A lot of us probably find ourselves absolutely craving some form of creativity in our daily lives, and for good reason. It’s like, really good for us. In fact, modern psychologists have been studying the link between creativity and mental health and the findings are good news for those of us that just can’t turn down the opportunity to be creative.
How is Creativity Good For Me?
(image via: biomedical odyssey)
Creativity improves your mental health in a number of ways, and if you got creative at all during the pandemic, then you experienced this first hand. Turning to creativity at any point in your life, no matter what you may be going through, has been proven to relieve both stress and anxiety. And if you’ve experienced trauma in your life of any kind, creativity has been proven to lessen shame, anger, and depression often felt by victims. (source) In fact, art therapy exists and has been proven to be extremely beneficial for people who have trouble expressing how they feel.
If you know someone that is battling dementia, working on a creative project they enjoy can help them tap into their personalities, as well as reduce their depression and isolation. (source)
A flow state is a happy state. No matter what creative outlet you’re into, you’ve probably experienced that glorious moment when you’ve been so immersed with your project at hand that you’ve lost all track of time, and before you know it, you’ve made progress on whatever it is you may be working on as well as spent the day focusing on your art and nothing else. This is actually considered a euphoric state to be in, not only allowing a feeling of productivity but positivity and accomplishment as well.
(image via: istock)
If music is your creative outlet of choice, we have some good news for you. Studies have shown that people who play instruments have better connectivity between the left side and right side of their brain, which makes sense considering the left side of our brains are responsible for motor functions, while the right side of our brains would focus on melody.
Okaaaay, But How Can I Be More Creative?
Most of us probably don’t see ourselves as the next Picasso, and that’s okay! Even Picasso had to start somewhere. Let’s look at a few ways we can tap into our creativity.
Drawing or Painting. Buy a sketchbook, your medium of choice, and get to it! You can search for prompts or ideas online if you need a little inspiration, or just let your mind wander.
Music. You do not have to be the next Mariah Carey to sing along with a song you love, nor do you have to be the next piano prodigy. If there’s an instrument you want to learn, YouTube can be a great place to start. But studies show that simply listening to music can perk a person up.
(image via: istock)
Ceramics. If you’ve always wanted to make cool things out of clay, again, YouTube is a great resource, but if you’re lucky enough to live somewhere with a local art gallery or community college, oftentimes you can find classes within your community for adults looking to get creative. And you’ll get to be around like-minded beginners just like you, so an all-around win.
Writing. Journaling can be a great outlet and there are a ton of journals you can choose from, or simply nab a fun notebook and just write about your day before you go to bed. Not only is this a great creative outlet, but it allows you to process the day.