How do you write through stress?

When I was struggling through my senior year at college, I didn’t write. When I was working full time at my first design job and had no idea what I was doing, I didn’t write. When I was languishing in a thankless job, I didn’t write. Fighting through the first year of marriage, the first year of motherhood, health problems, financial problems, grief, pressure and worry, I didn’t write.

Life gets hard sometimes and while many people might take to writing as an outlet, for me, that well runs dry when I am stressed. Other outlets exists but I long to put my fingers to the keyboard and create a story. Instead I stare at a blank screen, separated from the truest source of my relief. Any forced attempts are more disheartening than helpful.

So I would love to know what other writers do.

Can you be creative when you are stressed out?

Is there a way you can write when the juices are busy working through some problem?