Farzana Doctor is a Tkaronto-based author, activist and psychotherapist. She’s written five critically acclaimed lit-fic novels, Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement, All Inclusive, Seven and The Beauty of Us, as well as a poetry collection, You Still Look The Same and a self- and community care workbook for helpers and activists, 52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life. She co-founded Brockton Writers Series and was its curator until 2017.

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3 psych hacks to kickstart your writing when you’re feeling blocked

We can all feel blocked, stuck or discouraged in our writing. When this happens to me, it’s often about the emotions or stress I need to face or manage.

Here are 3 quick strategies to try when you’re having trouble writing. Most take less than 2 minutes to do. 

1. Let your nervous system be your guide

Take a look at the illustration below, from page 59 of 52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life (thanks to Setareh Ashrafologhalai, the book’s designer).

This is a representation of how our nervous system works and is adapted from the Window of Tolerance model, developed by Dr. Dan Seigel. There are three “floors” in this house, symbolizing our main nervous system states.

The “main floor” is our nervous system’s ideal state, while the attic is where we might feel fight and flight energy. The basement is where we might feel collapse or shut down energy.

It’s normal for our nervous system to shift multiple times over the course of a day in response to overwhelm and threat. We are incredibly sensitive to stress and perception to threat, so even small stressors, such someone not responding to a text, or a rejection from a publisher, can create overwhelm for us.

Trauma or chronic stress shrinks the window while intentional coping and healing expands it.

For  creatives:  the window of capacity is where we feel playful, creative and in flow. 

We can use somatic hacks to release overwhelm and return to our window of capacity (and our writing!).

There are thousands of quick somatic exercises you can choose from (do a search for “somatic hacks”). Find 3 that work for you and practice them whenever you feel blocked. 

• A few of my favourites: dancing for 3 minutes; jumping jacks or bouncing for 1 minute; a 20-second hug with a loved one, breathing with longer exhalations (for example, inhaling for 3 counts, and exhaling for 6)

2. Use Gratitude to shift your mood

How to do it:

• Rate your mood right now (from 1 to 10)
• Now, think of 1 thing or person you love or appreciate (5 seconds) [note: if you’re feeling so low that it’s hard to come up with something, try “running water” or “electricity”]
• Feel gratitude for that thing or person for 20 seconds
• Notice if your mood has improved or if ou feel more energized. If not, repeat with a 2nd thing or person

I know this sounds simplistic, but there is an entire field of psychological research based on the science of gratitude.

3. Talk to your inner critic 

According to Internal Family Systems Theory (a psychological approach developed by Richard Schwartz), inner critics are internal manager parts that exist to protect us from vulnerability, rejection, and humiliation. They are often younger-feeling parts of ourselves.

Rather than ignoring or pushing them away (which doesn’t work for me), try befriending it instead. This often takes less to 2 minutes.

How to do it:

• Tune in. Write down what you hear. Mine often says “this writing is crap!” or “people are going to think this is shoddy” or “no one is going to show up for the launch”.
• Try a compassionate, validating statement: “Yeah, sometimes putting writing out into the world and risking criticism is really scary.”
• Thank it for its service: “I know you’re just trying to protect me from humiliation, rejection, disappointment. Thanks for doing that.”
• Remind the inner critic that you can handle it: “I’m a grown up and have people who support me today, even when I fail”. Get specific about this: show this part a mental slide show of your support system and coping strategies.
• See if the inner critic relaxes a bit.

Want to learn more strategies? Check out this article I wrote a few years ago, or if you’d like to delve deeper, check out my book 52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life. Good luck with your writing!