'You’re going to burn out’: Creators reveal the harsh truth about mental health and creative fatigue

In the post-pandemic world where likes, shares, and reels dominate digital relevance, burnout is no longer a buzzword - it's the inevitable reality of the creator economy.

In Storyboard18's Media Dialogues, Editor Delshad Irani sits with three of India's most popular content creators - Ankush Bahuguna, Shibani Bedi, and Raj Grover - where the trio peeled back the curated layers to reveal the emotional and mental toll of living online, all the time.

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"Burnouts are way too many for me. They're very often," admitted Bahuguna. "I've come to a stage where I've realized that this is not just my passion, this is my profession. It is what is putting money on the table, food on the table. So, you've to be okay with the fact that you're going to have burn out."

Bahuguna, known for his witty takes and popular beauty content, emphasized that the antidote to creative exhaustion often lies in trying something new. "The privilege with our profession is you can make content out of everything. In COVID, I didn't have access to makeup artists, I started doing my mom's makeup. That's how I got into makeup. That is what's putting more money on the table than the comedy page now."

For Bedi, the process of content creation often veers into isolation and anxiety. "The chase can be very tiring. If you've been creating for a while, the burnout, I feel, looks like creative blocks." She added, " Just getting tired of being on social media, the lack of escalation, and the temperamental nature of algorithms. I feel like the burnout aspect does rain heavy when it comes to my content creation journey because it's tiresome."

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She underscored the loneliness that can creep in - even amidst massive digital followings. "Creatively, you feel very saturated, and sometimes it's lonely. I need people who can understand this struggle because everybody... Sometimes I also seek break from people who are in the same industry," she explained the need to take a break and meet peers outside her industry to get fresh perspectives and talk about it.

Importantly, his parents are not just his emotional rock but active collaborators. “My parents boost me a lot… they also sometimes write scripts with me. I think the team, it's my parents. But for other creators, there is a team which pushes them.”

Yet, even Grover acknowledged the internal toll. “There is pressure… but they positively also support me in this,” he said, offering a rare glimpse into the hybrid existence of a teenage internet star with adult-sized responsibilities.

The comment sections—the digital equivalent of a daily report card—add another layer of pressure. Bedi shared, “I get shamed for random things. It's not about the quality of my content… I feel like the audience is brutal.”

Bahuguna added, “You just need to find your people. The world is brutal. That’s the truth.”

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