Funks, Negative Thoughts and Some Ways Out
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I’m in a photography funk.
It happens to me periodically and it’s no fun to be in the middle of one. I feel totally uninspired and I don’t get outside much (with or without my camera). I can feel my mood start to head south towards negativity and the longer this goes on the harder it is to pull out of it. There are a lot of reasons excuses for this current funk, such as being busy catching up on paperwork types of things, taking a course on macro nutrients and generally getting caught up in day to day activities and not making photography a priority. The grey skies with no inspiring light has also contributed, but mostly I think that I have been in an energy depletion cycle - bottom line - I’m tired.
The pull of negative energy.
Stormy skies ahead on the prairies.
There is a seductive nature to negative thoughts and energy. As humans we are naturally drawn to remember negative stimuli whether that’s events, words or actions. This is called the negativity bias which is our tendency to not only register negative stimuli more readily, but also to dwell on these thoughts. It makes sense when you look at it from an evolutionary perspective when we were motivated by survival to be attuned to negative/dangerous/life threatening things. I mean those who focused on and prepared for the negative survived and those who didn’t often perished.
It’s a way our brain evolved to help keep us safe, but it doesn’t always serve us so well these days. We can get stuck in these negative spaces or negative self talk loops which can undermine our self confidence and generally lead to a less desirable life experience.
One of my favourite photographers and Vloggers is Sean Tucker who talks a lot about life and spirituality as well as photography. I would highly recommend having a watch of this video.
Sean Tucker - on how negativity blocks creativity. Also if you’re looking for a good read his book The Meaning in the Making is a high recommend.
Backlit rosebush leaves hanging on by a thread.
In fact many of us are so well attuned to the negativity bias that we have difficulty accepting positives such as compliments. Think about the last time someone paid you a compliment - how did you react? What did you say?
I often find myself either feeling embarrassed, ignoring the compliment and responding to some other part of the comment, or making some self deprecating comment and quickly changing the topic.
Lately, I’ve been purposefully slowing down, thanking the person and sitting with the uncomfortable feelings that the compliment raises in me. Generally those feelings are about me not being deserving of the compliment (as I’ve said often - I’m a work in progress).
“We want honest support and encouragement. When we receive it, we don’t believe it, but we are quick to receive criticism to reinforce our deepest beliefs that, in truth, we are no good and not really writers (insert your word of choice - photographers, artists, compassionate humans).” (Natalie Goldberg - Writing Down the Bones)
Lone figure sitting with uncomfortable feelings.
I recognize that my discomfort with accepting positive comments is a reflection of messages I have been taught and repeat in my head such as, don’t let that go to your head, you’re getting too big for your boots or once you start believing that you’re in for a big comeuppance (what exactly is a comeuppance and why is that word stuck in my self talk?). Being able to sit with those feelings and even counter them with positive messages is powerful - as is admitting that it’s difficult to hear and accept positive feedback. I find this usually leads to the rapid dissolution of these feelings and an opening up to connection with the person giving me the compliment.
My husband is a talented musician/songwriter and all round creative artist who has some very meaningful songs about wellbeing and mental health such as I Won’t Break (his YouTube channel is kortube2 and it is definitely worth a look around).
We all need cheerleaders
In her book Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown describes two emotions Schadenfreude and Freudenfreude which are polar opposites. Schadenfreude refers to the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, pain, or humiliation of another. Not an uplifting or positive emotion, but one that I think we’re seeing more frequently with the direction media has taken with viral videos, memes and the general way that stories are presented. It is definitely not humans at their best and it creates a closed feeling.
In contrast Freudenfreude is finding pleasure in another person's good fortune even if their success does not directly involve us. Now this is an emotion that feels uplifting and the best part of us as humans. That warm feeling that you get inside seeing someone succeed perhaps despite odds stacked against them is Freudenfreude. I find that feeling spills over into how I feel and treat those around me. It continues to cascasde and create a network of positive energy.
I have a group of friends who are photographers and we have established a safe and trusting group online where we can give and seek honest feedback about our photography. I’ve found this group to be amazing for helping me to see things that I’ve overlooked or tried to figure out, but have been stuck.
One of the things that I especially appreciate about the group is that we act as cheerleaders for each other and it’s genuine cheerleading. When I’m in a bit of a creative funk and I see someone else in the group take off with a new project, I find myself uplifted by their energy - I am proud of their efforts and in awe of their creativity and I tell them so. It feels good to support each other in a very honest and meaningful way.
I’m also learning to appreciate and accept the positive feedback I receive and think of it in terms of how I feel giving compliments about peoples’ work.
Sunflower petals peeking out from a different angle.
This extends beyond photography - I’ve made some conscious decisions to cultivate a group of family and friends who generally have a positive outlook on life. This doesn’t mean there aren’t difficult or down times where we need to support and uplift each other, but it does mean that these are people who don’t focus on negative news, relish pointing out others’ faults or failures, focus on spreading gossip or spreading other forms of negativity. I figure there’s enough of that in the world without me surrounding myself with it or adding to it.
As I mentioned we are wired to focus more on the negative messages, events or actions that we see and sometimes I’m not able to tap into my cheerleading groups when these negative neural patterns start to show up. As a result, I’ve been working on ways of shifting my mood and thought patterns regardless of whether I’m solo or in a group.
Overcoming the negativity bias cycle
It may seem like this negativity bias is a foregone conclusion that we have no ability to overcome, but the good news is that the brain is ever evolving and we have the ability to redirect and change our neural patterns. We can teach an old dog new tricks, in a manner of speaking.
