Creative Mind Audio

Self-acceptance, self-compassion, self-regard, healthy self-esteem... how do these impact us, including being creative?

In this episode, a number of artists and psychologists talk about their perspectives and some of the research.

Actor Michelle Rodriguez said,

“I don’t think it’s narcissistic at all to love yourself and believe in yourself. I think some people are really scared to do that.

“I have to. If I don’t, I would not succeed in what I do.”

In an interview for The Self-Acceptance Summit, Sounds True founder Tami Simon asked author Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear; Eat, Pray, Love) why self-acceptance is important to her personally.

Gilbert replied: "Well, I mean I’ve kind of been a student of it my whole life because I’ve had to be, because its moments of absence in my life have brought me the darkest pain I’ve ever been in."

» The live Self-Acceptance Summit is over. Here are some related resources:

⏺ Self-Acceptance books and programs by various authors, from Sounds True.

The page notes about the program "Radical Self-Acceptance" that author Dr. Tara Brach "says the most difficult—and pervasive—challenge to Westerners today is the suffering caused by our feelings of unworthiness and self-aversion.

"Radical Self-Acceptance offers a way to break out of this emotional prison, so you can discover the freedom that comes with kindness and true appreciation of yourself and others."

The page also includes The Self-Acceptance Summit recordings, with presenters Caroline Myss, Tara Brach, Matt Kahn, Richard Schwartz, Adyashanti, many more

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⏺ The Self-Acceptance Summit: Volume 1: How to Overcome Self-Judgment and Live a Life of Bravery, Compassion, and Authenticity (Audible Audiobook) – Elizabeth Gilbert (Author, Narrator), Iyanla Vanzant (Author, Narrator), Parker J. Palmer PhD (Author, Narrator), & 8 more.

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Julie Bjelland, LMFT is a psychotherapist, author and educator specializing in helping highly sensitive people thrive.

One of her courses is "Brain-Training for the Highly Sensitive Person and the Neurodivergent — Techniques to Reduce Anxiety & Overwhelming Emotions."

A testimonial: “This course gave me clarity, understanding, and acceptance of myself and what I need to thrive; like having an owner’s manual to myself as an HSP. I started the course feeling depleted and easily knocked down by life’s challenges. I now feel centered, resilient, empowered, energetic, and joyful, and am feeling and bringing my best to my life and to the people in it.” — Michelle, California

⏺ Learn about Courses for the Sensitive and Neurodivergent by Julie Bjelland.

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Self-Compassion author and researcher Kristin Neff says “We often become our own worst critic because we believe it’s necessary to keep ourselves motivated.

“But the research shows that healthy self-compassion increases our inner drive, our resilience, and our ability to excel."

Kristin Neff courses and audio programs from Sounds True.

Books by Kristin Neff, PhD include

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself

Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive

Self-Compassion Step by Step: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself (Audible Audiobook)

Actor and playwright Tracy Letts comments:

“It’s hard to give yourself a break, isn’t it? You can’t just decide to do it. It’s not an act of will.

“It takes actual work, whether that means getting sober, getting into therapy, writing or acting in plays, or paying attention and really listening to other people.”

Therapist and author Julie Bjelland, LMFT helps Highly Sensitive People thrive.

She notes "Self-acceptance is one of the greatest foundations of feeling joyful. Conversely, self-rejection can be sneaky and a very painful place to operate from, especially as a deep-feeling, sensitive person."

The final part of this Creative Mind Audio episode is an excerpt from her HSP Podcast Episode 184 The Importance of Self-Acceptance with Willow and Julie.

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Related posts:

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See more resources below.

video with Kristin Neff

Kristin Neff thinks "one of the reasons we’re so attached to our self-criticism, even though it’s painful, is because I think it gives us the illusion of control."

She notes "First of all, self-compassion is about self- acceptance: 'I fully accept myself as I am, flaws and all, I have compassion, kindness, love, even though I’m not perfect, even though I fail.'

"And self-compassion is not about, you know, self-improvement or evaluating yourself (am I good enough or not), trying to do more more more so I can see myself positively. It really is about accepting who you are as you are.

"Doesn't self-acceptance mean being passive or complacent?...So if you accept things as they are, then how does that help motivate to make a change? And Carl Rogers talked about this very beautifully: 'You know the curious paradox is that when I accept myself as I am, then I can change.'

"When we accept ourselves fully, and we embrace who we are, flaws and all, then it provides the safety needed to see ourselves clearly."

