How Stress Can Affect Creativity

Introduction
Stress is one of the most significant things that can damper your creative sense. Stress can be caused by many different reasons and it can block or disturb your creativity in equally different ways. Creativity is intensely based on our mental capacity. When we feel stressed out then that affects our mental capacity as well. This eventually affects our creativity. To stay creative, we need to keep ourselves calm and relaxed. It is very important to understand the relationship between stress and creativity.
Sometimes a person feels like he/she has a lot of ideas but it feels very difficult to implement those ideas. You feel like some hurdles or obstacles are stopping you from implanting those ideas. This is due to the stress in your mind. You have an idea, that’s your creativity but you not being able to implement it is the blockage occurring because of stress. People sometimes go blank right after they thought of a good idea. This sudden loss of creativity is also the result of stress.
The time when you get trapped behind the barrier of stress, it occupies your mind and doesn’t let you think wisely. Stress tends to block your mind on a certain thing. You feel like you are stuck. Moreover, it blocks your expression and prevents you from thinking out of the box. We all might have heard that stress is the enemy of creativity and it’s true. 
Stress Barriers for Creativity
Stress barriers for creativity are all factors that can cause the blockage of creativity due to stress. These factors can be emotional, mental or even physical problems. If we face any emotional trauma or personal problem we are bound to get stressed out which in turn makes us less creative. It does not mean that the person isn’t creative or that they don’t have any good ideas. It is just that at that moment, they are unable to implement those ideas. 
Creativity Needs Freedom
Creativity is all about being unique. You cannot be creative if you are easily pressurized by others. Creativity demands to be free. You need passion and determination to be creative. If your mind becomes a slave of stress and anxiety then you take that freedom away from creativity. This eventually makes you lose all hope in yourself.
It Can Make You Lose All Hope
Carrying on from the last point mentioned above, stress should always be controlled and mitigated. When people feel stress, they start to lose hope in themselves. Stress leads to anxiety and depression. Sometimes the depression can be so intense that the person starts to lose all hope in him. Which means that he becomes unable to make any good decisions?
Fight or flight response
​Another very important factor that accelerates the stress factor is the fight and flight response. During such a response we become narrower minded. During stress as our brains are accustomed to focus on one thing at a time that we make us unable to see various ideas. Creativity might come from within but it can take influence from a lot of different areas. If you don’t accept to observe and check out different ideas then you will never be able to control your stress levels and be creative in life.
Stress Hijacks Your Brain
No one likes to be controlled whether it is by other people or by any other thing. Stress is one thing that can easily hijack and control your brain. It can make you do things that you might regret in the future. People need to overstress otherwise it can overtake your entire brain and kill your sense of creativity. 
Overcoming Stress Accelerates Creativity
We are sometimes unaware of how deeply our sense of creativity is being affected by stress. Stress blocks our immediate thoughts and can affect the flow of creativity. Another thing that blocks our creative sense is overthinking. Overthinking an idea can be problematic. Higher the stress less will be the rate of productivity. So to produce a good piece of work one should overcome all fears that lead towards stress. 
How Can You Stop Stress from Killing Your Creativity
Stress should in no case be taken lightly. It can be the root cause of many other issues, especially mental issues. Hence people need to take stress seriously. Stress can not only kill your creativity, but it can also cause you a lot of other mental and physical problems as well. If you occasionally feel stressed out then it’s time for you to improve your diet and hit the gym. Consuming a healthy and balanced diet helps a lot in relieving stress. The same way morning exercise is also very good for people suffering from high levels of stress. 
Conclusion
Stress-free people are more likely to come up with unique and innovative ideas. In addition to that, they are more likely to implement those ideas effectively as well. You can be a very creative person but as long as stress has your brain is hijacked, your creativity is useless. People need to help improve their mental capacity so that they can come up with better and more effective ideas. 
Stress affects both the mental and physical capacity of a person. A person can never be creative if his thoughts are blocked by stress and other mental pressure. Daily workout routines and a balanced diet can all result in better health which can eventually lead to more creativity. As you start to reduce your stress levels, your creativity starts to increase and overflow so try to reduce your stress if you want to experience your creativity to its full potential. 
Citations
https://medium.com/attack-the-front/stress-is-the-enemy-of-creativity-bc642639749b
http://writingandwellness.com/2016/11/28/how-to-keep-stress-from-destroying-your-creativity/
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/relationship-between-stress-and-creativity