Comments on: You’re Doing It Wrong! How to Overcome “Process Anxiety”

By: Mahakim

Mahakim — Sun, 15 May 2022 05:22:00 +0000

I’ve recently started drawing, it didn’t take much time before it made me realize how amazing it makes me feel. I feel proud, I feel accomplished but most of all… I feel alive, free. Nothing else has ever provided me such joy of living. However things are different now. I still see drawing the same way, but i’m going through more and more anxiety when I think about it. The fear of not improving, the fear of never finding a proper way to start a drawing that would help me not feel lost. I ain’t scared of trying new stuff because I know it will be awful, I am scared of this because I’ve barely been able not to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. I’ve never had any teacher to help me, mostly tutorials that I just couldn’t understand. I do not lack passion, I just have so many questions left unanswered that in the end, I don’t know what to do. Not being able to draw because of anxiety, anxiety because I will never get good if anxiety holds me back, a cycle that I want to break out of more than anything. Tonight i’m getting back to it after weeks of being stuck with this awful mentality. I didn’t lose hope, never will, cause in the end that’s where I feel I belong to.

By: David Jamieson

David Jamieson — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 18:00:56 +0000

In reply to Rachel. I'm sorry for the delay in responding to you here, Rachel. I'm glad you found the post helpful. I think you're right: self-doubt increases when you try new things. I try to deal with this by remembering that even a failed experiment can be a learning experience that ultimately makes you a better artist.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 08:58:40 +0000

This invisible barrier of process anxiety today was revealed. My preference is drawing portraits but recently I have been working on an abstract painting to further explore a hidden concept. The discouraging voices have been worse than normal and now after reading this I am thinking it is because my work is involving more uncertainty. Thanks

By: David Jamieson

David Jamieson — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:11:00 +0000

In reply to Chipo Phiri. You're welcome, Chipo. I think we all feel insecure about our work from time to time, but there's no reason to be ashamed. Nobody knows everything. Keep your head down, practice, and try to solve problems one at a time. As your work improves, those feelings of insecurity will slowly retreat.

By: David Jamieson

David Jamieson — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 16:02:43 +0000

In reply to Nathan. Great point, Nathan. I can relate to that, too!

By: David Jamieson

David Jamieson — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 15:49:48 +0000

In reply to Octavio. Thank you, Octavio. I'm glad you find it helpful :)

By: Octavio

Octavio — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 21:03:19 +0000

Mil gracias David, excelente artículo, me es de gran utilidad, tu estilo me agrada, y , deseo seguir tus pasos, practico y practico, con tus vídeos y consejos lo lograré. !! Gracias !!

By: David Jamieson

David Jamieson — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 17:44:52 +0000

In reply to Markus Nix. Markus, I think you can simply enter your email address again in the popup form and it will give you the additional content, even if you're already subscribed. Let me know if you have difficulty with that.

By: Chipo Phiri

Chipo Phiri — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 17:31:45 +0000

I have especially struggled with this for the past 3 years and have been too ashamed to reach out about it. I love that this article relieves a lot of unnecessary pressure with humour but also encourages to just keep trying until we can all find what works best for us, individually.

Thank you soooo much!

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 01:47:48 +0000

Excellent post. I’m thinking about how this applies to so much more than art too.

For example, looking to start a business? There’s going to be process anxiety there too. Should you try this marketing tactic, or do what that expert says, or just keep researching more blog posts looking for the magic sauce.

Good stuff.