Read an article today about how some people deal with adversity and find creative ways of coping. I originally made a film about my shunt not working and my movie changed because of things which happened while I was in the operating room. Sometimes people have disassociated or separated themselves in some way emotionally, psychologically from the situation they are in. I've looked in on the lives and stories of my characters through the years and it made sense for me to disassociate from my own situation and tell my own story. Doing so allowed me to filter through my own feelings.
There are some benefits of going through hard times, the article can be found here.