Dr. Neff was a speaker at The Self-Acceptance Summit (recordings available).

From the Summit page:

“For many years self-esteem was seen to be the key to psychological health,” teaches Kristin.

“More recently, however, researchers have identified several downsides to the pursuit of self-esteem such as narcissism, ego-defensiveness, social comparisons, and the contingency and instability of self-worth.

“Research suggests that self-compassion is a healthier way of relating to oneself, offering the benefits of self-esteem without its downsides.”

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Comments by Tracy Letts (“It’s hard to give yourself a break, isn’t it?” …) are from the end of this Off Camera podcast episode with Sam Jones.

The page notes Letts "won a Pulitzer Prize for his play August: Osage County, based on his own family, and in addition to his acting work on stage, he’s been in a number of projects on TV and in film, such as Homeland, Lady Bird, and most recently, Ford v Ferrari. There’s an empathy that suffuses all of Tracy’s work, and it all stems from his desire to achieve self-acceptance."

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"One of the most challenging parts of the critic in the Shadow is the inner critic.

“When your inner critic has completely taken over, and you don't have the clarity to trust yourself, this becomes a significant spiritual crisis." Caroline Myss (from her video on The Critic below).

(Photo: Rachel Weisz as twin gynecologists in Dead Ringers. This image reminded of how disparaging and dismissive our inner talk can be.)

Caroline Myss comments:

"The shadow has many definitions. I think the best one, one of the most effective ones is to think of the shadow as the parts of yourself that you don't know much about that circumstances in life activate so that you can find out a lot about [them] … The shadow is neither good nor bad.”

Why bother to learn about our Shadow Self? Caroline Myss explains.

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This podcast includes excerpts from The Sacred Path of the Shadow video series.

Producer Sounds True summarizes:

“Join world-renowned spiritual teachers Caroline Myss and Andrew Harvey for a FREE three-video teaching series on the psychological and spiritual implications of investigating those parts of yourself that you have buried, abandoned, or disavowed.

“Have you ever had a pattern of falling in love with the same type of person, over and over again, even though the relationships seemed doomed from the start?

“Or wondered why certain events were triggering for you, seemingly out of proportion to the events themselves?

“Or had a sense that there was some creative endeavor wanting to be born through you that you couldn’t quite name, as if it were hidden on the very edge of your awareness?

“All of these experiences are indicators of the Shadow at work. The Shadow is that part of us that is unknown, yet influences every aspect of our lives.

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Jungian Psychology Resources

This page includes videos, articles and programs by multiple psychologists and teachers about depth psychology teachings of Carl Jung, to enhance our personal growth and creativity.

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Meg Haworth, PhD recalls, "I grew up with a narcissistic parent in a toxic family system, and I also had all kinds of abuse growing up and spent a lot of time in my childhood being very sick."

The image above is from one of her articles. She notes:

“As women entrepreneurs, we already face the many challenges of running a business—balancing strategy, execution, sales, marketing, accounting, and leadership.

“But for some of us, there’s an additional, often invisible, hurdle: the inner wound of self-worth.

“If you’ve been raised in a family with narcissistic or toxic parents or siblings, where criticism, belittlement, and constant invalidation were the norm, this wound can be particularly deep and pervasive."

From article Healing the Self-Worth Wound for Women Entrepreneurs with Narcissistic or Toxic Family Dynamics, by Meg Haworth, Jan 30, 2025 on meghaworth.com.

This audio is an excerpt from a longer video interview, talking about her adverse childhood experiences that led to her own healing and developing a “mind body process that has helped many people gain clarity, health, and recovery.”

Register free to view the ongoing interview by The Shift Network (and learn about her related course): How to Heal Yourself From Toxic & Narcissistic Family Dynamics.

....

Dr. Haworth notes "Sexual, physical, and emotional violation is debilitating. It can lead to unhealthy choices, poor personal boundaries and self-defeating patterns.

"All these things get stored in your body as memories that create pain and difficulties."

She adds, "I also drowned and had a near-death experience, and I was highly intuitive.

"I was so sensitive and psychic and empathic that I really just took on a lot of the abuse and a lot of the emotions that were coming my way, and really took it on as a part of me.

"And that led to illness. But it took me many many years to unwind this..."

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Video version of interview excerpt:

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A movie about a narcissistic relationship:

Anna Kendrick has commented about starring in the movie ‘Alice, Darling’ (which she helped get made as an executive producer):

“I was coming out of a personal experience with emotional abuse and psychological abuse.”

