© 2025 Susan Fink
My faith prompts me to be honest even if it means personal embarrassment. When it comes to writing, I repeatedly experience a specific syndrome. Only my closest friends know I suffer with this health problem.
Recently my self-consciousness was relieved while networking at the Write to Publish conference. All of the authors I confessed to bravely shared they, too, experience creativity constipation.
Also known as writer’s irregularity, creativity constipation affects a broad range of writers from first-time bloggers to famous authors. Unfortunately, there are few predictors of when and where the blockage will begin.
Mental health counselors who specialize in “Restoring Brain Connections Due to Obstructive Word Flow” recommend the following to reverse this thought-numbing condition:
- Maintain a healthy diet of reading a variety of genres. Bravely try authors you think might leave a bad taste in your mouth.
- Activate your giggle center through comedy, people-watching, spending time with jokester friends, or whatever sparks the most laughter.
- Try the Japanese custom of Forest Bathing. To accomplish this relaxation technique, you will need to find a nudist camp that has thick woods without ticks or mosquitos.
- Gather all the rejection notifications you have received. Slowly tear each into tiny strips over a blazing bonfire. (Please have your garden hose and a large fire extinguisher nearby.) When done, dose yourself with one or the other. This last step alone has been known to unblock creativity constipation.
- Attend a support group to share your problem with strangers. (“Hello, my name is Sue Fink. And I have writer’s irregularity.”)
If you are brave enough to admit you’ve experienced these humiliating blockages, let me know what worked to get you going again.
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Susan Fink is a blessed wife and mother of three children and two perfect granddaughters. Her background includes teaching various ages from preschool to adult and being a hospice volunteer manager. She lives in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, with her husband, Robert. Her books include Lila the Ladybug Learns about Self-Care, and Self-Care: Selfish or Sacred? An Interactive Guide to Myths and Misunderstandings. Her current project is Sacred Goodbyes: Meaningful Conversations at the End of Life.