Feeling Overwhelmed? Creative Self-Care for Brains That Won’t Shut Off
Why Your Brain is a Drama Queen
If your brain feels like it’s running on overdrive, and daily life seems like a nonstop chaos loop, you’re not alone. For autistic and ADHD women, the world’s expectations can feel exhausting — masking, over-functioning, and constant adaptation take a lot of energy.
It’s not just waiting for the other shoe to drop. There’s a truckload of them and they seem to just keep coming. It’s a lot of a lot, I tell you. Deep down, you’re craving for a break from everything–some sort of nontraditional self-care ideas that will help pump the breaks so you can catch your breath.
And yet, somehow, we’ve convinced ourselves that self-care is selfish.
🚨 Reality check: You can’t fight the good fight, handle your responsibilities, or even fake-smile through your next Zoom meeting if you’re running on empty.
Maybe you’re known for being good in a crisis and you don’t want to let people down. I get it. I have been that person before. But, operating your life in crisis mode is not sustainable. Remember what the flight attendant always says. You need to put your own mask on before helping others.
That’s where you can reach for expressive arts for stress relief—because let’s face it—sometimes, words just aren’t enough, and smashing paint onto a canvas or scribbling aggressively to some Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is actually therapeutic AF.
👉 Keep reading to learn how creative expression can bring clarity and calm—no artistic skills required.
🎨 Creativity: The Ultimate Stress-Relief Hack No One Told You About
(Spoiler: It’s Like Giving Your Emotions a Megaphone—But with More Glitter)
Creativity as therapy is my jam. Specifically, I practice expressive arts therapy, which combines multiple ways to express yourself within the course of one session. One of the things I love most about expressive arts therapy is the plethora of ways to use movement and creativity for stress relief. Think of expressive arts as your emotional junk drawer getting a Marie Kondo makeover, but with paint and poetry.
Instead of bottling up your feelings like a shaken soda can, you move, draw, write, dance, or make music to process what’s bubbling under the surface…especially when your brain processes things differently than the world expects it to.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, this taps into the parts of your brain that process emotion, sensory input, and executive overwhelm — areas where ND women often experience friction.
Science backs this up—getting creative helps lower stress hormones, boost mood, and give your anxious brain a damn break. Exploring through expressive arts helps you pause and connect more deeply to your inner world, helping you gain a better understanding and appreciation for yourself.
Ever had a song come on that instantly changed your mood? One second you’re brooding, the next you’re performing a one-person concert in your car? That’s the power of creative expression. It bypasses your overthinking brain and goes straight for the emotional jugular.
🧠 Ways to Get Unstuck That Don’t Involve Meditation or Deep Breathing
(Or, How to Stop Your Brain from Doing the Anxiety Mambo)
Here’s the thing: stress doesn’t just live in your head. It shows up in your body—tight shoulders, clenched jaw, racing heart, especially when your nervous system is constantly compensating for sensory or cognitive overload. Ever tried talking your way out of a panic attack? Yeah, not so effective.
That’s because logic can’t always override a brain wired for hyper-alertness, masking, or multitasking beyond your natural limits.You can’t just tell your panic pilot to stop yelling “Mayday!” when it’s in crisis mode. You need to distract it or entice it by introducing something that changes focus. Movement, music, and creative expression? Those can help trick your brain out of fight-or-flight mode by engaging in playful ways to calm your mind.
It’s why kids naturally draw, hum, fidget, and dance around when they feel things—they’re processing without even knowing it. They instinctly understand how art helps with anxiety. You, my friend, can do the same.
🎭 How to Use Expressive Arts (Even If You Think You’re “Not Creative”)
Ready to give this creative stress relief thing a whirl? Here are three techniques you can try immediately:
1️⃣ Hot Mess Masterpiece → Express Yourself Freely
✔ Grab some paper and scribble out your stress like a toddler who’s had too much sugar.
✔ Jagged lines, chaotic swirls, stick figures of you flipping off your inbox—whatever feels right.
