Key points
- Research shows that creative endeavors reinforce identity, which is crucial for those who care for others.
- Self-expression is a way to care for the self, and to hold onto oneself while caring for others.
- Creative pursuits, even a few minutes per day, can be both grounding and uplifting.
What happens to creativity under real-world pressure?
Many will be interested in the answer, be they caregivers of aging parents or children who are ill (or not), partner caregivers, sandwiched caregivers, paid and unpaid caregivers, and individuals who struggle to be good stewards of their own needs
The answer? Creativity doesn’t vanish, though it is often disrupted. Caregiving in general is disruptive to creative endeavors, because it constantly interrupts moments of reflection
“Write every day” was the edict I learned early in my writing at a time I was working in a clinical capacity as well. I understood this to mean that I should expect ideas to bubble up and it was my job to shepherd them into reality—to caretake them, so to speak. But under times of pressure—parenting, illness, stress—writing every day meant spewing emotion into the pages of my journal. Writing every day doesn’t always translate to the kind of creativity—translation: productivity—many desire especially while caring for another.
Caregiving is an exercise in holding a tension. The purity of one’s own ideas exist on one side, and in direct opposition are the imminent needs of someone else. In reality, the two are already co-existing. How can the caregiver gently spin them into a project that is meaningful to them and, perhaps, to others as well?
Alexandra Grabbe was faced with this conundrum in 2006, when her 96-year-old mother became bedridden. During the last year of her mom’s life she postponed a novel. “I simply didn’t have the mental capacity to concentrate for extended periods of time on revision,” she says. “I wrote two blogs, one related to living green on Cape Cod—a promotional effort for my B&B—and the other about home care.” The latter, a chronicle of caring for her mother, originally meant for family updates, began to gain readers who were, in fact, complete strangers. Her writing struck a chord.
At the time she didn’t realize that by writing about her experience she was helping others make sense of her own. Several reached out to thank her. “Since home care of the elderly is such a solitary occupation, it was heartwarming to receive affirmation. “I didn’t stop writing. I simply downsized my ambitions. I looked forward to those delicious moments when I could create,” Grabbe says. One self-avowed “fan” suggested turning her posts into a book, which became Seeing Joy
Grabbe’s efforts matter. She built a world that allowed her to care for her mother and also for herself, reinforcing her identity as an individual who mattered as much as the mom she adored. This supports the researchthat has proven the value of creativity for both patients and caregivers to enhance creative discovery and growth, but also to retain and, perhaps, reclaim identity
Studies repeatedly findthat self-expression through art or writing, for example, promotes healthy aging (for children and adolescents it’s referred to as healthy development)
Perhaps it is the act of setting aside time for oneself that is most meaningful. This can be true for a writer, an artist, nature enthusiast, bird watcher, swimmer, walker—whatever brings meaning and value to the individual. As I see it, it’s a delicate balance of self-care, willingness and time—even five minutes a day—that fosters creativity. And those minutes add up, one day at a time
Mondro, A., Connell, C. M., Li, L., & Reed, E. (2020). Retaining identity: Creativity and caregiving. Dementia (London, England), 19(5), 1641–1656. https://doi.org/10.1177/1471301218803468
Galassi, F., Merizzi, A., D’Amen, B., & Santini, S. (2022). Creativity and art therapies to promote healthy aging: A scoping review. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 906191. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.906191
