Removing Creative Brain Blocks: A Book Review

Change Your Brain, Change Your Life: The Breakthrough Program for Conquering Anxiety, Depression, Obsessiveness, Anger, and Impulsiveness by Daniel G. Amen, M.D.

Any of the problems listed in the subtitle above can put your creativity out of reach. It's extremely frustrating. You know you have been able to use your creativity in the past, but now you have lost access to that "file" in your brain. This book/audiobook can help.

So, you might ask, how can Dr. Amen deliver on the huge promise that the full title implies? All of these problems can have strong roots in the structure, function, and/or chemical imbalances in the brain. Injuries, such as concussions, or intruders, such as cysts or toxic substances, also play a major role.

Dr. Amen is a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist. He's an expert on
ADD and the relationship between the brain and the body, and these topics are addressed as well.

The book discusses the use of functional brain scans, medication, therapy, and self-help tips...all potentially helpful to a brain in trouble...that is, a brain that may be getting you into trouble in your work and relationships. Rare among the cases discussed are those that require surgery, such as a cyst in the brain.

To benefit from this book:

*You don't necessarily need a functional brain scan.
*You don't necessarily need to travel to one of Dr. Amen's clinics.
*It's very unlikely that you'll need surgery.
*You won't necessarily need medication...but keep an open mind about the possibility.
*You may not need therapy...but again, don't dismiss the possibility too quickly.
*You might not need a coach, if you're able to benefit from the self-help tips on your own and/or are seeing improvement from one of the other avenues. However, a coach can help with related lifestyle changes. She can also help you decide if you need more help than she can offer, such as therapy and/or evaluation by a psychiatrist.

Amazing functional brain scans can be seen at http://www.amenclinics.com/!

When looking at these scans, keep in mind that they are functional, not structural. The "holes" you'll see on the surface scans are areas where the activity of those parts of the brain was not enough to register on the scan. Prepare to be amazed!

To your creativity,
Susan

P.S. to local folks: email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for info on my Nov. 8 workshop where we'll be making collage crafts for holidays or any days!

***All of Susan's creative4life posts are copyright of Susan Cleaver.***

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Games Creatives Play...and Win!

Time and project management can be very tricky for creatives. In fact, it's just about impossible to manage your work in the way that more conventional workers do.

As a creative, you can't just plow through your inbox, attend to correspondence, attend a few meetings and call it a day. Conventional work is not necessarily easier, but at least you have a clearer view of the road ahead. A task has been selected, by you or for you, and you typically have some idea how when you're going to get from A to B to C.

For many who have tried to apply this linear approach to creative work do not find it sustainable or rewarding, and they end up burned out. (I speak from experience on this one!)

Aligning with the Law of Attraction (see www.thesecret.tv) is the most harmonious and effortless way for anyone to achieve their goals. For many creatives, however, it is the only sustainable way to go.

The Law of Attraction is all about setting intentions and going with the flow, forgetting about "how," and waiting for inspired action. This is great, but the flow doesn't operate on a 9 to 5 schedule. Actually, the flow works on a 24/7 schedule. The catch is that you don't know which of those hours or even days it's going to have the next piece of synchronicity or inspired action ready for you.

So how can you work with the flow instead of against it? The best way I've found around it is to have multiple projects going at once. It's like the old shell game, only you get to look under each shell and see where your inspiration is today! This can help in several ways:

• While you're waiting for the inspiration or bit of synchronicity you need for one project, you can be working on another. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest. (Staring at a blank page or canvas isn't very restful, anyway! Nor does it invite the Law of Attraction to operate on your behalf.)
• If you're one of the many creatives with ADD traits, this way of working will be likely to fit your style and help keep you engaged in your projects.
• It takes the pressure off you regarding any one project, relieving you of much stress that could have easily blocked your creativity. Missteps are less painful when you have two or three projects going.
• It makes it easier and less scary to finish any given project, because you've already got some others underway.

Also, be sure you have some way of recording inspirations 24/7, the office hours of the creative process. These don't have to be your office hours, but you are on call to at least jot the ideas down for later.

The expression "once begun, half done" is never truer than when you are going with the flow of the Law of Attraction. You have set an intention, and the universe will meet you half way!

To Your Success,

Susan

P.S. Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for a complimentary trial coaching tele-session on this topic or most others!

Ups, Downs, and Overwhelms

Greetings...

As I mentioned in my May 2, 2007 post about embracing your style, many creative folks are also ADD folks and/or highly sensitive folks as well. Some aspects of these two latter traits actually help us express our creativity because we tend to notice and feel things that others may miss. They also tend to make us more intuitive, which is a great boost for our creativity!

But here's the rub...the downsides of these traits need to be managed if we are to thrive in a creative lifestyle, as some of you know all too well, I'm sure.

I believe that ADD and high sensitivity are closely related, because there are many overlapping characteristics. To read up on them, check out the work of Edward Hallowell (for ADD) and Elaine Aron (for high sensitivity). Their work is eye-opening and inspiring.