Describing her former relationship, Kendrick says,

“I was in a situation where I loved and trusted this person more than I trusted myself.

“So when that person is telling you that you have a distorted sense of reality and that you are impossible and that all the stuff that you think is going on is not going on, your life gets really confusing really quickly…”

See ABC News video with her, plus related material from trauma and relationship experts, in article How attachment styles and trauma impact our lives and relationships.

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Most of us have a wide variety of emotional experiences as a child and teen, and as as adults, of course.

These may include relatively minor and temporary hurts, but also abuse, even trauma.

And these experiences can endure, especially when not addressed or healed, deeply impacting our lives and access to our creativity.

This audio is an AI-generated "podcast" with the "speakers" doing a great job of covering main topics and quotes in my article How Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma affect our lives and creativity:

From article:

“During our childhood, we are much closer to our authentic selves. Even if our memories of childhood may be filled with challenge and discomfort.” Sensitivity therapist and author Julie Bjelland, LMFT

“It’s an often complicated part of being a young performer…being taken advantage of by someone with ulterior motives and intentions.” Actor Jamie Lee Curtis

“If you didn’t feel loved enough as a child, the world becomes the realm of the ‘unloved child’ and you find yourself on a never-ending search for acceptance and approval.” Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz

"Because of that household dysfunction, our brains do a couple of really significant things: they begin to give us the message that we're not okay." Science Journalist Donna Jackson Nakazawa

Also perspectives of Keira Knightley, Aimie Apigian, MD, Halle Berry, Ben Kingsley, and others.

Also videos and resources.

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"It is hard to change that feeling flawed piece...it's so seeped into your bones." Julie Bjelland, LMFT

“Trauma results in this belief that we are different, that we’re not enough…”Aimie Apigian, MD

“We often see that the pain cycle is ultimately cross wired with some type of underlying core belief such as “I’m not okay, I’m not good enough…" Cathleen King, DPT

“Your own self doubt can cause the disconnection, especially when your inner voice says things like “I’m afraid I will fail,” “people won’t like me,” or “I can’t do this.” Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT

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A belief that we are different

“Trauma results in this belief that we are different, that we’re not enough, that there’s something about us that pushes people away or that we’re too much for other people."

Trauma healing specialist Aimie Apigian, MD continues: “And so if they were to truly know us – all parts of us – then they would leave us, then they would kick us out, then they would reject us, abandon us.

"And those feelings of being abandoned and being different are so painful that our system responds in a self-protective way…”

Resources by Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH. include:

▶️ TheFoundational Journey: 21 Day Journey + Intro to All Parts of Me, for addressing stored trauma in the body.

▶️ The Essential Sequence - How to Release Stored Trauma - free guide

▶️ Thumbnail image for this video ("Alone in a crowd") is from Attachment Pain: A Roadmap for Healing - free guidebook.

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Feeling flawed and the power of self-compassion and self-acceptance.

Julie Bjelland, LMFT, a psychotherapist and author specializing in high sensitivity and neurodiverse people, comments in an episode of her podcast:

"It is hard to change that feeling flawed piece...it's so seeped into your bones because it's your inner child. It's stuff that you learned with a child's brain."

From the original Show Notes: "In this conversation, Julie Bjelland and Willow McIntosh "emphasize the impact of feeling flawed and the power of self-compassion and self-acceptance."

⏩ See video: Feeling flawed as a neurodivergent child or adult - What can change that?

⏩ Hear Creative Mind Audio podcast version.

In an issue of her newsletter, she lists some notions ‘we constantly tell ourselves things such as:

I'll be worthy when I lose 20 pounds.

I'll be worthy if I get/stay sober.

I'll be worthy if everyone thinks I'm a good parent.

I'll be worthy if I can hold my marriage together.

I'll be worthy when I make more money.

I'll be worthy when my parents finally approve.

She lists suggestions of "What we should be saying to ourselves. Pick some of these and try repeating them daily to yourselves:

I love and accept myself as I am.

I know my sensitivity is needed in the world.

I allow myself to honor my needs in a loving way and rest when I need it.

I give myself the care and downtime I need to help stay at my highest level of wellness.

I practice daily self-compassion, knowing it is a part of helping me thrive."

She adds that one of her resources to "deepen your journey of self-love and acceptance" is her Blooming Brilliantly course - see list of Courses for The Sensitive & Neurodivergent.

