but it just made more sense to me to leave it as a separate post in hopes of getting more general feedback.

This winter (in particular the last few weeks), I've noticed that I've felt tired (more of a mental tiredness than physical) quite a lot and feel like I have a lack of creative energy (lack of original thoughts, and lack of inspiration etc). There have been times where I wanted to try to come up with and act on ideas, but aside from generating a very generic concept, its like i get a complete mind blank most fo the time when I try to follow through and write or create anything. Aside from what I've described, I feel reasonably well - I don't think its cold/flu related since I think I'd have more visible physical symptoms to acompany that. I seem to still be able to enjoy watching TV or playing computer games, and I'm still able to enjoy humorous things (thanks for the DVD if your reading this (you know who you are) ), but my motivation to read books also seems diminished (that could be just wanting a break after reading a couple books last month). I think what troubles me most is that things seem to be going very well, and I feel like I should be a lot more energetic and cheerful etc in light of circumstances, but I'm not and I don't know if I should be concerned or not...

It has crossed my mind that this could be symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but saddness and depression is a key element of that and while I don't feel as joyful as I think I should, its nowhere close to depression of even sorrow.

Does what I describe ring a bell for anyone else? Any other thoughts?

Sometimes I just want to write things to get them off my mind and know I've put my thoughts out there, and if nothing else, maybe I'll feel a bit better for having done so...

 

[Dwigie]

Did something even minor happened to you recently or something?
I remember that something happened to me and I could not even think normally. It felt like I had water sitting in my head instead of brain cells. I couldn't work, I barely did anything besides walk for very long hours while listening to music. It felt quite similar.
Or I just lack motivation because my surroundings bore me or something. It doesn't even have to be anything big.
Sometimes it's because I feel like I lack something and I feel down somehow. It's not something with a name on it at first but afterwards when I think about it it usually "comes up". Since it's just personal experience it might be completely irrelevant to you .
Have you tried getting involved in group activities, it can make wonders believe me( well it did in my case). My mood and "mental" health are tightly linked. If I'm happy I am more willing to work because I am enthusiastic and therefore I get a lot more done. And also, it might sound strange but having as less sources from inspiration as possible can actually help you out. I think that it's more "genuine" because you're not just randomly picking things from your immediate environment because you're using both memory and imagination. You're not tempted to just reproduce what you've seen because I usually assume your memory will have at least slightly altered it(it= source of inspiration).
For some odd reason I would always end up writing and thinking about so many more stories in a quiet place, isolated from many people and things than amongst them.

 

[SpottingTrains]

Personally I find to be creative I have to be in a certain kind of environment and mindset. If wherever I am writing at is cluttered I can't really focus on the task at hand and end up just zoning out. Same goes for my mindset as well I guess, I find I am most creative after working out or after being with friends. Just gives time to clear the mind or infuse it with new ideas I guess .

 

[Immaculate Cloud]

Take more 'brain food' - like eggs, fish, beetroot, raw almonds.
Include more salads in your diet and use walnut oil (Omega-3 source) in your dressing.
Periodically, go on a detox using vegetable and fruit juices. (I know you said that the tiredness is more mental than physical but you don't want one to drag down the other after a while)
Get out more with friends and do something different to get new perspectives.

Just things that worked and still work for me.

 

[nightning]

Writing your thoughts down ought to help with creativity... Getting rid of frustration by writing it all down.

It could be SAD but perhaps not. Maybe you can try going out more... take a walk, get some fresh air, do something different? Kind of get yourself out from routine work.

 

[DylanKerouac]

This winter (in particular the last few weeks), I've noticed that I've felt tired (more of a mental tiredness than physical) quite a lot and feel like I have a lack of creative energy (lack of original thoughts, and lack of inspiration etc).
But my motivation to read books also seems diminished (that could be just wanting a break after reading a couple books last month). I think what troubles me most is that things seem to be going very well, and I feel like I should be a lot more energetic and cheerful etc in light of circumstances, but I'm not and I don't know if I should be concerned or not...while I don't feel as joyful as I think I should, its nowhere close to depression of even sorrow.

