We all had them at least a few times, though some might argue that they are nothing more than an illusion. Is creative block really an actual phenomenon, or could it just be that it is a side product of having unreasonable expectations about the production of art?

I do like the explanation that there is no creative block and that it’s only in our minds, that we crave for some idealistic perfection with our work and fail to actually produce it, thus getting blocked. And while this is a valid and logical way of looking at creative blocks, I can’t get on board with the idea completely.

While I agree, nobody has ever heard their doctor tell him or her that he won’t be able to operate or to do the medical exam because they had doctor’s block. And surely other professions are the same; a pilot doesn’t have pilot’s block and plumbers don’t get plumber’s block.

But no-one does care to continue this common example so that one very important thing could be made clear: all of them can feel anxiety about their work. They might actually feel insecure or even incompetent and, as top athletes, who suffer from imposter syndromes, anxiety and panic attics and just basic issues with performance will tell you, the (insert profession) block is as real as they get. They just don’t happen that often.

Now I agree with many, who say: “No, it’s just about putting in the work and being regular and just doing it. Over and over and over, until we do so many crapy things, there is nothing else but quality left to be done.” (Or something in that manner anyway.) But while yes, you can’t just sit down at your computer and expect to outwrite Shakespeare on your first try, the problem isn’t only our enormous lack of understanding of time and how much of it actually goes into cultivating a skill. The other big issue is our blatant disregard for the dominance hierarchy and a common understanding that if factors like status and food and other basic needs aren’t meet in the way that they should be, we can (and mostly do without exception) end up in a dark place, that may or may not be full blown depression, but usually starts by looking and feeling like a block of some sorts.

And while it is wonderful to say, that hard work alone will make us into professional and competent artists (and it might), I think the bigger picture is that we need both, hard work and appreciation (let’s call it having a positive status in ones dominance hierarchy). Not to low, but it doesn’t have to be really high. Just enough so that we feel that we are on the right track. That people notice our work, at least a bit. And that others we care about appreciate us too. I feel this is the only true way of defining and fixing blocks of any kind, especially the creative ones.