Openness is well-being and creativity is openness
by SARAH GARNER-POOL
Sarah Garner-Pool
My life has been a medley soup of mental health challenges. I have ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and some depression on the side.
My mind has a lot going on and it’s been hard to thrive in a world where your brain function is different than the majority. It can feel isolating and hopeless— accomplishing tasks can feel like you’re wading through sand, heading towards a brick wall. The tricky part of mental health is knowing when and why you’re struggling and what to do about it. Mindset and environment are key factors in healthy mental health. The creative field has given me a good environment to use my skills and develop a career. Working as a designer and artist has put me in contact with people who have taught me openness, which in return has given me a lot of mental peace. What I have learned is that creativity is much larger than any artistic medium and if our society were able to practice creativity, we would see positive repercussions on many levels.
A conformity mindset lives within all of us but it can disrupt mental wellbeing and workflow.
My mental well-being deteriorates when I am surrounded by rigidity and conformity. A conformity mindset is within all of us, giving us both order and direction but also making us worry and feel bad about ourselves. What if I don’t have enough money? Why can’t I just be on time like everyone else? It runs so deep within us that we often don’t know why we feel inferior about ourselves. That fear drives us in more ways than we can realize. Conformity is what tells us what “success” looks like or how daily life should be done. For someone who is neurodivergent, trying to operate like everyone else can be an exhausting and fruitless journey.
A great example is ADHD and schedules. Those with ADHD do not function well early in the morning. The symptoms of ADHD can be exhausting on the brain and those who struggle with ADHD require more sleep and often function better in the mid-morning to mid-evening—a schedule that directly opposes the standard timeline of modern American life. Believing that one schedule is the best and only way for everyone creates a feeling of inadequacy or flaw in those who struggle to follow such strict guidelines.
The creative environment is a place of openness and it’s a healthy oasis for creation and acceptance.
As I’ve grown, I’ve seen my mental well-being greatly improve the more I surround myself with those who exhibit openness. Openness is a quality where someone welcomes new ideas, dialogues, and observations that are not widely accepted or solidified. Openness is also demonstrated through an honest way of talking and behaving without fear of rejection from the listening party. When I spend time with people like this, I find myself with more peace and positivity which helps create much better work. There are two groups of people that I’ve found who exhibit the most openness: those who practice creative work and those who struggle with mental health. Most often, those who practice creative work also have struggles with mental health.
The creative environment is a safe haven for those with mental health challenges. Creativity is openness. It welcomes different ideas. It desires balance and simplicity. There are no wrong answers or black-and-white thinking. It craves open dialogue. It’s the one place where conformity won’t yield good results. That is why art therapy can be healing for many. It gives a safe space to accept yourself, the place you’re in, and what you can create —there’s something spiritual about giving permission to accept yourself. This type of environment is what neurodivergent people need for a positive self-image. I’ve found that some of the most beautiful humans I’ve met are the ones that struggle with mental illness. I’ve found that these humans are more empathetic and open. They’re more empathetic because they’ve experienced internal discord that neurotypical people may never experience or give credit to. Those who struggle with their mental health know how it feels to feel isolated, strange and rejected. By feeling this way, these people are less likely to want others to feel the same and therefore demonstrate more empathy. Creativity is much more than creating art—it’s opennesses. Living a creative life is the way you talk, the way you treat others, and the way you view yourself. When you view yourself creatively, you’ll start to see how your mind dictates your work.
As I’ve become open with myself, I’ve been able to understand how being neurodivergent positively affects what I create.
Personally, I have many creative mediums that are powered by my mental health challenges. My ADHD and OCD make many aspects of daily life, like a trip to the grocery store, an overstimulating task. As a result, my graphic design work comes out as classic simplicity and balance—a subset of my internal need to simplify subjects. Reading long pages of information is taxing and frustrating for me as a visual learner with a short attention span. This challenge has created a skill for me as a designer to take groups of information, summarize, and present the information in a visual format.
These skills I’ve developed as a result of my brain function are necessary skills in our world today. We need people who view the world differently and respond with different solutions. These are the type of people who see challenges and create innovations and art we’ve never seen before. We value their contributions by being open to their function, their contributions, and their differences. Especially with the mental health crisis facing our world today, acceptance is critical to well-being.
Even if you don’t practice a creative medium, you can practice creativity by simply being open. Openness will only bring positive results into this world. Without creativity and openness, we cannot advance as a society in ideas, art, inventions, and acceptance. I challenge everyone to sit down and ask themselves, “How can I demonstrate more openness in life?”.
Thank you for letting me share.
If you’ve been having a rough time and are struggling with immediate mental health issues, please reach out to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
If you have general questions or want more information about your mental health, a great place to start is with your primary care provider. FINDTREATMENT.GOV is a great resource to connect you with providers.