Does what I describe ring a bell for anyone else? Any other thoughts?

It's been with me since mid-January. I used to write all the time, laugh all the time, joyful, enthusiastic, interested in things, compassionate, caring (to a fault); empathetic & showed INTEREST towards people and conversations. Always having something witty to say, cherishing my writing talents & impressing myself; breaking through the creative/artistic levels I've been trying hard to smash to pieces ever since elementary school.

But lately that's all been thrown out the window for an unexplainable reason. Uninterested in waking up, writing, eating, or talking to friends; even my love..I've lost most enthusiasm in writing, people, conversing, caring.....everything, basically. Just earlier tonight I compared myself to Ian Curtis' fate, life, & basically how he felt when he wrote those songs..It rings a bell, more than you know, & it's not like it's depression or cynicism or nihilism, right? Because you can still smile, laugh, & enjoy...but not at the level you usually had. It's like borderline-happiness/sadness, but teetering towards neither & just standing on the fence between emotions...atleast that's my comparison.

It's so difficult to stop thinking. Even when you dream, you still think. >.<

 

[TenebrousReflection]

Thanks for all the replies. I've had a few days here and there where I felt close to back to normal and then drifted back to less than normal, but overall I think I'm feeling better than when I wrote it. I still don't have a lot of ideas as to why, but my speculation that would seem to make some sense is feeling a bit boxed in where other years the weather might be starting to warm up a bit and get me in the mood for spring renewal enjoying the outdoors again, its been colder than normal this year (its been above twenty and sometimes into the 40s for probably a month or more, so its not horrible cold, but still far from warm), and I just don't want to spend much more time outside in it than I have to, but I have been forcing myself to take a few more fresh air breaks during the day and maybe that helps a bit.

The weather is a factor in how often I go out for group activities or do things with friends, but thats also normal for the time of year and a week or two before I wrote that I did take a trip to visit a freind and attend a large group gathering. I enjoyed the event but there were lots of strangers and as an introvert, I did feel a bit tired when i returned home from it (but that did not seem unusual or unexpected to me). I passed up an opportunity to attend another large event in that time because I did not feel I'd be in the right mood to enjoy it (and it would have been expensive to attend). While I don't feel I need a lot of social interaction, I do enjoy some ocasional time spent talking to or doign things with friends, and there is less of that than I'd like, so even if its not the cause, its probably having an effect of some kind on me.

The diet thing may have some merit as well. While I'm not eating too differently than I normally would this time of year (I know my diet needs improvment, but for comparrison sake, its similar to other years), in the winter I'm just not hungry for a cold salad (and a hot salad really does not sound appetizing in any weather conditions ) or most vegatables in general (a good vegie soup/stew is still welcome on any cold day tho).

My other thought was a "lack of newness". While I can see the merit of the suggestion to see if less sources of inspiration would actually help, I think it may be the opposite for me. From the perspective that Ne is energized by bouncing around ideas and thrives on new experiences, it starts to make sense that the lack of that could have a gradual draining effect. The times I do feel best recently is probably when I'm watching a new espisode of a television show and that might be because my brain is exploring the ideas as it's taking them in (but not enough to have any inspirational moments). I found that some of my favourite artists have new albums out or soon to be out, and that did give a moment of excitement as I look forward to those and enjoyed the new soung clips, but the strong craving I have is for new video/computer games as I look back and realize that I have not got any new games since October/November (Fallout 3) and in the absence of spending time iwht friends, computer and video games are how I normally spend my time, so the more I think about it, its like a web of one thing connecting ot the other to contribute to the whole when any of them by themself might be negligible.

Well, I feel a bit better after writing again, so thanks again for the responses and ideas to ponder.