(Like perhaps many other people, I don’t generally appreciate or use affirmations such as she suggests - but I think they’re worth thinking about, especially in terms of the quality of messages our inner voices may regularly be spouting.)

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The psychology of chronic pain

Cathleen King says "in my experience, and in the research of the psychology of chronic pain, we often see that the pain cycle is ultimately cross wired with some type of underlying core belief such as “I’m not okay, I’m not good enough, I’m unworthy, undeserving, imperfect, unloveable, etc” that has been enmeshed with our core identity."

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

"The ego will submit to your conscious choice to live with or without pain, and the pain signaling will shift, because the inner threat of ‘not-okayness’ has shifted."

⏩ From post (on her site) How to Overcome Pain: Effective Strategies.

Follow link to see her programs and free resources.

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"Not good enough."

Viola Davis said “At thirty-eight, things changed. I didn’t jump out of bed one morning and everything was perfect. I’ve always known I was a strong woman, but I wanted ‘fast-food joy’—quick, easy joy. More tools and tricks.

"I also could still fall back into ‘not enough—not pretty enough, not thin enough, not good enough.’

"One day my therapist asked me a pivotal question: ‘What if nothing changes—your looks, your weight, your success—would you be okay?’

“For the first time, I thought, You know what? Yes, I would. I really would.

“This is when I realized that the past was not going to define me."

Courage and Power From Pain - An Interview With Viola Davis by Brené Brown May 9, 2018.

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What takes us out of an emotional authentic space?

Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT of Creative Minds Psychotherapy comments about judgments and perfectionism interfering with our creativity and emotional health.

She writes about being "in the flow, completely at peace with yourself and what you’re doing" and asks, "So, what takes you out of this emotional authentic space?

"It could be a comment you hear or the look in someone’s eyes as they observe something you’re doing. It might be a memory of someone telling you that you “are doing it wrong,” “ruined something,” “keep breaking things.”

And, she adds, “Your own self doubt can cause the disconnection, especially when your inner voice says things like “I’m afraid I will fail,” “people won’t like me,” or “I can’t do this.”

"These are messages of not being “good enough” keeping you stuck in the quest for perfection. The desire to be or do things “perfectly” is a mental space of fear that leaves you caught in anxiety about being wrong, making mistakes, or being flawed."

⏩ From her post (source of the featured image at top) Transform Perfectionism into Emotional Freedom with EMDR: to Connect, Create, and Achieve.

In another article, Dr Holtz writes about body shame:

"At times, your feelings about your body become the obstacles to your creativity.

"You feel filled with the imperfections of a figure full of flaws. Perhaps this is the fallout from the way you were abused, bullied, assaulted, or rejected in the past. Maybe you simply never felt you measured up to societal standards...

"At some point, the impulse to hide your body can interfere with your creative mind...EMDR therapy can heal body shame."

⏩ When Body Shame Blocks Creativity: How EMDR Helps.

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Do you enjoy and benefit from my posts, podcast episodes, videos and more?

As a writer and content entrepreneur, I love researching, creating and publishing material here, and on other Creative Mind Sites, that can help creative people learn more and thrive more.

But creating and publishing is only free in some ways.

Consider supporting my work with a donation.

One key tool is my desktop computer. (The image is for illustration, it is not mine and that is not me.) Your donation would help pay for a recent upgrade to a newer (still old, from 2017, but refurbished) iMac, which enables my ongoing work.

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Thanks for considering a donation to help. Much appreciated. Douglas

* GoFundMe

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This audio is a "podcast conversation" generated by AI program Notebook, based on text in my article How Working With Our Emotions Helps Us Be More Creative.

Excerpts of longer comments in the article:

"I am the kind of person that feels so much that if I didn’t have acting (and music), I would burst from all of the emotion inside!” Gloria Reuben

Psychologist Cheryl Arutt notes “Creating art has always been a way to channel emotional intensity.”

Dr Mihaela Ivan Holtz of Creative Minds Psychotherapy finds “It’s not always easy to connect with your emotions and convey them in your art."

Therapist Julie Bjelland helps highly sensitive and neurodivergent people. She says "When the emotional brain is activated, the cognitive brain kind of goes to sleep."

See the article with much more, including videos and links to resources:

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"The modern world is often overwhelming and stressful for those of us with sensitive nervous systems."

High Sensitivity therapist Julie Bjelland, LMFT adds, "Many of us have suffered from the challenges of high stress, anxiety, sensory overload, and mental health and physical health issues.

