Mental Health Awareness Month: Creative Reset Felt Like the Cure for a Cruel Industry
With anxiety kicking my ass on a daily basis, and my self-esteem in shambles, a mental health day was right on time.
It’s not exactly a secret that the only thing in worse shape than our economy is that orange idiot’s sanity, but it’s been particularly gruesome for those of us in entertainment and media.
It seems like every other day, another round of layoffs, budget cuts, or mergers is announced, and with them comes a deluge of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty for hard-working creatives throughout Hollywood and beyond.
This is part of the reason it’s so important that we as creatives remain vigilant about preserving our mental health, and why—as someone who consumes at least 20mg of Lexapro on a daily basis—I’m grateful to organizations like Three’s A Crowd, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, and the Take Action Los Angeles Initiative for seeing our struggles and being proactive in helping us to address them.
On Saturday, they held Creative Reset, a free mental health event in Inglewood, in which creatives were invited to partake in a “museum-style wellness experience.” This consisted of approximately seven or eight wellness activations throughout their studio, with each designed to “help participants slow down, reflect, and reconnect.”
And because I don’t play about my mental health or wellness, these were some of my favorites (each was led by an expert or facilitator on site):
A movement station, where participants were taught how to stretch and encourage physical activity throughout our work days—because apparently my penchant for spending 12 hours at a time hunched over my laptop in my draws isn’t healthy
A recovery and relaxation station, where a massage therapist was kind enough to remove approximately 37 knots from my back
A sound bath station, where a symphony of singing bowls helped put my mind and nervous system at ease
A financial therapist, who offered tools and guidance on managing financial stress and the emotional aspects of money, as well as how to navigate these perilous, overdraft-fee-ridden times
A Postcard to Your Future Self station, where each of us was encouraged to write some words of encouragement “to the version of ourselves we’re becoming”—and each postcard will be mailed to us in six months
There were also stations focused on breathwork, food and nutrition—with snacks!—creative writing, and other opportunities to address mental health and wellness. And I loved the fact that it was truly a Choose Your Own Adventure experience, where you could participate in the activities that interested you and skip the ones that didn’t.
It was also a dope opportunity to find support, exchange resources, and build community with others affected by everything going on, since far too often we operate in complete isolation.
I tell people all the time: As creatives, we destroy ourselves for a living. Poor eating habits, inconsistent sleep, not staying on top of doctor appointments or treatments, minimal exercise, unpredictable work schedules, and you have to be a little off to see the world the way we do—then convey those impossibilities to an audience that doesn’t always appreciate or acknowledge your sacrifice.
This life is not for the weak, so shoutout to everyone involved in Creative Reset for providing creatives with an opportunity to properly address our mental health as a community during Mental Health Awareness Month.
And for every other creative fighting the good fight, please make sure you’re being proactive about your mental health and well-being as well.