✔ Now, pick one calming word (like “peace” or “chill the hell out”) and write it somewhere on the page.
Why it works: Externalizes your emotions so they stop playing pinball in your head.
2️⃣ Shake It Out (Gentle Movement for Nervous System Regulation)
✔ Put on a song that matches your mood—angsty? Calm? Hype? You pick.
✔ Stand up and move however your body wants—sway, shake, stretch, bounce. No rules.
✔ If stillness feels better, that is fine too. Always make sure to listen to your body and try to give it what it needs. I personally still like to think of stillness as movement. Instead of focusing on outward expression, stillness helps me focus on the movement that is happening within me. Try breathing deeply with one hand on your heart to feel the beat.
Why it works: Releases physical tension and resets your stress response.
3️⃣ Scribble to Sound (Using Music + Creative Expression Together)
✔ Pick a song that reflects your mood (may I suggest Sound of Silence or Highway to Hell?)
✔ Grab a pen and let your hand move freely across the page, scribbling or doodling. Swirls, spirals, straight lines are all welcome. Try taping or weighting your paper down and drawing with both hands. Bilateral movement can help calm down the panic pilot in your brain.
✔ When the song ends, pause and reflect—how do you feel now?
Why it works: Combines sound, movement, and creativity to shift your emotional state.
4️⃣ Color-Coded Journaling (Writing, but Make It Visual)
✔ Grab a few different colored pens or highlighters.
✔ Write about your current mood, but switch colors based on shifts in emotions. (Example: blue for calm thoughts, red for frustration, yellow for hope.)
✔ Don’t overthink it—just let the colors flow with your words.
Why it works: Writing helps organize your thoughts, but adding color taps into the visual, emotional part of your brain. It’s like turning your journal into a mood ring.
🎨 How to Start an Expressive Arts Practice (Without Worrying If It’s ‘Good’)
(Listen up, perfectionists—this part is for you.)
❌ You don’t need talent.
❌ It doesn’t have to be pretty.
❌ You won’t be graded.
I want you to approach your creative self-care with the confidence of a preschooler who just got their hands on a glitter glue bottle—fully committed, utterly unconcerned with the mess, and convinced they’re creating a masterpiece. When I was a kid, I used to play making little clay figures for hours, completely lost in the process. I didn’t care if it looked good. I wasn’t worried about what anyone thought. I just created because it felt right. At some point, adulthood convinced us we had to be ‘good’ at something for it to be worth doing. But what if we let go of that? This is about process, not perfection.
When was the last time you did something purely for fun—just because it felt good? If you had to pause and think about it, you’re overdue.
Here’s how to make it part of your routine:
✔ Start Small → 5 minutes of creative chaos a day = way less stress. Try setting aside a consistent time in your day, if you can. Creativity in the mornings can help you set the tone for the day. Tackle midday slumps with a 5-minute creative break. Use creativity in the evenings to unwind.
✔ Create a “Creative Calm” Corner → A small spot with art supplies, music, movement space. It doesn’t need to be fancy or complicated. In fact, simple is often the best solution. Try pairing a small mixed media journal with an inexpensive watercolor set. Music can be selections from your phone’s playlist or even using the nearest hard surface as a “drum” in a pinch.
✔ Embrace the Suck → Your drawings can look like spaghetti monsters. It’s okay if your voice is flat and you have two left feet. Doesn’t matter. Heck, maybe that’s exactly what you need to convey the complex jumble that is your current emotional state!
💡Final Thoughts: You Can’t Control the Chaos, But You Can Create Your Own Calm
You can’t control the dumpster fire that is the world right now, but you can create small and necessary moments of calm.
Expressive arts give you tangible tools to regulate emotions, recharge your batteries, and reconnect with yourself—meditation and sitting still are optional. You do you.
🔥 So grab those crayons, crank up the music, and let your freak flag fly. Your stress-addled brain will thank you. And who knows? You might just discover your hidden talent for abstract macaroni art.