"Fortunately, after years of working with and researching Highly Sensitive People (HSPs), I have developed many tools that have not only helped me but thousands of HSPs all over the world move out of survival mode living and into thriving."

Register free for her class Tools to Help the Sensitive Thrive in a Chaotic World.

Follow link to the registration page to see links to more of her resources.

Julie Bjelland, LMFT 🌈 is a "Highly Sensitive, Autistic, LGBTQ+ Psychotherapist and founder of Sensitive Empowerment with posts, courses, free webinars, podcast episodes, a community program, and more for sensitive & neurodivergent people.

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What is your response to the hammock image? I thought something like, "Yes, that looks relaxing and all, but I'm way too busy to stop and retreat to anywhere."

But I have been regularly using the kind of breathing technique Julie (and other people) suggest, and finding it does help reduce stress and overload during busy work days as an entrepreneur.

Being a highly sensitive person, or neurodivergent in other ways, we may have grown up feeling misunderstood, and even like we were flawed.

The first section of this audio is an excerpt from a related podcast episode with Julie Bjelland and Willow McIntosh, followed by comments by Dr. Aimie Apigian on how trauma relates to these feelings.

Hear the full podcast episode "The Pain of Being Misunderstood and the Joy of Belonging with Julie Bjelland, LMFT and Willow McIntosh" - See the HSP and Neurodivergent Podcast page.

In this excerpt, therapist Julie Bjelland, LMFT mentions her Autistic Women’s Group - this is free for members of her Sensitive Empowerment Community.

A member writes: “Thank you for such loving words and the support!…this community you created has made me feel so welcomed, understood and provides a beautiful garden that I feel comfortable to share my vulnerabilities openly and have a positive space that feeds me with beauty in so many ways!"

Willow McIntosh notes in a post on his site: "For those of us born with the trait of high sensitivity and high sensory intelligence we typically experienced the world in a particular and often profound way.

"It is quite common for us to have been misunderstood and for our emotional sensitivity to be seen as a disadvantage.

"Yet it is often the challenges we faced and the way we saw the world back then that shape us to specialise in a particular area of life."

From post "The importance of reframing our childhood as a highly sensitive person" in the blog section of his site Inluminance.

Trauma and feeling misunderstood

“Trauma results in this belief that we are different, that we’re not enough, that there’s something about us that pushes people away or that we’re too much for other people."

Trauma healing specialist Aimie Apigian, MD continues:

“And so if they were to truly know us – all parts of us – then they would leave us, then they would kick us out, then they would reject us, abandon us.

"And those feelings of being abandoned and being different are so painful that our system responds in a self-protective way…”

Dr. Aimie Apigian, MD, MS, MPH, is an author, speaker and founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated.

Hear more in podcast episode How attachment trauma impacts our lives with Aimie Apigian, MD.

Visit her site to learn about her ongoing program for trauma recovery: The Foundational Journey: 21 Day Journey and Introduction to All Parts of Me courses. "Together, these courses integrate the somatic and parts work which are essential to effectively address stored trauma in the body."

The image at the top of this page (‘woman standing alone in busy crowd’) comes from free guide by Dr. Apigian:

▶️ Attachment Pain: A Roadmap for Healing. "Attachment is not just one’s relationship style, it was one’s survival style for the first few years of life. These experiences influence our attachment styles—secure, anxious, avoidant, or disorganized—and shape our ability to form healthy relationships."

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Another related podcast post: Getting past feeling flawed to being authentic and connecting better with others - Our feelings like 'too different' or 'unworthy' can be changed.

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Fitting in, not fitting in, trying to fit in

As Dr. Apigian notes above, feelings of being different are painful. One way neurodivergent people may try to fit in, or at least seem to be more like neurotypical people, is masking.

One definition: “Masking is a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or unconsciously, to appear non-autistic in order to blend in and be more accepted in society. Masking can happen in formal situations such as at school or work and in informal situations such as at home with family or socialising with friends."

From a National Autistic Society post.

Willow McIntosh comments in the podcast episode that as Highly Sensitive People "we are challenged a lot by feeling different when we're growing up, and we get the wrong messages, sometimes we can misunderstand what our value is and try to be like others."

Actor Daryl Hannah (Splash; Blade Runner; Kill Bill and more) grew up in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s with Asperger’s Syndrome.

