Tips for Writing with Anxiety and Depression

 Happy Wednesday! 

I gotta start out this post by announcing that Jenni Sauer's new book, Yesterday or Long Ago, is out today! It's a YA Aladdin sci-fi retelling with Pride and Prejudice vibes. The cover is gorgeous and the characters are amazing and the world is fantastic. It's set in the same sci-fi world as her NA Cinderella retelling Rook Di Goo. You can find out more about it and buy it HERE. 

Alright, now that that's done, I thought I would share some tips for writers who have anxiety and depression. For me, anxiety impedes my writing when it makes my brain run a mile a minute and turns my attention span into that of a squirrel.

I can't sit down and focus and I'm lucky if I can get 100 words in before I lose concentration and want to jump to something else. It also makes it hard to focus or get anything done with my brain won't shut up too. And depression? Well, I have to force myself to the computer and sit down and write when I feel tired, zero motivation and hopeless. It's not fun. 

My anxiety has gotten better lately, but I've been feeling pretty depressed and burnt out. The thought of diving back into a full length novel feels exhausting. Creating a whole world and characters and everything... I just can't bring myself to want to do that or to care. Sometimes that can just be burn out, but for me I think it's the depression. 

So here are some tips for writing with anxiety and depression and some things that have helped me: 

001 Set a daily word count goal or a time goal. I know Victoria Schwab and lots of other authors doesn't go by word count, they go by either scene or time. However you measure your writing time, make yourself a manageable goal every day. On the really hard days, if you don't want to take a full break and want to at least get some writing done, go easier on yourself. Just write like 100-200 words and call it good. For me, word count works best for me. If I'm having a rough day with anxiety or depression, I give myself a word count (usually 1,000 words) and then I let myself be done with the story for the day. I know Hannah Brencher is big about the 15 minute rule. She lives her life in fifteen minute increments when her mental health gets hard. I don't know how long Victoria Schwab goes for, but she usually gives herself a certain amount of time to write and then when the alarm goes off she's done. Nadine Brandes goes by scenes, so she tries to get a full scene done in one writing session before she calls it a day. 

002 Change in scenery. It helps me sometimes to have a change in scenery while I'm writing when I'm feeling depressed or anxious. I've been sitting in our loft to do a lot of my writing over the past month just because it gives me some motivation and gets me in a different headspace. It's weird but even moving to a different room can change your mood or your perspective, especially when you've been sitting in one room for a very long time. 

003 Give yourself grace. Some days are just going to be hard. Some weeks are going to be hard. Even months are going to be hard. I'm realizing that it doesn't make you any less of a writer if you take a day or a week or even a month off of writing. It's OK to do that. Sometimes we need breaks, our minds and emotions need breaks. Writing is a mentally and emotionally exhaustive art and we all need to take breathers once in a while. If a day is hard, don't sweat it. Let yourself relax and do something else. Read or watch a show or go for a walk or just rest. 

004 Push through if you can. I'm the kind of person who doesn't like taking breaks. I'm all about giving yourself some grace, but for myself... I'd rather try to push through a little then take a rest day. So, I will always try to push to get that 100-1,000 words in then close the laptop and let it go for the day. If you really just can't do it then don't, but if you feel like you have a little energy to muster or attention to manage, then I would definitely suggest pushing through even just for fifteen minutes to get some words in. It always makes me feel better by the end of the day to look back and see that I wrote something even if it was a small something. 

005 Write what you're excited about. If you aren't excited about it, then you're not going to want to write it on the good days and especially not on the bad days. Even if you are a little excited about a project and do plan to push through and finish it, but on a hard day you just can't do it... find something else to work on. Something that excites you and gives you joy. Depression and anxiety are a pain, but working on something that brings you life and makes you happy is always a good thing to do. Even if it's not your main project. 

Those are just a few that I could come up with. They've all helped me at one point or another to keep writing even on my worst days. I hope they're helpful to you too! :) 

What do you do to help when writing with anxiety and/or depression?