The 3 Creative Wounds Holding You Back From Feeling Alive
We all have the same psychological blocks to creative health - here's how to dissolve them.
If I had to summarize my life mission into one simple question, it would be this: Why the hell are we all running on this endless hamster wheel? And, how do we get off?
It’s a question that’s plagued me since I was a kid. Everywhere I seemed to look - my peers, adults, even the people we looked up to as “successful” were running, running, running. Sometimes, they stopped for a moment and it seemed like they “made it.”
But no - they were just taking one more exhausted breath before they got back on.
Hey there! Katina here. If we haven’t met, I’m a Creative Health Scientist and the Co-founder & Chief Science Officer of Daydreamers. Each week, I write a free newsletter about the science of Creative Health - and how we can make our lives more meaningful, beautiful and creatively free.
Sometimes we dive deep into the scientific research behind one Creative Health topic, like awe or flow. Sometimes we explore coping with state of the world using scientifically-validated creative tools. And sometimes, we break down our own research at Daydreamers, like today. Stay tuned - and make sure you’re subscribed.
The hamster wheel I’m talking about is one most of us - myself included - know intimately: The cycle, pressure and fear of “success.” The underlying drumbeat in our society that screams or whispers (depending on how much you’re listening) - do more. Be more. Collect more.
It’s always more.
More money. More accolades. More freedom, even. More trading our aliveness for achievement. I feel like this modern day ethos is summed up by this Internet meme from a few years ago: “You have as many hours in a day as Beyonce. What are you doing with it?”
(I’m sure that question alone inspired more burnout than we’d like to imagine 😅.)
But, here’s the thing: For me, I’ve never been against the gritty, messy hard work that comes with real creative fulfillment. Great creations require great effort - we see that in the scientific literature all the time.
My issue is with the emptiness we’ve come to expect that arises on the other side. The climbed mountain that feels depleting instead of deeply satisfying. The project, the outcome, heck even the family that just feels like one more thing checked on some never-ending to do list.
The life half lived, always searching for our next best achievement.
Listen - I speak about this lack of meaning, fulfillment, enjoyment and satisfaction from a place of deep understanding. Experiencing it myself is exactly what motivated me to study human psychology, our capacity to flourish and ultimately, what I call Creative Health. I wanted to see if the juicy parts of life were real. If the meaningful moments weren’t just figments of our imagination.
Basically, I wanted to understand: What made life actually worth living?
This age-old problem - one that feels infinitely more pronounced in modern times - is exactly what we’ve been trying to solve at Daydreamers for years. We looked across the landscape, the world, and thought: We can’t possibly be the only ones experiencing this emptiness, exhaustion and frankly, disillusionment…right?
The Modern Crisis: Creative Deficit
We were right. Among the plethora of mental health crises we’re seeing, nearly 70% of adults today say they’re creatively unfulfilled. They’re living a life devoid of meaning, purpose and imagination. They keep climbing the mountain, hoping that it will unlock some magical land of “good” - but instead, the mountains just keep getting bigger.
This is what I call the Creative Deficit: The quiet, persistent exhaustion that doesn’t just come from lack of sleep. And, it doesn’t just get solved with a new job, higher pay or raising the perfect family.
It’s antidote from being creatively fulfilled. Satisfied. Intrinsically motivated. Psychologically safe enough to express ourselves fully, authentically and freely. Being able to have fun without guilt, appreciate beauty without rushing and take risks without fear of failing.
Essentially, all the parts of life that we gloss over on our pursuit of “success.”
We’ve been deeply, scientifically studying these elements of our shared humanity at Daydreamers for a long time. I’m not going to lie - the journey has been intense - because we’ve chosen to stay true to our mission and real impact over the fast versions of success (that’s a story for a different time).
But, with that depth and commitment - we’ve uncovered many surprising edges of our Creative Health and ultimately, what holds us back from experiencing it on individual and collective levels.
One of the biggest aspects we haven’t talk about together here is one of my absolute favorite findings: Our core psychological blocks to Creative Health.
What that means is simple - we are all deeply creative. If you’ve been part of our community for any time, you know that creativity isn’t just for the rich or talented; it’s biologically wired. But, what you might not know is that every single one of us has acquired wounds from our families, society and living in this success-oriented world that builds up over time, and takes us away from our true creative nature.
What we’ve done at Daydreamers is distilled the scientific research, our own learnings after working with thousands of folks and our unique perspective on creativity to turn them into three core learnings, pathways and practices to get back to our most real, creatively healthy selves.
