So are you reading this and the first thought that comes into your head is, “I’m just not creative!”. Everyone can be creative and there are so many ways in which you can show your creativity. You might like to bake, journal, draw or dance. What works for you? Creativity has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health and here are just a few ways in which creativity can improve your mental health.
Increases levels of happiness
The state you become when you’re completely absorbed in an activity and lose all sense of self and time. This is actually a great place to be in. You are completely in the moment. It reduces anxiety, boosts your mood and even slows your heart rate. Performing repetitive creative outlets such as baking, writing or drawing can help become more in the moment which increases happiness and decreases anxiety. When we succeed at completing a project or creating a desired result, your brain releases dopamine, which makes you feel good and boosts your level of happiness. What can you do to become more creative and happier today?
2. Provides an outlet for the difficult challenges that life can sometimes send our way!
If you’re someone who deals with anxiety and/or depression, you know that challenging or stressful times can only make these conditions worse. Focusing on creative passions can help you manage negative emotions in a productive way. If you express yourself creatively through art, these creative passions can help express trauma or experiences that you may find too difficult to put into words. A client of mine that I've been working with has recently showed me her beautiful paintings that she has created with the extra time that she has at home due to Covid-19. We all have different creative outlets and what is most important is you choose the right one for you.
Creativity can also help improve your mental health in many other ways:
Reduces stress and anxiety
Increase positive feelings about yourself, others and in general!
Decrease depressive symptoms such as fatigue and withdrawing from others
Reduces feelings of distress and other emotions such as anger
Boosts your immune system
Increases self-esteem and feelings of accomplishment
Improve concentration and focus.
3. Creativity is a form of mindfulness
Mindfulness and creativity work hand in hand. We are able to focus on changing aspects of our creation but allowing ourselves to remain fully immersed in what we are doing. When we are struggling with anxiety or depression, it’s difficult to not fixate on the mental health issues that we are experiencing and sometimes they can become tremendously difficult to overcome. Creativity can show us that we are able to heal, grow and change because we are able to create something entirely new. It gives us hope that things can get better and they can certainly change.
4. Creativity can become a safe space for us to express ourselves!
Have you ever got lost in baking a cake or painting a picture that you forgot all of your problems? It might be that creativity is allowing you to express yourself safely. It removes the focus of you and instead allows you to put your energy into something really productive. We have a safe space to understand how we are feeling but we remove some of the critical analysis because our mind is focused on being more creative.
5. Creativity cultivates connection
As a human being, we all require connection from others to grow and thrive. Our creative talents can cultivate human connection and community. This allows us to fully get involved in socialising with others and achieve a sense of belonging. We might become more involved with a particular group of friends who enjoy cooking or decide to share our latest creations on social media which causes us to receive feedback from others thus cultivating connection.
Today, we encourage you to think of ways in which you can become more creative that work for you.
Comments