How our greediness for creative ideas can support nervous system dysregulation

» From the podcast:

Cathleen King, DPT: “Sometimes those of us who are creatives, we have this greediness with ideas…we're indulging our ideas all the time. That is another form of nervous system dysregulation when you can't shut off your idea switch and just be in the present moment.”

Willow McIntosh. "Depth of processing is one of the abilities that we have, and that's something that can serve us and it can also turn against us or we can turn it in on ourselves."

» Related quotes:

"The thoughts are unstoppable - but so is the music. It comes to me constantly." Lady Gaga

“…something in there is running all the time.” Stephen King

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Most of this Creative Mind Audio is a brief excerpt from interview with Cathleen King and two functional medicine doctors for their Health Babes Podcast.

The last few minutes are comments by Willow McIntosh about working with a busy creative mind as a highly sensitive person.

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Cathleen King, DPT, a doctor of physical therapy, teaches neuroscience principles, and is a mind-body practitioner.

See her resources below.

Health Babes Podcast #138 Somatic Healing & Nervous System Recovery with Dr. Cathleen King, hosted by Dr. Becky Campbell and Dr. Krystal Hohn.

What is nervous system dysregulation?

Cathleen King writes:

"Ever feel like your body and mind are constantly on edge, even when there’s no clear reason?

“Maybe you find yourself tense, restless, or easily overwhelmed, or perhaps you’re dealing with physical symptoms that seem tied to stress, but you can’t quite figure out the cause.

"It could be that your nervous system is sending out signals that it’s out of balance or what experts often call a dysregulated nervous system.

"A dysregulated nervous system can turn routine experiences into sources of stress. The things you used to handle easily may feel intimidating or exhausting, and tasks that once brought joy might feel overwhelming.

"This state can leave you feeling anxious and jumpy like you’re always bracing yourself for something—even if nothing specific is wrong."

From her article Understanding A Dysregulated Nervous System: The Symptoms and Signs.

» Also see related posts wit Dr Cathleen King:

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Resources from Cathleen King:

📖 Free ebook: How Healing Happens - a 127 page guide on "brain retraining and nervous system somatic healing."

Primal Trust Membership & Community - "Learn to consciously self-regulate your biology and heal."

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A Racing Mind

Many of us as creative people have intense physical, sensual, creative, intellectual and emotional energy that can drive our work, but may also lead to intrusive thinking.

Lady Gaga once commented about one of the common experiences of many artists: a racing mind.

She talked in an interview about using prescription medicine because “I can’t control my thoughts at all. I’m tortured.

“But I like that. Lorca says it’s good to be tortured.

“The thoughts are unstoppable – but so is the music. It comes to me constantly.”

From my post How to Manage Our Energy, Negative Thoughts, and Overprocessing as HSPs.

Musician and actor Lady Gaga has been open about her struggles with mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following her rape at age 19, depression, anxiety, and more.

She has talked about using prescription medicine because “I can’t control my thoughts at all."

She has also said “A lot of people are afraid of medicine for their brains to help them. I really want to erase the stigma around this.”

In a 2020 interview with Oprah, she said medication "does not affect my creative process. I don't take anything that does."

[But she has also talked about smoking, using cocaine, alcohol and other drugs which can and do affect our creative minds.]

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Depth of processing

Willow McIntosh is the founder of Inluminance with programs for people with High Sensory Intelligence.

In this Creative Mind Audio, he comments that "Depth of processing is one of the abilities that we have [as a highly sensitive person], and that's something that can serve us and can also turn against us.

“We can turn it in on ourselves if we allow our thoughts and our minds to overprocess, and if we fall into self judgement and criticism, especially when our energy gets low...

“One of the reasons I'm passionate about this is because I have a really creative mind - my mind is incredibly busy."

His audio comments are from Highly Sensitive and Neurodivergent Podcast Episode 150: How To Manage Low Energy, Negative Thoughts, and Overprocessing.

Hear longer excerpt in post:

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Photo: Stephen King and his dog Marlowe, by Jill Krementz in her book The Writer’s Desk. It is also used for King’s own book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

King has said:

“I’ve taken off two months, three months at a time, and, by the end, I get really squirrelly.

“My night life, my dream life, gets extremely populated and crazed.

“It’s as though something in there is running all the time.”

Quoted in multiple articles of mine, including Developing Creativity: Excitabilities – Our Teeming Brains.

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See more Substack posts and podcast episodes on emotional/mental health.

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