We’re all about reciprocity, so here’s a summary of each. Share ‘em far and wide. We all need to heal from them, now more than ever.
Our Core Creative Wounds: Perfection, Autopilot, Conformity
Basically, when we first started Daydreamers - my hypothesis was that if we just gave people the tools, the exercises and the support to be more creative, they’d do it.
And, based on the science, more creativity = less stress and more fulfillment, so ta da! The problem was solved. We non-artists just weren’t creating enough.
Well, we learned over much trial and error that there was something much deeper under the surface that held everyone back from their creatively fulfilled selves - whether they considered themselves creative or not.
We call these set of findings The Creative Blocks. They are these deeply-held psychological beliefs, and ultimately, ways of operating in the world that stop us from letting our creativity shine. I’m going to give you a peek into what we mean.
1. Perfectionism: The Illusion of “High Standards”
Perfectionism is one of the most insidious, misunderstood - and common (like I’m talking 90% of people today common) - psychological blocks. It’s also my favorite to talk about because it’s impacted my life so much. TLDR; it’s by no means about being perfect - it’s the psychological belief that we’re not worthy of making mistakes.
How it shows up:
You feel stuck in your creativity (or in life) → You might have a lot of ideas, but they don’t end up going anywhere - they have to be flawless in order to exist.
You procrastinate out of fear → You avoid, freeze or block any creative inkling until it’s just right (i.e. never).
You have a loud Inner Critic → Your mental chatter is constant, and it often centers around “not being good enough.”
Creative Health Insight: Perfectionism tells us that our ideas must be fully formed and flawless before they’re worth expressing. It activates our brain’s error-detection system, which is helpful when you’re checking for typos… not when you’re trying to imagine new possibilities. Research shows that perfectionism increases stress and reduces cognitive flexibility, a key driver of creative thinking.
Our POV at Daydreamers: We see Perfectionism as the first psychological block to your creative health because it keeps you stuck, rigid and in fear of your creative potential. It stops us from even getting started. So, our focus is to help you develop a sense of psychological safety around your creativity, stop procrastinating and learn how to make your creative brain more flexible. It’s like the foundation for living a creatively healthy life. As we say, goodbye Inner Critic, hello expansion!
2. Autopilot: The Boredom of “Predictability”
Autopilot mode, as we say at Daydreamers, is such a regular part of modern life that most of us don’t even know it’s a block. Think of it as the mind-numbing repetition of daily life; the deep boredom and ultimately, cynicism that comes from being creatively deficient. When our days become predictable, overstimulated, or efficiency-optimized, our brains default to habitual patterns. This can feel “productive,” but it blocks the novelty and reflection required for creativity.
How it shows up:
You feel bored, blah or demotivated → Your life feels like one endless hamster wheel, moving from one task to the next without energy or enthusiasm.
You’re scared to take risks → Because your life is so predictable, you overthink…everything - and never try anything new.
You forgot what play is like → You don’t have much excitement, joy or flow in your life. And, you definitely haven’t felt inspired in a long time.
Creative Health Insight: Autopilot mode tells us that we have to just keep going through the motions to survive. But, a life on autopilot literally shrinks our brain’s creative potential. When your environment lacks novelty, your brain literally receives less input. That input scarcity weakens memory formation, emotional engagement, and imagination. Neuroscience has shown has shown that novel, creative experiences stretch our perception of time - and with it, our sense of meaning.
Our POV at Daydreamers: We see Autopilot as the second psychological block to your creative health, because even if you’re safe you might not be inspired. So, at Daydreamers, we focus on cultivating your natural curiosity, re-learning how to take creative risks and ultimately, giving you have your vital, creative spark back. Time to get off that hamster wheel, and feeling alive again!
3. Conformity: The Exhaustion of “Shoulds”
Of all the blocks we’ve studied, Conformity one is the most invisible - and the most draining. That’s because conforming to the norm is not only biologically wired within us (we need to belong), but it also hides in plain sight. It’s the subtle urge to blend in, to please others, to make your voice more “acceptable.” And it’s exhausting. The more we contort ourselves to fit in, the further we drift from our authentic expression.
How it shows up:
You always follow the “rules” → Your life looks like one long to do list…that someone else wrote for you.
You feel embarrassed to be your real self → The idea of being truly authentic not only feels cringe, but impossible.
You don’t have unique taste → You might be creative, but you tend to follow trends or other’s version of what’s cool; and compare yourself incessantly.