While it can be wonderful to be open to such a breadth of life's experiences and such a depth of feeling, it also makes us more vulnerable to mood swings, fatigue, anxiety, depression, overwhelm, and burn-out. If you have ADD traits that cause you difficulty in managing your environment and/or time, these issues might be compounded for you.

Feeling more deeply as a highly sensitive person can be quite painful if you have any type of trauma in your history. Depending on your relationship with your ADD or high sensitivity traits, you may need to seek the help of support groups, therapy, coaching, and/or medication.

A good coach can help you sort out the kinds of help you might need. Most importantly, she will not hesitate to let you know if your issues are outside of her area of expertise. I offer initial complimentary exploratory coaching tele-sessions during which I can help you get started making the most of your traits while mitigating the downsides. Please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a phone session.

Also I'd suggest reading or re-reading last week's post (6/19) on saying "no," because setting boundaries can go a long way in helping you avoid anxiety, stress, overload, fatigue, depression, resentment, and burn-out! It might be helpful to check out or review my post from 5/2/07, about embracing your unique style with the help of your ADD and/or high sensitivity traits.

Please feel free to send any questions in to the comments section below.

To your health and success,
Susan

Embrace Your Unique Way of Seeing the World

"Rely on yourself,

and be true to who you are.

What's unique about you

is what will take you far."

--from the children's book, Unstoppable Me!, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, with Kristina Tracy

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I agree. Please stop trying to fit in! We need your unique perspective and thought processes. Yes, even if your perspective has been pathologized as ADD, dyslexia or some other label.

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Our educational system and work culture are designed to fit the majority. Just because these institutions have not fully learned how to bring out our best doesn't mean there's something wrong with us! So if the mainstream "operating system" doesn't help you to be your best, create your own.

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This requires the courage and self-confidence to dance to your own drummer. Divergent perception and thinking styles often show up in the most creative among us. Therefore, we don't want to root them out and eliminate them. Rather, we need to learn to mitigate the downsides and leverage the upsides of these styles.

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This process may sometimes include the help of an M.D., therapist, family member, employer, friend, and/or coach. To set up a free trial coaching tele-session, contact me at scleaver@dejazzd.com.

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Here I'll be specifically discussing the traits associated with high sensitivity and ADD as examples, because they're the ones I've had personal experience with and have studied the most about. For an expert's view, check out the resources I'm including for each.

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High Sensitivity: Brilliance or Burn-Out?

See the work of expert Elaine Aron, author of The Highly Sensitive Person. She explains the trait (which is present in 15 to 20% of humans and animals) and offers great tips for living well with it.

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Fortunately, this trait has not been officially pathologized, although those of us who grew up with it may have been labeled by peers as "worry warts," "scaredy-cats," "namby-pambies," "cream puffs," or "shy loners."

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Highly sensitive people (HSP's) feel things very deeply, take in more details, and tend to be highly intuitive. The upside is that these characteristics put us easily in touch with our creativity.

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To others, however, we look like we are processing more slowly than they are, but actually we are processing more deeply. This also makes us look even more hesitant and easily alarmed than we really are. You might say that non-HSP's are skiing along the surface of the water while HSP's are scuba diving.

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The deep processing of HSP's leaves us vulnerable to sensory overload. It's essential for HSP's to set ample boundaries, to take extremely good care of ourselves, and to speak up for our needs. For me, this includes rarely watching TV or reading newspapers. I have to be careful about the amount of stimulation coming through, or I end up with burn-out.

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ADD It Up: Pathology or Purpose?

For excellent coverage of ADD, see the work of Edward Hallowell, co-author of Driven to Distraction.

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For better or worse, ADD has been officially pathologized, but not all experts agree on this.

Maybe folks with ADD seem to be "all over the place" because that's where the creative ideas are! There's a time and place for linear thinking, but when you're trying to be creative, it's more likely to just get in the way.

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I like to think of the ADD mind as a kaleidoscope, reaching out in all directions to form new patterns. The lateral thinking that comes so easily to those with ADD has been written about extensively by Edward De Bono for anyone to apply. However, I have seen resistance to his methods from highly linear thinkers. This doesn't make him or them wrong; it just points again to the natural differences in thinking and perceptual styles that add to the richness of mankind's accomplishments.

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If you have ADD, take a look at what kinds of structure, support, and accountability work best for you and implement those into your daily life. I find the structure of doing these weekly posts helpful for me. And in preparing the material for the posts, it helps me to use large index cards so that I can freely change the order of my points or add to them.

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It's also helpful to team up with an accountability buddy. This works great for me. If you're interested in mutual support by phone as we each tackle our projects, email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a time.

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High Sensitivity and ADD: Kissing Cousins?

The more I learn about these two perceptual styles, the more overlap I see. As research continues in these areas, I would not be surprised to hear that they are closely linked.

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In any event, I believe that perceptual styles that deviate from the norm and the extra effort it takes to function in our culture with them result in a lot of "late bloomers." However, those of us who learn to compensate without attempting to conform are richly rewarded!

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Happy blooming,

Susan