Creativity is a natural trait for empaths and HSP’s because we feel and emote so deeply, yet, these same abilities also build up unique creative roadblocks that can be hard to spot and clear.
Between managing our own feelings and navigating the energy of family, friends, relationships and the world at large, an “emotional stew” forms pretty quickly. Soon it’s difficult to clearly sense what we really want to create because our desires are buried deep under so much other stuff that feels more important.
In addition, the overwhelm of weird, discordant energy within us can be extremely draining or cause anxiety, making us less inspired to create overall. It’s like having all the television channels coming through at the same time on one screen. Nothing makes sense, but we still have to sort through it all to understand what to keep and what to toss.
It takes conscious effort to stay grounded, follow a regular self-care practice and create a different approach to how we work with the energy of creative roadblocks. While our natural tendency is to help others and be of service, empaths have to push through a lot of noise to understand how to be of service to ourselves, and our creative spark.
If you have challenges sorting through creative roadblocks, know you are in good company. The gift is in being able to notice what’s happening and adjust in order to keep creativity and self-care flowing.
5 Creative Blocks for Empaths
Here is a list of things I experience and notice clients struggle with when they are trying to connect with their creative voice and overcome creative roadblocks.
Confusion over what emotions to own, discard or embrace to inspire creative flow and healing.
Each empath needs to choose between discarding or embracing on a daily basis. The more self-aware we are, the easier it is to notice when things “feel” like ours or lack resonance. The easiest way to get better at discerning the truth for you is to get grounded through a regular internal practice. Meditation, quiet time, regular brainstorming time or creative playtime, walks in nature and doing some grounding exercises can help. A combination of these things done consistently helps craft a baseline for knowing “what goes where” more quickly and easily over time.
How we really feel about creating.
When we can discern what resonates with our heart, it’s so much easier to create. Empaths thrive when we create from a place of personal meaning and connection – it ignites our inner passion. When we get caught up in a lot of unnecessary drama, feel bogged down by boring work or aren’t grounded within our personal power, it’s hard to find true inspiration. Everything looks interesting or nothing does, shaping a general disconnect from what speaks our soul, zapping our desire to take action. In fact, this point is true for anyone looking to create – passion and personal meaning kick-start creativity on so many levels.
Feeling safe to…feel.
When there is so much emotion going on in the world – fear, anger, frustration, love, joy and so much more, empaths can feel unsafe to feel anything. This is because feeling anything means we feel EVERYTHING. While I’m no expert at always managing the resistance aspect of emotion by any means, I have noticed I absolutely need to follow a simple self-care routine daily to stay rooted in my own truth. Then it’s much easier for me to allow emotions to bubble up, even if they aren’t mine, because I have a way to let them go consciously and quickly. My go-to “decoder” is to ask myself if a specific emotion or feeling is mine or someone else’s, giving myself the opportunity to let it go right away. If not, I may waste a lot of time trying to figure out “why” I feel a certain way about something when it doesn’t even belong to me!
Guilt.
I’ve talked about this one before in a previous post, The Fine Line for an Empath: Taking a Torch to Guilt and Saying Yes to Yourself. Putting others’ needs ahead of our own is natural for an empath, but it’s also the fastest way to lose yourself. If you notice guilt creeping in about withdrawing to do self-care or saying no to a project or social plans that don’t resonate, take note. Ask yourself why you feel guilty and if it’s a pattern that pops up often when you make an effort to be of service to yourself. Be sure not to judge yourself about it either – another common tendency.
Knowing what your actual creative voice sounds like.
Understanding your unique voice and noticing when it’s being crowded out by a lot of other noise is a big creative roadblock for an empath. For many years I only wrote for others or edited other peoples’ content instead of writing my own – I had no idea what my voice sounded like. A creative voice is part of our personal identity; our authentic self. When other people’s juju has invaded us completely, the empath’s creative voice needs to be re-discovered and nurtured, bit by bit, to come to the surface. Whether it’s through writing, painting, vlogging, cooking, community building, crafting and more, the voice living within needs to be invited to show up and have room to expand. It may not feel natural or safe at first, but it’s definitely there so stick with it!
Managing the Energy Feedback Loop as an Empath
There is always going to be an energy feedback loop to manage as an empath. When feeling is a big part of who we are, there is no way around it. We feel ourselves, others and how others react to what we say and do. The day and what happens in it will impact us more than it does other people, but it’s also the gift we’ve been given to navigate with and share in the world.
If you need a little help managing the energy feedback loop as an empath to side step fear, self-judgment and overwhelm, here’s some simple grounding advice:
- Spend time in nature
- Meditate
- Eat healthy foods and less sugar and caffeine
- Focus on meditations for each chakra individually and balance all of them
- Envision a personal grounding cord dropping from your hips and going deep into the earth. Create a new one each day, and pick the color, texture etc.
- Listen to relaxing music
- Allow yourself to feel and get messy with it
- Create a self-support system through tools like essential oils, energy healing, groups with like minds and hearts
When we are able to find healthy ways to support ourselves that also keep us integrated into the physical world in a safe way, empaths can overcome creative roadblocks and feel empowered. Now more than ever the natural gifts of the empath can show others the power and beauty of digging deep to be their most creative, connected, real selves.
Help lead the way!
As an empath, what ways do you notice and move through creative roadblocks?
Want some support from a fellow empath? Connect with me for a creativity coaching session or intuitive reading. Looking for other ways to tap into your inner wisdom in a deeper way? Check out my podcast, Flirting With Enlightenment.