{"id":139614280,"date":"2023-12-23T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-23T08:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writetosuccess.net\/on-writing-and-mental-health\/"},"modified":"2023-12-23T08:00:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-23T08:00:29","slug":"on-writing-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writetosuccess.net\/ar\/on-writing-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"On Writing and Mental Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

How not to suffer for art<\/h2>
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The holidays can be the best of times and the worst of times. <\/p>

Even those of us privileged to live in peace and comfort can be swept into a nerve-rattling vortex of over-consumption and competitive good cheer.<\/p>

In the spirit of counteracting this tendency, I\u2019m delighted to share an interview with author Anise Eden, whose background is in mental health social work. <\/p>

This interview is from the \u2018Between the Lines\u2019 series of conversations with teachers, writers and writing teachers on specific aspects of their craft.<\/em><\/p>

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Five years ago, author Anise Eden<\/a><\/strong> traded the hectic, emotionally demanding life of a mental health social worker in Baltimore, MD for a slower-paced existence in Mallow, County Cork. \u201cThe lifestyle here suits me,\u201d she says, a fact evident in her warmth, ready smile and enthusiasm.<\/p>

The move forced a career adjustment, too, as her US qualifications and role were not transferable. While she navigated retraining and finding a place in the Irish social work system, Eden, who leaned to poetry, began writing prose.<\/p>

Her debut, The Healing Edge <\/em>trilogy, won the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer\u2019s Choice Award for Best Series.Dead Keen,<\/em> the second instalment of her second series, The Things Unseen<\/em> thriller trilogy,is released on 10 August 2023.<\/p>

The common thread is that all of Eden\u2019s heroines are mental health social workers. \u201cWhat I\u2019m interested in is exploring the intersections of faith, love, belief and mental health,\u201d she explains, \u201cand how that collides with the real world.\u201d<\/p>

From the beginning<\/h2>

There were early signs Eden would become a prolific writer: her penchant for \u201cthrowing five or six-syllable words I\u2019d heard into a sentence, even though I didn\u2019t know what they meant\u201d; her propensity for drifting through the woods behind her house, making up stories; avid reading. That her work would be driven by caring and curiosity was likewise evident: when developers cleared part of her \u201csacred\u201d forest, a 10-year-old Eden and her friend shoved sticks into bulldozer treads, hoping to sabotage the operation.<\/p>

\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t had such understanding, loving, accepting parents and teachers I would have gotten into a lot of trouble. I was a handful, but a people-pleasing handful.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

Eden was recently diagnosed with ADHD, which \u201cexplains a lot of my childhood.\u201d It has also heightened her desire to educate people about mental health and advocate for robust self care and social care.<\/p>

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\u200bLife and flow<\/h2>

In addition to addressing mental health themes in fiction, Eden teaches social workers and researches women\u2019s mental health. She sees these as complimentary endeavours, though admits that juggling them is \u201cconstant negotiation. It\u2019s like water flowing into different containers; it goes where it needs to go.\u201d<\/p>

Wherever the water flows, Eden prioritizes her mental well-being. This should be axiomatic for any writer, any person<\/em>, but writerly misery is a stubborn tradition. As Hemingway may have said: \u201cThere is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed\u201d (the Hemingway Society explains why he probably didn\u2019t<\/a>) \u2013 and the implication that suffering equals significance has proven hard to shake.<\/p>

Eden resists this, personally and professionally. Her Mac is unsanguineous. Her home writing space comforts and inspires. <\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m looking out into the back of a house across the way, an empty lot with wildflowers, trees and above that sky. The sky is dramatic in Ireland; there is always something going on with the clouds. On my wall, works of art from friends and pictures of my family; when I need to be inspired I can look over and be reminded there are people who love me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>

In career terms, she ignores unhelpful advice. \u201cAnyone who says, \u2018you shouldn\u2019t be doing it if you\u2019re not making money,\u2019 knows nothing about writing and publishing. If I pinned my confidence or motivation on money, that would be sad indeed.\u201d<\/p>

Eden knows from experience that confidence and motivation are hard won, and she relishes the opportunity to make mental health a focal point. It is part of an ethos of care: care for writing, care for readers and care for writers.<\/p>

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On writing & mental health<\/strong><\/h2>

What mental health challenges can writing pose?<\/strong><\/p>

It\u2019s a solitary activity. You are the writer, and you have to do the writing. You can collaborate, you can talk about your plot, you can workshop, but ultimately it\u2019s you with your screen, or notebook.<\/p>

Also, there is no real mechanism for feedback until you get published. There can be years and years of toil before you get feedback. You won\u2019t get people cheering you on. It\u2019s just you. A lot of writers have imposter syndrome as a result. <\/p>

Passion and grit is required to pull through, which can be asking too much. A lot of people don\u2019t start [writing], or don\u2019t continue.<\/p><\/div>

Once you publish, or are in a workshop, it can be difficult to take feedback. What you write is personal; it\u2019s your heart, brain, mind. It can be hard to take the slings and arrows of criticism if you\u2019re not mentally prepared.<\/p>

What types of writing can be particularly challenging?<\/strong><\/p>

Not that the stories are autobiographical, but I draw on my emotional experiences. In my last book, Dead Sound<\/em>, the protagonist is with her ex-boyfriend and having a flashback to the moment they broke up. He hit her in that scene and he\u2019s now gaslighting her, telling her it didn\u2019t happen. And she\u2019s questioning herself. <\/p>

That is something that happened to me, and I wanted to write about it for readers who might be wondering if they had suffered abuse. In order to do that, I had to revisit those experiences. Reliving something difficult or painful is difficult and painful. I have self-care in place for during and after. While writing, I have my dog, my coffee, my music; afterwards I might need to go out.<\/p>

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How has writing affected your mental health?<\/strong><\/p>

I didn\u2019t write prose until I was 39. Before that, I wrote poetry, which is very therapeutic. It is a direct line to heart, soul, mind; it pulls everything together. I\u2019d start a poem with a dilemma or problem, and by the end I\u2019d solve it. Poetry was like mini therapy sessions. I stopped writing when I became a therapist. I was putting all my creative energy into helping my clients.<\/p>

It was during a period of unemployment that I wrote my first novel, which started as a way to answer a question for myself about mental health, and the challenges of the work. For an ADHD person, [writing] is the perfect hobby. You can go on any adventures you want.<\/p>

What do you make of the trope that depression and misery spur great writing?<\/strong><\/p>

[Reading her work] I got the feeling Sylvia Plath would have loved to be mentally healthy. She was someone who would have loved to be happy. She would never have romanticised [her struggles]. It ended in tragedy.<\/p>

What can trigger mental health difficulties?<\/strong><\/p>

A mental health issue arises from a mixture of factors, not just genetics or circumstance. Political factors, economic factors, physical issues, how resilient individuals are based on genetics and upbringing. For writers in particular, how we deal with isolation and criticism are important.<\/p>

What resources can writers use to protect their mental health?<\/strong><\/p>

Having other writers in your friend group is huge. Being a part of a writing program, a workshop, or reaching out to writers on social media can lead to friendships. There was a Facebook group I joined of 10 debut novelists, all our books were coming out the same year. We were going through the same stuff for the first time, at the same time. We could compare notes, kvetch, problem solve. Nobody apart from other writers really knows what it\u2019s like.<\/p>

One of the things I tell my students in social work, and I would say to writers: we are the tools of our trade<\/em>. You have to take good care of your tools. If you don\u2019t, your work isn\u2019t going to be great.<\/p><\/div>

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