I understand where you are coming from, Eradicor, and I respect your reasons.
I do have some opinions, which I would like to share with you:
I think you could actually have it both ways - to create while participating in life no matter what the cause.
For example, you might allow your art to reflect more of what is important to you, what you might like to say or show to others, and let that sort of stuff be a major guiding force rather than any specific competition or event or situation in the world.
I myself have been working within the library world to provide access to key information that has the potential of helping people make sense of things at this moment of global economic complications (work which was recently highlighted at ResourceShelf.com).
Still, creativity is, in my mind, something that remains very important. It’s part of what keeps me going as a human being, something I find I need to do, to exercise that creative energy in expressive and meaningful-to-me ways.
Comparable feelings you describe are shared by many people throughout the world at this moment.
Fear and dread has lead to more fear and dread, and that has attained a life of its own in the markets at the moment.
And everyone has witnessed the effects of that.
There are some such feelings for very good reason, and others simply for the sake of being afraid or dismayed or whatever; wherever there are more feelings of the latter, everyone stands to suffer because those feelings have no sense of direction or purpose, no finite or constructive end: they simply feed upon themselves and their hosts.
So, the thing is, there is the option of giving into those feelings, retracting from life in various ways and extents, and letting those feelings cast shadows over every thought and action until there is the paralyzing sense nearly nothing can be done and nearly everything is in vain - and yet there is the option of channeling concern / nervous energy / whatever-to-call-it for more positive and constructive purposes.
At Blender Artists, we can try to do that artistically, if we wish.
In this instance, I’m thinking of the kind of energy that lead to Picasso’s Guernica, Munch’s The Scream, many of Dali’s surrealistic meditations, among other art either classical or contemporary.
Blues players know the road well, too, and know whatever does not destroy you makes you stronger.
Images / art inspired by those ranges of feelings do not necessarily even have to bear any “messages” or even portray the subject/feelings directly, but those images can be vehicles and offer a means of working out thoughts and feelings and even help people (the artist and/or the viewers) reach new personal understanding or healing or deeper inquiry on some level.
This is why much of my art is what I would call contemplative and philosophical, because much of it is the product of thinking about things and then me thinking, by posting my works, that others might want to experience some of those thoughts as well or come to their own interpretations and self-discoveries.
Images can indeed be very powerful, life-saving even, or a chronicle of moments that should never come to pass, things that never should have been, or something more hopeful or exploratory. And not just digital images, but also photographs, paintings, and so on.
The same ultimately goes for all art media: they have powers and relevancies of their own in uncertain times, and not merely for escapist means.
I think one of the worst things people anywhere can do is give into a situation, however dismal things might seem, and let the situation take command and diminish one’s creative spirit and potential.
Art (or more generally the act of image-making) is and will always be important in some way, even the less serious pieces - we all need a good laugh, too, and not be too solemn even if things aren’t so great at the moment. Charlie Chaplin, among others, understood this.
Let us remember, people definitely can do more than one thing at a time: We can be concerned, actively involved in life, help ourselves, inspire awareness in others, and still find time and reason to create.
I would say artistic creativity matters very much so, possibly more than ever these days.
We can and should be aware, assist others wherever possible, and we can and should remain aware while still doing things we enjoy, as long as they are reasonable, right, and not getting in the way of critical responsibilities and are not part of the problems.
We must remain strong, stronger than ever, in mind and spirit, not just physically, if humanity is to survive its own follies and fears.
This is not a time to stop living or doing enjoyable things, as I see it, but rather a time more people than ever should use their heightened emotions and awareness more constructively and creatively, to be more alive in a sense.
When all else fails, zoom back out, beyond Earth, and meditate for a moment on the cosmic proportions of life, Earth’s incredibly humble place in the galaxy, let alone the background of the cosmos.
In the cosmic scheme of things, some of the absolute worst passages of Earth history failed to cause the slightest ripple in the galactic pond of the Milky Way.
Life, the universe, everything marches on, with or without us, ready or not.
There will never be a shortage of larger considerations to entertain, possibly even other dimensions and universes…
Anyway, as I said, just some thoughts 
I do hope you get back to creating soon.
You have such great potential, and your artistry is certainly not insignificant; it deserves continuance.
Take care and be well,
RobertT