Creative Health Insight: When you conform, your brain suppresses activity in areas tied to self-expression and reward, and increases anxiety-related responses. Over time, this makes creativity feel more dangerous than it actually is. And that fear prevents the brain from accessing its most original - and life-giving - ideas.
Our POV at Daydreamers: We see Conformity as the third psychological block to your creative health. because it usually only starts to show up once we’re creatively safe and experimenting with taking risks. Only then do we begin to see how much we’re really hiding. Our focus is to help you reconnect with your biological desire for authenticity, learn how to creatively rebel - in your creations *and* life - and ultimately, develop your unique taste. So long cringe, hello creative freedom!
The main takeaway: We’ve taken a very humanistic psychology perspective - seeing these blocks as layers that build up over time. And that means these layers can dissolve when create the right conditions; we’re not stuck in them forever.
What To Do Now: Heal Back To Health
Disillusionment, boredom, fear and exhaustion don’t need to be our constant states of being. Running on that hamster wheel, with the glimmer of a “good life” ahead but only finding emptiness at each turn doesn’t need to be our forever state.
And, the reason that all of this doesn’t bum me out is because I know - on a scientific, personal and community level - that is possible change. To heal. To exist creatively, fully and freely.
To come back home to yourself.
With all of this - I’m not here to say Daydreamers is the only way; it’s one path for those who are ready and open to it. And, I’m sure there are many others. But, if this sparked anything for you - it might be worth giving us a try. We’ve seen the real, deep impact on people from all walks of life and it’s something I’m deeply proud of.
Either way, if you made it all the way to this point, then the seed was planted for you. The perspective shift that makes all of it possible.
Because, creative health begins with openness to new ideas, experiences and ways of seeing the world. It activates when we allow ourselves to be curious about a different way. It starts with the simple question: “What if…?”
And, this is your invitation to begin asking: What if I could get off that hamster wheel - and onto a more creative, fulfilling and meaningful path? What if there was more…to experience, not only to achieve?
- Katina
Daydreamers’ Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer
Introducing: Creative Journeys 🚀
TLDR; You can join Daydreamers in a completely new way. We’ve broken down the most common creative blocks into three simple pathways based on the latest neuroscience, psychology, and everything we’ve learned from working with thousands of people like you.
You choose your starting point. One journey at a time. At your own pace.
Creative Health Protocol 🧠
This newsletter is the what, and the Daydreamers platform is the how - your guide to turning Creative Health insights into real, tangible action. Here’s a peek.
Figure out your core creative wound
What it is: Your core creative wound is the deep, often unconscious psychological block that stops you from feeling fully alive and creatively fulfilled. It’s not just a mindset issue; it’s a set of inherited beliefs, behaviors and protective patterns shaped by modern life, your upbringing, and cultural conditioning. At Daydreamers, we’ve identified the three most common ones: Perfectionism (the illusion of needing to be flawless), Autopilot (the numbing cycle of predictability), and Conformity (the subtle pressure to live someone else’s version of life). These blocks don’t just limit creativity; they slowly drain your sense of vitality, curiosity and joy in life writ large.
How you can experiment with it: Step one is awareness. Look through the creative blocks on the new DD “website” to uncover which of the three wounds you’ve internalized most. Then, begin experimenting with micro-practices designed to disrupt your specific block. If you're a Perfectionist, try our “bad ideas” warmup. If you're stuck in Autopilot, inject your day with a dose of playful novelty. If you're battling Conformity, explore a personal expression exercise that rewires your need for approval. At Daydreamers, we’ll help you build psychological safety, spark curiosity and move toward creative freedom - one small, science-backed experiment at a time.
What We’re Consuming This Week 🪐
Exposure to new ideas is an essential part of Creative Health. So, here’s what we’ve been enjoying, digesting, exploring and expanding - instead of doomscrolling and going down the (wrong) kind of rabbit holes.
Speaking of perfectionism, here’s how to be less hard on yourself (hint: self-compassion is a pillar of creative health). Fascinating take on why our brain - not eyes - perceive color. Michael Pollan (a la How To Change Your Mind) writes about when priests take magic mushrooms…and how spirituality collides with consciousness. Something that made us lol: A comic on why everything is Linkedin now.
+ by joining Daydreamers, you’re not just unlocking your own Creative Health - you’re helping us build a world where imagination, well-being, and tools like this newsletter are accessible to all. Ready to help us make the world a more creative place?