Head sculpture - being able to get inside this head is like bringing light into our own thoughts.
We can rewire the way we think or respond to negative stimuli and the first step is becoming aware. This is why I’m focused on mindfulness and meditation so much - slowing down my thinking and being more conscious and aware of what is going on in my mind and my body - making the connection. I am becoming more aware of negative self talk - even seemingly innocent things like, “that was a dumb of me.”
I read somewhere (the source escapes me right now) that the way you talk to yourself is directly correlated to the way you will treat the ones you love and trust most. This thought had a big impact on me and motivated me to make changes in my mental dialogues. The last thing I wanted to do was treat my loved ones to the mental thrashing I sometimes give myself.
Dan Siegel (The Whole Brained Child) talks about different ways of redirecting mental thoughts such as reframing and being deliberate about the language we use - even in our own minds as it has an impact. Instead of saying “that was dumb of me”, I try to think something like “I sure didn’t pay enough attention to the instructions” (ok I shouldn’t have thrown them out in the first place!). This approach is not sugar coating or ignoring the negative situation or action, but rather framing it in a more balanced way and providing a gentler and less negative message to myself.
Well worn paths or mental patterns can be difficult to change.
He also talks about establishing new patterns in our brain and he uses the analogy that neural patterns are like well worn tracks down a ski hill - over time it becomes easier to travel the same path, but if it leads to a negative destination or behaviour, you have to be very intentional about establishing a new path.
It’s not easy, but by being thoughtful and intentional you can change patterns - it takes practice and you need to allow some grace when you inevitably go off course and head towards the old path.
Abstract patterns mimicking neural pathways.
One other effective way is “name it to tame it” or just even talk about what is going on inside. Kory and I practice PIES on a daily basis - it is a means of checking in with each other and takes about 5 - 10 minutes. We each take turns reporting in on P = Physical, I = Intellectual/Inner Critic, E = Emotional, S = Spiritual and we add G = Gratitude (so we’ve affectionately called it Piggy Pies). With the exception of Gratitude we rank where we are from 1 - 10 with 10 being awesome and then if we want to elaborate on the reason for our score, we can. I find that this helps me to check in on how I’m feeling and sometimes I identify things that I’ve been ignoring or letting simmer below the surface. It also allows me to get a sense of where Kory is at and whether he could benefit from some extra care or attention - he does the same for me.
Over time and with some deliberate effort you can change these negative bias patterns and head towards more uplifting and positive destinations, thoughts and behaviours.
Approaches I use to change from negative to positive mental destinations
While I’m generally a very optimistic and upbeat person, there are times when I can feel down or be in a bit of a funk. When I’m feeling negative thoughts invade or when my response to situations is downcast I like to change things up to intentionally interrupt the pattern. For example, I will go for a walk and that usually means taking my camera.
Macro flower image from a mindfulness walking exercise.
I will often practice one of my constrained photo challenges (i.e., placing constraints like taking only one lens, shooting a specific subject or theme etc.) and one I really like is to go somewhere and pick any starting point - look around and make an image - then take 20 steps and stop and look around and make another image. I continue doing this 10 times and by then I usually find that I’m engrossed in the creative process and my thought patterns have shifted. I am also amazed with what sorts of images I can compose by applying this constraint. (see this blog post for more ideas)
Another one I like is to take 30 minutes and create 10 images in that timeframe - it can be images of anything or sometimes I pick a theme. The beauty of these exercises is that I can do them with my phone camera or my “big” camera - either one works to get my thought patterns shifting - the real key is to focus on something creative and positive to reset my thought pattern. (see this blog post)
Taking a walk with Roxy is a great mind pattern shift.
I’ve recently been experimenting with abstract photography and using Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) to get out of my logical thinking brain and into my creative mind space (more on this in an upcoming blog). These sorts of activities help to shift my thought patterns and by the time I’m done I feel refreshed and more positive because I’ve tapped into that creative part of my brain.
Other good things I like to do include cooking, exercise, listening to uplifting music, playing with my cat or doing something with friends - the key seems to be connecting to a different brain pattern and rerouting from negative to positive thoughts and energy.
Last thoughts on shifting negative thought patterns
I don’t want to give the impression that life is rosy and positive all of the time or that practicing mindfulness and reframing is easy or can solve any negative thought pattern. There are times when we can be in a place where it’s important to take a break or seek out professional support and I have done both of those things myself. I think of mental health much like my physical health - having that network of support is not only important for when things aren’t going well, but it is also key for check ins/check ups to keep on a good path.
I was a little hesitant about writing this blog post because while I feel that there has been a lot of progress made on talking openly about mental health and well being, there is still a certain stigma attached to this topic. I come from a generation and family that didn’t admit or talk about mental health unless it was referring to someone else outside of the family - bringing it into the personal sphere was way too vulnerable and in my family being vulnerable was the same as admitting weakness.
What I will say is that being more aware of the tenor and cadence of my thoughts has really helped me to identify when I’m heading in a negative spiral direction or when I’m stuck in one and that the practices that I’ve been putting in place have really helped me to shift to a more positive energy state. Photography has been my vehicle of choice for making these changes, however there any number of ways to support a shift in mindset.
I would love to hear of any ways that you use to move out of a funk or negative thought pattern as I find being able to try new ideas is a good way of expanding my resource toolbox and may spark an idea for someone else.
Oh and in case you’re wondering - I’m still in the photography funk, but after writing this I feel more motivated to pick up my camera and just get out there.
New thought patterns are like a flower about to bloom - so much potential.
I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.
