These are the stories I tell when theory meets reality, when research collides with a Tuesday morning when I can't get out of bed, when everything I know about creativity and mental health gets tested by actual life. Many are messy, honest, and sometimes uncomfortable … because that's what real creative life looks like.
Or at least that’s what it looks like sometimes. Sometimes it’s joyful and easy and light and silly. And that’s in here sometimes too.
These essays document my journey as an artist-writer living with depression, chronic pain, financial precarity, and all the other beautifully ordinary challenges of being human while trying to make meaningful work.
If you're looking for a more polished version of art-meets-psychology, read my Creative Psychology Essays. If you want to know what it's actually like to live this stuff, you're in the right place.
This is how art and health intersect for me. Want guidance on how they intersect for you? Order a Creative Health Assessment or Book a 1:1 Coaching Call.
Living with Depression & Mental Health
Honest documentation of the daily reality and the thought processes behind it
Is the Depression Spectrum Really More Of a Circle? Or a Spiral? Or a Keyboard? - Framework Evolution
Adjusting my understanding as it relates to my lived experience and the relationship of mental health to creativity, with a focus on "double depression."
Depression: A Black Dog? An Elephant? A rider on the bus I navigate through life - Metaphor Evolution
Why this metaphor makes sense and why it changed from a Lyft passenger to a bus rider.
Creativity And Health Have a Conversation - Internal Dialogue
If I could sit them both in a chair and listen in: Hey Creativity, how do you feel about Health? Hey Health, what does Creativity do to you?
What Makes Art Help Us Sometimes and Not Other Times? - Inconsistent Healing
Trigger stacking, decision fatigue, the window of tolerance and other factors that have made art not help me at certain times.
The Writing Life
The reality of being a professional creative
These essays explore what it's actually like to try to make a living from words, the psychological complexity of writing as both calling and career, and the daily negotiations between artistic integrity and practical survival.
I Love Writing, I Do, But Is Loving It Enough of a Reason to Keep Doing It For Money? - Career Crisis Points
Raw examination of what happens when your passion becomes your livelihood and the market doesn't care about your artistic vision. Written during a particularly difficult financial period.
Do You Need To Write Every Day? How about every day except Sunday but sometimes on Sunday? - Process Reality
The psychological complexity of writing routines when you have depression, perfectionism, and a brain that doesn't always cooperate with productivity advice.
The Research Phase in Writing Feels Like Falling in Love - Creative Process
Exploring the intoxicating feeling of falling in love with a new research subject. Uses the author's current fascination with Sylvia Plath to examine how inspiration works for writers and the emotional cycles of creative projects.
From Autopilot to Authenticity: Slowing Down to Find My Voice - Creative Evolution
How burnout forced me to examine whether I was writing what I thought I should write versus what I actually had to say.
La vita della scrittrice ... What does it really mean to live a writer's life? - Writer's Reality
Not being a machine, I seem to require time and inspiration and energy and relationships and pauses and ebbs and flows and swells and emotions and changes.
A Creative Life Is Both Adding and Subtracting, Writing and Sculpture - Process Evolution
How my creative career has evolved from addition to editing. In writing, you begin with a blank page and add until you have art. In sculpture, you start with everything and chip away until you find the art.
Two Ways of Beginning a Book Chapter About Georgia O'Keeffe's Art and Mental Health - Publishing Reality
The behind-the-scenes reality of what happens when you write about mental health for publication. Compares the author's original draft with the published version, revealing how editorial pressures can shift focus from honest struggle to inspirational messaging.
Kathryn Vercillo on writer's block, the editing process, reading as research, and being gentle with yourself - Writing Psychology | Discussion of how depression symptoms create writer's block and how treating mental health is key to maintaining creative flow.
Mental Health Reasons I May Not Read Your Writing ... and Please Write It Anyway - Writer Encouragement
Encouragement for writers to keep going despite feedback concerns, subscriber counts, impostor syndrome. One of my most popular pieces for anyone upset by lack of likes, follows, readers, subscribers.
Looking Back, Milestone Moments & Life Transitions
Memory, nostalgia, reflection and change
Sometimes the most profound creative insights come not from artistic breakthroughs but from ordinary life transitions that force us to examine who we are and what we're doing.
I Live Here: SF ... a look back at a 15 year old project and what feels true and not true for me in San Francisco today - Place & Change
Revisiting a project on San Francisco and reflecting on personal change. Many things I thought or believed back then are still true, but I have a different perspective.
Rediscovering My Old Double Exposure Photos of Georgia O'Keeffe Produces Memories of My Creativity I Hadn't Even Known Had Faded - Creative Archaeology
"It's really tough to describe what happened but if I were a Russian nesting doll, the big head was popped off to reveal that there was a same-but-different little me inside..."
Reflections on an author interview from over a decade ago and how much is still true - Time & Growth
Back in 2012, I put effort into promoting Crochet Saved My Life. Today, I wanted to share one of those old interviews and reflect on what's changed.
Aging Well ... Yes, Life Chose Me After All - Life Growth
A look at the growth of my life and creativity through the lens of Dar Williams' music and three letters written from me to me.
Musings and Memories on Art, Education and Mental Health at 43, 33, 23 - Decade Reflection
Reflecting on my life journey through creativity and mental health, returning to education at different life stages.
Self-Reflection & Creative Process
Internal navigation and growth
On Turning Outside When Perhaps I Need to Turn Inward - Knowledge vs Instinct
I love knowledge and information, but I don't always trust my own instincts or the power of my own knowledge.
