On last week’s podcast, Martha Beck shared her secret to shutting down an anxiety spiral: do something creative. For her, that means painting. For you, it might mean gardening, or dancing, or cooking a stew. Anything that turns your racing thoughts into something beautiful and new.
We’ve heard so much positive feedback on the videos we’ve shared from Martha, but a few folks have questioned her advice. We’ve seen “I hope you’re also resisting!” and “But we have to pay attention!”
Turning your attention to a painting or a fun community event isn’t about pretending that Trump isn’t president or Elon isn’t gutting our federal agencies. As Martha says in this video, it’s not even really about self-care. It’s about engaging the right hemisphere of your brain. When you’re in an anxiety spiral, you aren’t helping anyone. When your hair is on fire, the only person who gets burned is you.
We don’t need more outrage - there’s plenty of that out there already. What we need is creativity and community. When we engage our right brains, that anxiety spiral can change into creative solutions. Suddenly you might have an idea for supporting your immigrant neighbors, or you and a friend might come up with a plan to attend your next town hall.
It’s about taking care of your own mental health, yes - we can’t do anything if we don’t do that. But even more importantly, it’s about creative resistance and community. That, not doom-scrolling, is what will enable us to fight back.
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