Jessica Zucker is a Los Angeles-based psychologist specializing in reproductive health and the author of the award-winning book I HAD A MISCARRIAGE: A Memoir, a Movement. Jessica is the creator of the viral #IHadaMiscarriage campaign. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Vogue, and Harvard Business Review, among others. She’s been featured on NPR, CNN, The Today Show, and Good Morning America and earned advanced degrees from New York University and Harvard University. Her second book, NORMALIZE IT: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women’s Lives, is out now and available everywhere books are sold.
What does creativity mean to you?
For me, creativity is all about connecting with myself and the larger world through the written word. Ever since I was a young girl I’ve found writing to be a wonderful and necessary creative outlet that serves to inspire and heal, spark joy and get real. From creative writing projects to my doctoral dissertation to freelance journalism to authoring two books, I find connecting with the page to be grounding and exciting all at once. My most recent book NORMALIZE IT: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women’s Lives propelled me into a state of catharsis. Although writing can also be excruciating at times (isolating, frustrating, mind-numbing), I find that it ultimately lends itself to psychological surrender.
How do you incorporate creative practice into your life? Do you have a favorite way to express yourself creatively?
As a psychologist specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health, I find that working clinically with women and families is incredibly creative. Although we are typically digging into painful stories and challenging experiences, the process of parsing things out and getting messy in the details is incredibly creative and enlivening. I have the unique privilege of being with people in some of their darkest seasons — as they explore their palpable pain — and this honor is an emotional intimacy unlike any other.
Together we wrestle with complexity with no succinct roadmap. This to me is the embodiment of creativity. There is a freedom in emotional expression and putting words to things we often keep quiet—the stories culture typically tells us should remain hush hush. When we say things out loud that we’ve been taught to keep in, we can experience transformational shifts. The artful work that takes place between a psychologist and a patient is, therefore, inherently filled with the potential for boundless emotional and psychological creativity.
What are some things you enjoy doing that support your wellbeing? Are there benefits you feel from it that you'd like to share?
Therapy. Travel. Time with my family. Dining with friends. Photography. Being in nature. Reading. Dancing. Organizing. Cooking. Museum hopping. The list is extensive… Exercise is at the top of my daily to-do list. Getting outside is a must for me, so I love taking long hikes. I begin most days with a hike in the Hollywood Hills or a Peloton ride at home. I find that exercising first thing sets me up for a refreshed mindset. Sweating gives me a burst of energy that lasts throughout the day.
I typically try to carve out a brief bit of time for meditation. Returning to the present moment can prove challenging amid the cultural chatter (not to mention a full email inbox), but quieting my mind and focusing on my breath feels like a much-needed gift for mental and physical health. Writing supports my wellbeing as well, so I carve out time most days to tend to what I’m working on or jot down ideas that might be the beginning of something new.
About the Author