Thoughts on Letting Go, Releasing, and the Importance That I Stop "Shoulding" On Myself - Self-Compassion
Learning to let go of my own high expectations, self-judgment and self-criticism has been one of the most difficult parts of my creative process.
On Listening as it Relates to Mental Health and Creativity - Quiet Practice
I've had to learn to quiet the deluge, silence the automatic responses, and listen to the rest. Listen to my body, my feelings, the words along with the rest of me.
Wellness and Creativity: A Cycle of Personal and Collective Flourishing - Holistic Practice
I focus on holistic wellness as an evolving practice, making it a priority to regularly reassess my well-being in mind, body, and spirit.
The (Surprisingly Pleasant) Gestalt Experience of a Writer who Prefers Narrative Therapy - Therapeutic Learning
I had a lot of ideas about what the Gestalt intensive was going to be like for me. I was right about some and wrong about others.
Going Down to Go Up: What Therapy Taught Me About the Hero’s Journey – Descent as Healing
Discovering that true growth often requires moving through darkness rather than escaping it, I reframed therapy as a mythic descent that revealed hidden sources of creativity, vitality, and wisdom
When Your Breath Becomes Your Enemy: How I Learned to Breathe My Way Back to Creativity – Somatic Flow
Traces how restricted breathing, trauma, and anxiety constrict both the body and creative expression. Shows how conscious breathwork, fiber arts, and mindful rhythm can reopen access to flow, with step-by-step practices for pairing breath to making.
Grief & Loss
Processing death, ending, and transformation
Semi;Colon: A Grief Tattoo Story - Ongoing Grief
Processing my father's death ten months in - the tattoo that I got when he died, the story of intergenerational suicidality.
That raw honest thing I wrote when I didn't write what I thought that I was going to write - Audio Grief Poem
Eighteen months later and the numb disbelief that I thought had faded into acceptance has transmuted into a roiling mess of confused thoughts and feelings.
A Nostalgic Look at Dad's Writing on What Would Have Been His 72nd Birthday - Honoring Legacy
Snippets from his journals which have helped me in the grief process.
Creative Projects & Making
The stories behind the work
Every creative project has a story that goes beyond technique or aesthetic choices. These essays explore the psychological, emotional, and circumstantial contexts that shape what I make.
Suspended Tendrils: The Story Behind the Crochet Art Series - Art & Meaning
How a series of fiber art pieces emerged from a specific emotional and physical state, and what it means to translate internal experience into three-dimensional form.
Domestic Magic 1: The Story Behind the Crochet Art Piece - Process & Psychology
The intersection of domestic life, artistic ambition, and the magic that can happen when you honor both the mundane and the transcendent.
The Never-Ending Granny Square Blanket, My Comfort Project - Process as Product
Why some creative projects are never meant to be finished, and what it means to have a creative practice that exists solely for comfort and regulation.
Ideas & Inspiration From My Life for Other Creative People
Practical wisdom from lived experience
How I Use a "Brag Book" To Stay Inspired When I’m Losing My Way - Creative Career Navigation
Staying motivated in a creative career. Remember to look back sometimes and learn from yourself. You already know a lot!
Honoring Your Inner Artist: Healing Through Owning Your Creativity - Creative Identity
We all create in ways big and small every single day. Essay on the importance of owning one's creativity for personal and societal healing.
The Semi-Lost Art of Letter Writing as a Means of Healing Self and Others Through Connection - Community Building
Writing letters and newsletters in community can create connection. We need humans who see us, know us, hold our hands and hearts.
Cultural Commentary & Analysis From Inside My Own Lens
Art, psychology, and society
Anxiety and Conflict on Project Runway: When People's Wounds Rub Against One Another - Media Psychology
A look at a quick scene that captured my attention and feels like so much to unpack about how anxiety manifests in creative environments.
Let Simone Biles Inspire Us to Normalize Taking Mental Health Breaks - Rest Permission
It's actually not normal to just push and push and go and go and never rest enough to allow your body and mind and creativity and wellness to thrive.
What Would a Library "Where Art Meets Psychology" Look Like? - Vision & Purpose
I don't know where I would draw distinctions in making such a library. But Create Me Free is a small snippet of the digital form of this library.
Thoughts from a book talk: Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa's Erotic Resistance: The Struggle for the Soul of San Francisco - Place & Creative Identity
Reflection on a book talk about San Francisco's erotic performance culture, exploring how place shapes creativity, the role of sex work as performance art, and personal musings on loving a complicated city. Examines multi-hyphenate creative identities and participant-observer research challenges.
WHY I WRITE THESE
I write personal essays because the internet is full of advice about creativity and mental health, but there's less honest documentation of what it actually looks like to live at this intersection. I want other creative people to feel less alone in their struggles and to see that a creative life doesn't have to be Instagram-perfect to be meaningful.
These essays are my offering to the conversation about what it means to be human while also being someone who feels compelled to make things.
These pieces represent my ongoing attempt to document the reality of creative life with honesty, nuance, and occasional humor. They're meant to normalize the struggles while celebrating the stubborn persistence it takes to keep creating.
Want to hear from other creatives? Check out interviews.
Looking for more analytical perspectives? Visit Creative Psychology Essays
Curious about practical tools? Visit Resources & Tools
Want personalized guidance?
Book a 1:1 Healthy Creativity Session or Sign Up for a Personalized Creative Wellness Assessment
How to Know if My Approach to Creativity+Health Coaching Is Right for You - Honest assessment tool to help you determine if my approach to 1:1 creative wellness calls align with what you're seeking.
What Happens in a 1:1 Healthy Creativity Session? - Who I work with, what happens before a session, what happens in a session.
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