Jun 17, 2026 · 33 min · 14 segments
Welcome to the Creative Help Hotline. How can we help you? In this Q&A episode, we answer your questions about being exhausted by muggle life, creating through depression and anxiety, losing…
Amie McNeeHost
James WinestockHost
How do I escape the trap of being exhausted by muggle life, work, relationships, and constantly feeling like I am running on empty? This question went on to say that they just...
Can you think back to it? It's been like, what, seven years now, eight years? Yeah.
It's like, not only is it exhausting because it's relentless and never ending and you constantly have to go to work and you have to maintain your relationships.
Like it's never ending work, but also there's an exhaustion that happens because you are not living the life you want to live.
And so the guilt that we feel needs to be spoken gently to because it is not a personal failure.
We can do things and it doesn't mean we don't have agency, but it is not a personal failure and I think that's where I want to start off by making sure that you aren't beating yourself up too much because this is really fucking hard.
To me, it always sounds trite, I think, to say, but it comes back to what we've talked about all the time, which is what sort of expectations are you putting on your art when you're in that state? Like, are you exhausted and then you're going like, oh, like I'm supposed to, I don't know what kind of artist this person is, but am I supposed to spend four hours now working on my painting? Am I supposed to now write 2000 words? Like, which is just a ridiculous expectation to have on yourself.
It would be a ridiculous expectation if you were a professional full-time artist as well.
How do I escape the trap of being exhausted by muggle life, work, relationships, and constantly feeling like I am running on empty? This question went on to say that they just...
Can you think back to it? It's been like, what, seven years now, eight years? Yeah.
It's like, not only is it exhausting because it's relentless and never ending and you constantly have to go to work and you have to maintain your relationships.
Like it's never ending work, but also there's an exhaustion that happens because you are not living the life you want to live.
And so the guilt that we feel needs to be spoken gently to because it is not a personal failure.
We can do things and it doesn't mean we don't have agency, but it is not a personal failure and I think that's where I want to start off by making sure that you aren't beating yourself up too much because this is really fucking hard.
To me, it always sounds trite, I think, to say, but it comes back to what we've talked about all the time, which is what sort of expectations are you putting on your art when you're in that state? Like, are you exhausted and then you're going like, oh, like I'm supposed to, I don't know what kind of artist this person is, but am I supposed to spend four hours now working on my painting? Am I supposed to now write 2000 words? Like, which is just a ridiculous expectation to have on yourself.
It would be a ridiculous expectation if you were a professional full-time artist as well.
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