Slowing Down Isn’t Falling Behind: Understanding Creative Burnout and Nervous System Healing
Feeling stuck or unproductive as an artist? Discover why it’s not laziness—and how slowing down supports creativity and nervous system healing.
Most of the time, it feels like my attempts to build an art career are moving at a snail’s pace.
I have a long list of things I could be doing—posting online, improving my skills, finding commissions—but often, I find myself doing none of them.
At first glance, it sounds like procrastination. But it’s more complicated than that
What’s wrong with going at my pace?!
When Motivation Isn’t the Problem
It’s not just that I lack motivation (although sometimes I do). More often, it’s a kind of quiet panic.
A voice in my head keeps saying:
You should be further along by now
You’re not doing enough
You’re wasting your time
But when I actually sit down to create—to make art, post on social media, or even learn something new on Procreate—the same pattern shows up:
Tiredness.
Brain fog.
Overwhelm.
Second-guessing.
It becomes a push-pull cycle:
“You need to do something!” / “I can’t do it.”
Creative Burnout and the Nervous System: Why You Feel Stuck
For a long time, I assumed this was a discipline problem.
But it turns out, there’s often a deeper reason: nervous system trauma.
What looks like procrastination can actually be a protective response.
From my own experiences growing up, I can see two clear internal forces at work:
The Protector
This part learned early on that being visible can be unsafe.
It steps in when I think about:
Sharing my work publicly
Posting online
Promoting myself
Its job is simple: avoid risk, avoid exposure, and stay safe.
I liken my Protector part to a timid doe - always on the alert and trying to stay incognito to avoid danger
The Striver (or Achiever)
This part believes I need to become someone meaningful.
It pushes me toward:
Success
Recognition
Purpose
It carries urgency—especially shaped by experiences of loss, grief, and the awareness that life is short.
My ‘striving squirrel’ - always thinking, pushing, planning…
And so, I’m caught in between:
One part saying “Go!”
Another saying “Stop!”
No wonder I feel stuck.
Stuck between the Striver and the Protector
My protector part evolved from childhood bullying and carries the belief ‘Being seen is dangerous’ - this is the part that shuts my system down when I think about posting something online or reaching out for commissions.
My striver/achiever part is tied to abandonment and humiliation and evolved from shame, invisibility, powerlessness and feeling insignificant. It wants me to have meaning, recognition, impact, and purpose. I think it’s also been heightened in recent years by my mother’s death, my friend’s journey with cancer, and working in palliative care for years – life is short it screams; time is running out!
It’s funny how my years of Art Therapy training did not really go much into internal family systems, or parts work, or somatic experiencing. This was 12 or so years ago, and we were just starting to touch on trauma-informed therapies. We did briefly explore some of these things, but it’s only in the last few years that this has started to make sense. Recently I listened to Sarah Baldwin on the Expanded Podcast talking about these therapies and the legacy of nervous system trauma. I highly recommend her podcast You Make Sense if you want to explore these issues.
Why Slowing Down Might Actually Help
For a long time, I thought I needed to overcome this—to push through, fix it, or out-discipline it.
But now I’m starting to see it differently.
Maybe this isn’t something to “beat.”
Maybe it’s something to move through gently.
Like grief, it doesn’t respond well to force.
Instead, both parts need something else: reassurance, not pressure.
A Different Way to Move Forward
Right now, my approach looks like this:
Letting go of pressure
No urgent business decisions
No pressure to monetise anything
No “I must figure this out” thinking
Focusing on small, safe steps
Gentle, creative acts
Regulating my nervous system
Noticing what feels good—or even just neutral
This might not look productive from the outside.
But internally, it’s creating something much more important: a sense of safety to create at all.
You’re Not Falling Behind
If you’ve ever felt stuck, frozen, or like you’re moving too slowly—especially in creative work—you’re not alone.
And more importantly: you’re not failing.
Sometimes, slowing down isn’t avoidance.
Sometimes, it’s the only way your system knows how to keep you going.
A Reminder I Keep Coming Back To
For now, the snail’s pace stays.
But I remind myself often:
Slowing down isn’t falling behind – it’s often the only way to move at all.
Sometimes the journey pauses…
Does any of this resonate with you?
Have you tried drawing or painting your protecting and striving parts?
What ways are you honouring your nervous system on your artist journey?