Creative blocks

Do you ever get stuck while working on a creative project? Maybe you’re writing a short story, redecorating a room, or recording a song, and then seemingly out of nowhere, your state of flow comes to a screeching halt. Creative blocks—the broadened equivalent of writer’s block—appear for many reasons. Sometimes the block is external. The city sent a crew to jack hammer your street, and the intrusive sound leaves little space to think. Or your kids got home from school and are threatening self-consumption if not immediately fed.

Often, though, creative blocks are internal. Maybe a voice in your head pops up with a criticism. Remember the time in grad school when so-and-so professor went on about third person being the most honest point of view? But is first person really the right choice? Or suddenly the yellow paint of the accent wall elicits a spike of shame (“Too flashy!”), and you drop the whole project to reorganize a closet instead.

Though Internal Family Systems (IFS) was developed to treat trauma, the framework can be applied to other realms of life and issues that might not merit therapy. The two basic concepts of IFS—a core Self and normalized multiplicity—can help unlock the creative process.

We can observe and compassionately tend to our Parts from the universal center of Self. Some Parts try to help by proactively doing things to manage our lives or reactively sooth internal pain, while other Parts carry emotional burdens and beliefs connected to unmet childhood needs. Well-intentioned as they may be, Parts can impede the creative process.

From an IFS perspective, we might describe creative flow as being in Self energy or as experiencing one or more of the 8 Cs of Self: curiosity, creativity, confidence, clarity, courage, connected, calmness, and compassion. Artists often describe the creative process as dropping into a flow state in which the doing of their craft is a fully immersive experience. Time falls away. If flow is a Self-led immersive state, a creative block can be considered a blended Part. When blending occurs, it’s like peering at the world through the Part’s filter; fear and beliefs color everything we perceive.

IFS can offer aid to stymied creatives by providing a framework to build relationships with blocking Parts. The first step is to be curious toward the Part’s nature. Is a Manager blocking my creative practice? Managers are protective Parts with a focus on the future. They work hard to juggle responsibilities and proactively avoid situations that activate shame. Managers often take on their roles during “never-again” moments in childhood. “Never again will I feel the shame of (fill-in-the-blank), so I’ll always… work harder, keep my head low, analyze strategy before jumping in, etc.”

Maybe a creative block originates from a striving Manager that wants to produce work of the highest caliber, editing and refining to such a degree that a project can’t move forward. Maybe a Manager wants specific, ideal conditions (a clean and empty house) before it’ll let you create, or perhaps a Manager applies a lot of pressure to produce a certain amount of work within a specific time period and isn’t satisfied when production falls short. Inner critics often fall under the category of Manager, though sometimes hyperactive critics behave more like Firefighters.

Is a Firefighter activated? Firefighters are Parts that jump in to douse the flames of shame. When Exile energy gets triggered, Firefighters will break down the door and flood the house, not caring about the damage they create. Their only focus is putting out the fire.

At their core, Firefighters are trying to sooth the internal system. Early in my writing practice, Managers would do all this work to get me to my desk. Setting up a writing space. Scheduling time. But when I finally sat in the chair, seemingly ready to put words on a page, I’d get an intense desire to clean. The dog hair on the floor became suddenly unbearable, but the real problem was the blank page and the terrified Part that it evoked.

Is a burdened Exile popping up? Exiles are often our most tender and innocent Parts. Early on in our lives they absorbed negative beliefs and emotions during difficult moments. Exiles carry intense emotions, shame, and unmet needs.

The core to healing within the IFS model is building connection between these Parts and Self. Externalizing often helps with unblending, like drawing a picture of the Part, journaling the Part’s feelings, or any other method of expressing the Part in the outside world. Or try asking the Part about the job the fulfill. What are they trying to do for you? What are they concerned would happen if they didn’t jump in? When did they start doing this job? How old do they think you are? What do they need for support? If it feels safe, ask the Part if it can show or tell you how it took on the energy it carries. Ask what it needs from you for comfort. Through externalizing and dialogues like these, emotional space and insights will emerge.

The paradigm shift of normalized multiplicity invites us to inspect our inner worlds with curiosity and compassion. There’s nothing wrong with you if Part A sets out to write a novel, but Parts B through Z get activated during the process. In a sense, creative blocks are trailheads that point toward Parts needing care. Blocks can be opportunities for inner growth.

So, the next time your creative practice stalls, maybe see if you can offer a little curiosity inside. Who is blocking your flow? Approach Parts with the relational, warm energy of Self, and invite clarifying inner dialogues. You’ll likely soon find yourself on a creative path forward.