Taqwa Ghazal is the Lead Designer at Lemonade Finance and recently spoke about the mental health of designers at the Untitled Designers Conference 2022
At the heart of design is subjectivity, creativity and looking at things differently. It means that the average creative often has to be a little skeptical if they aim to create things that move the needle. The downside to this sort of thinking is that it leads to stress, self-doubt, anxiety and panic; this direct effect of creativity on mental health can affect decision making outside of work. Maintaining your mental health as a designer means finding ways to take care of yourself
If you are an aspiring designer who needs help managing their mental health, this blog post is for you! While I’m not a mental health professional, I will be sharing the best practices I have learned over my years that are specific to being in the design industry. Most of these practices have helped me maintain a healthy lifestyle at work and in my personal relationships.
Maintaining your Mental health as a designer is crucial
Designers often have to deal with executing work tasks within a short period. Because of these workloads and tight deadlines, designers use shortcuts such as working on other projects or changing jobs which eventually hinders their creativity. They find themselves devoid of new creative ideas in the long run, and they start to doubt themselves. Also, working on repetitive tasks drains creativity. There’s also the problem of working at places or with people who don’t really understand or value our work.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of being in great mental health is that it gives you more energy to do great work and helps you focus. Some may even suggest that it helps you take criticism better, which is critical on every job. Having said all this, it’s equally important to know that we all have bad days. But what if you could make those bad days less harmful? What if you could take a proactive approach to your mental health and make sure that the impact of those bad days aren’t so severe?
Dealing with difficult work environments
Nothing can make a bad day even worse than working in a difficult work environment. An unsupportive boss, destructive criticism from coworkers can affect anyone’s self-esteem. If you find that you’re in an environment where people constantly tear each other down, it’s often a good idea to have a conversation about it. If attempts at conversation often don’t yield positive results, it may be your cue to make some changes.
It’s not always easy to suggest that people should move jobs given the current economic climate, but the reality is that doing your best work in a tough work environment is impossible. It is important to clarify that a work environment isn’t toxic simply because of the normal demands of the job.
Learning the fundamentals builds confidence
Learn the fundamentals of your craft by reading books on the subject—there are plenty of free ones available online! You can also learn from others in the field by sharing what you’re working on or asking for feedback on something you’ve already done.
It also helps to have a life outside work. Exercise regularly, get enough sleep, drink water and discuss work with others who will give you feedback on how it might be improved. Your framework should be that this is a marathon, not a sprint. One of the biggest mistakes people make when working is thinking they need to work 24/7 to get everything done. This isn’t true and is actually harmful!
Try therapy
A lot of designers struggle with mental health issues. The pressure to create amazing work, meet deadlines, and constantly be on your A-game can be overwhelming. We’re all just trying to do our best every day, but sometimes it feels like we’re just not able to keep up with the pace.
So when I say that it’s okay if you haven’t tried therapy yet, please don’t feel ashamed. But some people just don’t feel comfortable going. Therapy is a great way to learn how to deal with stress and negative emotions in productive ways instead of turning them into unhealthy habits like drinking or binge eating.
Therapy also helps us figure out how much time we should spend on certain tasks without burning ourselves out completely before starting something new—something that’s especially important for us since most clients want us working on multiple projects at once!
Maintaining your mental health as a designer will help you stay productive and live a better life. The key to doing that is recognizing the signs of an unhealthy habit and making a change before it’s too late. Remember, you’re not alone. Most designers have experienced similar issues and have managed to get better. Best of luck in your journey towards a happier life.
