Emotional regulation is critical, and one of the reasons I mostly avoid Facebook. Bluesky has a welcoming writer community, and you can filter out the politics. I also religiously unsubscribe from things and remove distractions.
Even trying to be productive, listening to podcasts can be unproductive because it fills your head with other people's thoughts, crowding out your own. Silence is an underappreciated gift.
Emotional dysregulation is tough to spot. For me it's like a low-grade flu with chills, stomach pains, shakiness, and exhaustion which I used to dismiss as just a cold. Now I understand it's my emotions spilling over into my body, I take care to eat regular meals and do relaxing things like getting some sleep and alone time, drawing, and writing out my feelings. These calm down my nervous system.
Emotional regulation is critical, and one of the reasons I mostly avoid Facebook. Bluesky has a welcoming writer community, and you can filter out the politics. I also religiously unsubscribe from things and remove distractions.
Even trying to be productive, listening to podcasts can be unproductive because it fills your head with other people's thoughts, crowding out your own. Silence is an underappreciated gift.
Emotional dysregulation is tough to spot. For me it's like a low-grade flu with chills, stomach pains, shakiness, and exhaustion which I used to dismiss as just a cold. Now I understand it's my emotions spilling over into my body, I take care to eat regular meals and do relaxing things like getting some sleep and alone time, drawing, and writing out my feelings. These calm down my nervous system.
I was at a writing conference this past weekend. One of the panelists said it perfectly:
Routines are for life, but writing comes in seasons.
So conventional advice like "write every day" does not work.
But regulating emotions and working with your brain/energy levels does.