She recalls, “My shyness was probably made worse because of my condition. I’d come home from school and cry myself to sleep. Right from an early age, I’d rock myself back and forth because it helped calm me down.

“Kids bullied me and that just drove me further into myself. Children can be very cruel when they see someone who doesn’t fit in – and unfortunately, that was me. I didn’t fit in anywhere.”

[Daryl Hannah: “My battle with autism”, Now to Love May 18, 2015.]

Related podcast episode: Autistic Women: Perspectives by Hannah Gadsby, Kayla Crome, Daryl Hannah, Sue Ann Pien, Zhara Astra, Julie Bjelland.

In one of my posts, I note she got into acting, like many other talented people, because she was “really shy,” as she said.

“I wanted to live in my imagination. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to be and acting gave me the opportunity to do a lot of different things.

“And I wanted to disappear from myself, be in disguise.. I like to watch people, I like to analyze behavior, I don’t like to be watched.”

From Making people more aware of their inner world through acting.

(Photo is from post Daryl Hannah: I've battled autism since childhood, Today, Sept. 27, 2013.)

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Where is your desire to create coming from?

That is a question posed by Dr Holtz of Creative Minds Psychotherapy in one of her articles to help creative people in TV, Film, performing and fine arts. She notes:

"Many creatives don’t have such positive early associations with creativity. You may have been a child who felt isolated, bullied, abandoned, or rejected and used art as a way to cope.

“Perhaps, you felt misunderstood, unheard, unseen, and undervalued.

“You discovered that your art could help you know yourself. It was a place to explore your interests, your ideas, and your own sense of worth.”

She asks, “What is your story of becoming an artist?

“Is that story rooted in your passion, aptitudes, and talent? Is it rooted in some emotional frustrations, deprivations, or struggles? Is it both? Where is your art coming from now and how does it speak to others?"

From her article Is Unhealed Emotional Trauma Impacting Your Creativity or Performance? EMDR Can Help.

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Dr Aimie talks about “the effects of trauma on the fear of being seen for who we truly are, the fear of truly being known.

“Trauma results in this belief that we are different, that we’re not enough, that there’s something about us that pushes people away or that we’re too much for other people.

“And so if they were to truly know us – all parts of us – then they would leave us, then they would kick us out, then they would reject us, abandon us.

"And those feelings of being abandoned and being different are so painful that our system responds in a self-protective way…”

This audio is from her longer video "How To Be Your Authentic Self & Recover From Attachment Trauma" - See the video in article How attachment styles and trauma impact our lives and relationships.

https://thecreativemind.net/8392/
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View selected episodes and articles with more resources: The Creative Mind Audio Podcast page on the main site.

In the photo:

Jameela Jamil: What do I do to manage my mental health? So I've had therapy. I had EMDR therapy. That's eye movement desensitization reprocessing therapy.

I also have unfollowed anyone who triggers me on social media.

So if that's someone who makes me think too much about food or think too much about my body or anyone who makes me feel like my clothes aren't nice enough or I don't have nice enough things or I don't go into nice enough hotels and sit on nice enough balconies in like weird fancy mountainous regions of France.

I just don't follow anyone who makes me feel like my life isn't good enough because why do I have to expose myself to that?

Russell Brand: Most of the therapy I've been fortunate enough to have, particularly as an adult, since I've been earning money, although in the early part of my life I was getting some free therapy

But many of us don't address the deep motivations and fears that are secretly governing our lives. I am fond of saying when talking about the 12-step program that I use to which I've been given and taught to help with my own mental health flaws and failings that you don't make a choice between having a program and not having a program.

Selena Gomez: You don't want to ever feel like you're doing the wrong thing. I believe that everyone deep down knows what's right and what's wrong.

And when you're at your rock bottom, if you will, because I believe that everybody does eventually have one of those moments, hopefully it's just going to get lighter and lighter because you can start to attack it in a way where, How do I approach this and figure out how to get myself out of this state of mind?

And I've learned how to do that in the past few years and I'm really grateful for it.

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Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT of Creative Minds Psychotherapy helps creative people in TV/Film, performing and fine arts, and writes about the emotional and creative pleasures - and challenges - of their inner life as artists.

She notes "Therapy is a powerful transformative journey that can take you from feeling unhappy and stuck to living with emotional freedom as a fulfilled creative or performer."

» See more in her article on her site: Are Your Emotional Issues Affecting your Creativity and Artistic Career? Psychotherapy Can Help.

See more of her perspectives below.