Nearly the end of the year and it has been an eye opening time for me both personally and professionally. The number of my clients who are experiencing SAD or seasonal affective disorder is on the rise and I am choosing to take a different and more creative intervention approach to address this issue. Clients have mentioned that they are able to cope better with their indisposition when they are being more creative.

We know that there is a direct relation between mood and creativity. I know that when I am sad, I want to listen to upbeat music to help bring me out of the funk. However, here is what I found after doing some research as part of my work.

The first finding is that our fleeting feelings can change the way we think. Because sadness makes us more focused and diligent, it sharpens attention. The second takeaway is that many of our creative challenges involve tasks that require diligence, persistence and focus. It’s not easy making a collage, writing a poem or solving a hard technical problem. Sometimes, being a little miserable can improve our creative performance.

While there has been speculation that there’s some correlation between sadness and creativity, I am finding that as my clients are reaching rock bottom, they are reaching creative peaks. Some of their expressions have been more creative and cathartic than at times when they were not SAD-emotionally and diagnostically.

There are numerous blogs and articles which offer some rich information on this subject, including the following article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/201204/little-weird-prone-depression-blame-your-creative-brain.

So the next time there is SADness in the air, open the windows and let it fuel your creativity.

*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA