I've been thinking a lot about the glorification of the tortured artist a lot lately
And
of course
I've found an A:TLA metaphor for it

If you'll remember
When Zuko joins the Gaang, he loses his ability to firebend
(Kind of a problem since he's supposed to be teaching Aang)

Eventually he figures out that he's always drawn his firebending power from rage
From his burning drive to capture Aang and regain his honor

But he doesn't want to depend on rage for his power anymore
It's not healthy
and it's not who he wants to be
He needs to find another source

He learns the true way of firebending from the dragons
That fire is life, not just destruction
And it doesn't NEED rage to fuel it

After this realization, he's even better at firebending than before
Strong enough to be evenly matched with his prodigy sister

The myth that an artist's work has to come from misery and angst and depression is just like the myth that firebending has to come from rage

Mental illness
Depression
and this pervasive myth are like Azula
They always lie

They tell you that if you take meds or go to therapy
You won't be able to wordbend or createbend anymore
That you'll lose your angsty muse

THAT
IS
A
LIE
Firebending does not need rage to fuel it
Creating art does not need trauma, angst, and misery to fuel it
PERIOD

There is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself
With getting help
With therapy
or meds
or simply being happy

In fact
You'll probably find that your wordbending and createbending are stronger than ever when you do

You won't have to rely on poisonous, destructive thought patterns/habits to create anymore
It'll be an adjustment at first
But trust me

You'll get the hang of it
And you shall be more powerful than angsty-tortured-depressed-you could have ever imagined

Tl;dr
Be like Zuko
and listen to Sokka
He knows what's up

One thing I forgot to add yesterday:
relying on angst can work for a little while
BUT
It is ultimately unsustainable
And will do more damage

I thought I would always have to be the tortured, angsty, traumatized author to give my stories emotional resonance
NOT
TRUE

And I very much ran out of gas while only relying on that
I burned out OVER and OVER
sometimes not writing for 2-3 years at a time