Paul Conti

There's goodness for me to spread in the world, to express and spread.

So I think trauma fuels us.

creativity in many, many, many ways, trauma also shuts down creativity, right?

One example, trauma that escalates to the point where now the person is soothing it with alcohol.

One example.

And now the impact of the alcohol shuts down any creativity.

So can people be creative and outward thinking without trauma?

I think sometimes, if I remember correctly, people will use Immanuel Kant as an example of someone who I think hadn't traveled much and didn't have trauma and like, look at what he knew.

So, okay, there are going to be exceptions, right?

But a lot of our creativity...

is in some ways fueled by our suffering, although it's complicated because it comes from generative places in us, right?

So those places are there, they're not created by suffering, but maybe suffering makes an incentive or a passion inside of us.

And a person, Stephanie, who you referred to, is just such an incredible, astounding creative force.

And sure, some of that comes from trauma, some of it comes from

trauma fueling the generative creative places in her.

But what I helped her to do, she's very generous with her words, but what I helped her to do was to see all that she is and all that the creativity in her is and all that there is to create through creativity.

love and caring and compassion and to, again, see that.

I mean, a lot of time that's what I'm doing clinically.

I think it's what good psychiatrists or mental health professionals do is we help people see the beauty that is there, right?

Because oftentimes we're way too close up to that tapestry and what brings us close is often the sad thing.