Creative Overwhelm, and the Fear of Falling Behind

On nervous system overload, comparison fatigue, and staying with your art gently

I hit a bad patch last week.
Tired. Hormonal. Out of ideas. Depressed.
The kind of flat, fragile mood where everything feels louder than it is.

Like many of us do in a low mood, I started mindlessly scrolling through Instagram – this was not a good idea. I generally avoid the new home page of Instagram for a reason. Have you ever opened Instagram feeling slightly fragile — and closed it feeling like you’re failing at your entire creative life?

That was me last week.

Seeing reel after reel about how quitting your job to become a full-time creative is either wonderful, or not all it’s cracked up to be was an assault on my brain. I felt physically flooded. Pic after pic of beautiful artwork triggered thoughts of not being good enough. Receiving emails from other creatives trying to sell me stuff (it’s not their fault, everyone’s got to make a living) but layered on top of everything else, it was too much.

Creative Overload

It sent me into nervous system overload and comparison fatigue. Deep down I know I should be ‘creating before consuming’, and ‘ignoring everybody else’ but:

I’m trying to learn, earn, and heal all at once.
No wonder my brain feels like it’s short-circuiting.

When I stepped back and let the emotional wave settle, this is what felt true:

• Social media wasn’t how we learned to consume art (those of us over 30 anyway...)

• Fast content isn’t how our nervous systems evolved.

• Curated feeds are highlight reels of output and success.

So this isn’t laziness.
This isn’t a lack of discipline.
It’s nervous system overload. It’s comparison fatigue.

This is what creative overwhelm looks like for me.

There’s research showing that fast-paced, high-volume social media increases stress hormones and decision fatigue. Our brains aren’t wired for endless comparison or for absorbing hundreds of images in minutes. Every scroll asks us — consciously or not — Where do I stand? Am I behind? Am I enough?

No wonder it’s exhausting.

Comparison fatigue

We didn’t evolve to consume art this way. Not in endless reels. Not from algorithms. The nervous system reads speed and comparison as pressure — and pressure as threat. Yet we feel like we need Instagram etc to promote our work - the irony!

Here’s more truth:

• This is a stress response, not a talent verdict.

• When my brain says, “why bother?”, it’s not evaluating my ability — it’s trying to protect me from risk.

• I am not my latest piece. Not my current sales. Not my follower count. My identity is bigger than my output.

• Small is regulating. Instead of asking, “How can I possibly compete or keep up?” I could ask, “Can I make one small thing this week?” “Can I log thirty hours of practice this month?”

• It’s okay to reduce exposure to triggers now and then. I don’t need daily exposure to ‘I quit my job and made six figures”.

Maybe the real question isn’t ‘am I good enough?’

Maybe it’s this: ‘can I stay with this long enough, gently enough, to find my own rhythm?’

For now, that feels like enough.

Me fantasizing about the perfect creative life! (and trying out a new medium…)