The Importance of Creativity For Good Mental Health
Hey, how are you feeling? Be honest. Because it’s totally okay not to be okay. Especially in this day and age. In an era where we’re all working harder than ever yet never quite have enough in the bank, where we never seem to have enough time and where our attention is pulled in a million different places at once, it’s perfectly okay to let the mask slip. To admit to feeling vulnerable, sad, lonely or anxious. In an age of political and economic instability, where we’re conditioned to retreat to smartphone screens because the world around us is too scary, it’s little surprise that almost 1 in 5 of us has mental health issues.
But if you’re battling anxiety, depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder or loneliness, this time of year can be extremely difficult. Yet, there’s a way you can improve your mental health without the need for medication.
Creativity is proven to aid mental health. And before you say “but I’m not creative”, everyone is creative. Whether you’re writing a novel, arranging flowers, acting, singing, drawing or dancing everyone has some creative talent, even if it’s lain dormant for a long time. Here are some reasons why you owe it to yourself to rediscover your creativity.
Creativity is empowering
Creativity helps to support your sense of identity and makes you feel accomplished in ways that you may not get to experience at work as often as you should. And best of all, you don’t need to spend a red cent to exercise your creativity. Whether you’re working on a short story at your local library or freestyling to some free beats from a site like freebeats.io, there are plenty of ways to exercise your creativity and feel empowered without spending any money.
Creativity helps you to process and articulate your emotions
The great thing about creative endeavors is that they provide an opportunity to confront your emotions, anxieties, traumatic experiences and memories in a safe and constructive way. They can allow you to confront, process and articulate emotions which might otherwise be left to fester, twist and distort in your mind.
Creativity reminds you that you’re not alone
Creativity can be a solitary pursuit. Indeed, many creatives enjoy the meditative sense of solitude that their pursuits offer them. However, there are also many ways in which you can get creative while spending time with other like-minded people. If you join a dance class or sign up for life drawing sessions you can make new friends and come out of your shell while also scratching your creative itch.
Seeing your creations through to completion makes you happier
Of course, creating anything can be a frustrating process. Creativity by its very nature involves encountering and overcoming a range of problems and roadblocks and finding ways to work around them. But when you see projects of any kind through to completion it leads to a euphoric high that floods your brain with dopamine to boost your mood and lend you self-confidence. You could try an art class, for example, that has tips for beginners learning to paint on canvas. You’ll then have something to show for it at the end.
It even helps lower your dementia risk
Finally, there’s even evidence to suggest that involving yourself with creative pursuits can help maintain healthy neural pathways and prevent the onset of dementia. When people with dementia involve themselves with creative pursuits they also experience greater cognitive focus, sharper senses and feel and act more like themselves.
Creativity can complement treatment for depression
If you are currently seeking treatment for your mental health at a depression treatment center or are due to attend treatment soon, you may be wondering how creativity can help. Being creative provides an outlet for your emotions and creates a sense of flow that keeps you in the moment and focused on your task. This makes creativity a valuable tool to use in combination with your treatment at the center and something that you may find used to continue during your recovery at home.
So, however you do it don’t wait to get creative!