Ep 092: Back from the brink: why I fell off a creative cliff into a very large black hole & how I got out of it again

You know that way when women are described as a 'hot mess' and it's meant to convey that, while chaotic, there is still something a bit sexy about them? Yeah? OK. Well, that is NOT me in this episode. I am just fully a mess, with sadly not the hot bit.

I describe this mental state I was in recently - which led to my falling off a creative cliff - in its full brutality and ugliness, with no glamourising. Why??!

I'm hoping that you will feel better about your own particular flavour of messiness - because all humans have some.

All humans have ups and downs, too. It's just we choose not (usually) to reveal them to the world, even to our friends, and especially not on social media. I think that's toxic for all our mental health. 

So that's why I'm coming clean: because the shame that so many people feel when they have down periods, makes them much worse. And, as Brene Brown says, the way to stop the shame is to shine a light on it. Which is what I am trying to do here; channel my inner lighthouse.

I also don't believe in the tortured, anxious artist archetype who is massively productive when their mind is having a mental health moment. I think our minds are most productive and creative when we look after them and they can access some stillness- and I describe the ways I do this in this episode.

Most importantly is a sense of connection and community; I describe here the role of wild swimming with Cairngorms Wild Swimmers, martial arts at HMAC and Crossfit Cairngorms, in my recovery.

So, remember folks, while this podcast is optimistically called Big Juicy Creative - there is actually no such thing as a big, juicy, creative life 24/7. And, in REAL life, the low times lead us to the high times - often higher BECAUSE of the low times.

As you'll hear from this episode, I've learnt alot from this latest blip - and there are exciting big juicy creative adventures on the horizon because of it.

Thanks for listening and for all the messages listeners sent me in my absence. Namaste 🙏

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

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Twitter: @suzybashford 

contact Suzy: [email protected]

Om Podcasten

Big Juicy Creative is the show which nurtures your busy creative soul, so you thrive personally and professionally. You could be in a ‘creative’ career, like marketing or the arts, or maybe you wish you did something more creative. This podcast will show you how, if you approach your life with creativity – a bit more openness, curiosity, self-expression, imagination - it will become bigger, juicier and more meaningful. Creativity is about way more than painting or poetry, and this show brings you inspirational tales from beyond the creative department, from farming to fractions. Your host, Suzy Bashford, is a freelance journalist, who writes about creativity among other things, a workshop facilitator and a speaker. As well as interviews, she’ll bring you shorter, solo podcasts where she sums up and test-drives the advice she’s given, reporting back to you with her trademark honesty. Suzy is a mum on a mission to unleash our collective creativity so we can solve the world’s big problems… and we need buckets of creativity for that, so please get listening! For more info: www.bigjuicycreative.co.uk IG: @bigjuicycreativeliving FB: @bigjuicycreative LI: Suzy Bashford