Create More, Consume Less: Use Creativity as a Natural Antidepressant

You know the feeling, when you lay your head down on the pillow intending to fall asleep, but then your mind starts its monologue. You feel drained, yet uncomfortably awake, you are just there, trapped with all your thoughts and feelings.

It probably won't come as a surprise to anyone, but this phenomenon called anxiety has only become a household name in the last decade or so. It is estimated that both anxiety and depression increased among young adults in the US by 63% from 2005 to 2017. Among other reasons, social media tends to be the number one thing to blame for such a crisis. The issue is, we consume more and create less.

There are different types of consumption and creation. For example, when you read, you consume, when you watch a film, you consume, when you listen to music, you consume, when you eat out, you consume. On the other hand, when you write, you create, when you sing, you create, when you bake, you create and so forth. There is nothing inherently wrong with consuming, the issue is not to be doing anything else. To create is human default. Since cavemen and throughout most of human history, we have created more and consumed much less as a species. That changed during the last century with the introduction of TV. However, the biggest game changer, of course, was the Internet.

It is too easy to get stuck watching shows on Netflix or scrolling Instagram like a maniac, and most of us do it somehow unconsciously. It is unlikely that anyone wakes up and thinks to themselves, “Today I am going to spend five hours on social media and then three hours watching TV shows.” Yet, the average time spent on social media among teenagers in the US is precisely 4.8 hours in 2024 and for some teenagers, it can be up to 7 hours a day. For the average person, the time was estimated to be 2 hours and 24 minutes. Unfortunately, the day still only has 24 hours, and unless your job offers you the room to create in any shape or form, there is not much time left then.

The problem of over-consumption is that it's unrewarding to the human brain, as it does not satisfy our need for accomplishment. No matter what age, the human species needs to have a sense of purpose. This used to be provided through activities such as hunting, building, farming, making tools, art, music, sewing, or even raising kids. Many of these activities have been lost for a majority of us.

Recently, I got stuck playing Minecraft for a couple of days. This made me wonder why is it such a popular (addictive) game. Could it be because of the rewarding feeling you get after building yourself an elaborate shelter with materials you had to collect? Just imagine, how rewarding it must have felt back in the day, to be able to shelter one's whole family thanks to their own hands and strategy. 

Most of us can hardly imagine building a house these days. But that is not to say that we cannot create in other ways. It is important to note, that we don't need to move the Universe in order to get the feeling of accomplishment. Cooking a meal, planting vegetables, mowing the lawn, organising a cupboard, cleaning the house, making a photo album, dancing, or writing a review on a place you visited… All such seemingly insignificant pursuits can fill you up with the sense of purpose your brain is so desperate for. Let's make sure to do a little here and there every day, so it potentially counterbalances the consuming nature of our times.

What does seem to work, is deciding which part of the day is better for consumption and which for creation. For some people, it would be mornings when they feel motivated and energised enough to create without much force, while evenings are more suitable for consumption such as watching TV or reading a book. Others, however, may find late hours to be the most inspiring. The organised types out there could benefit from making a schedule to be sure not to miss out on their daily dosage of creativity, be it anything.

The bottom line is, that to create is a way to our well-being. Let's try to fight this mental health crisis by remembering the habits of our ancestors. Using social media is not natural, planting a tree is.

There is a beautiful Czech song from the 80s that says:

“When your heart is weakened, when you've got troubles, put a brick by brick, dough into a bowl. You can bake bread, or you can build a wall, sorrow will absorb so easily then, start with it right now. Making, making, makes all the sadness run away, making is the remedy.”

How amazing, that this song is actually from a fairytale intended for kids. It surely will have a more positive impact long-term, getting children and teenagers to make/do/clean/write/paint/build… something when they feel anxious, rather than getting them on antidepressants straight away.