Embracing Creativity Can Boost Your Mental Health and Well-Being
Do you think of yourself of a creative person? For a long time I would have said no to that. So many of my friends growing up were amazing artists, musicians, and writers. I had interest in all of those things but I never felt like an artist. I always felt like a wannabe. My simple drawings of my cat just didn’t compare to their masterpieces.
But creativity isn’t just about art or crafts. And it also has nothing to do with talent.
Creativity is a way of thinking and expressing.
You can be creative in your speech, in how you think, and in how you solve puzzles. You can be creative in the types of gifts you give. You can be creative in how you plant your garden or cook your meals. You can be creative in how you dress or decorate your house. You can be creative in how you put your schedule together.
Creativity is a trait that every single human has - we just all express it differently.
But here’s why this is so important to consider: Creativity can have a massive impact on your mental health.
When we engage in creative activities it releases dopamine, the “reward” neurotransmitter that makes us feel good. A lot of licensed therapists use art with their patients who have experienced trauma because it can help them to express themselves better than they can with words.
Personally, drawing became a massive outlet for me when I lost my stepdad years ago. Drawing and painting were a wonderful outlet to help me to process through my grief. I would put on the music that reminded me of him, take out my charcoal pencils and just draw. It was incredibly therapeutic.
Creativity also helps us to be more resilient. To be creative we have to be in the moment. When we enter that creative flow state, we’re solidly in our Parasympathetic Nervous System and out of Fight/Flight/Freeze state. By regularly pursuing creative activities we help our nervous system learn how to more easily shift into that relaxed state.
The other way it helps us with resilience is that creative thinking helps you with problem solving skills. Creative thinking helps you to approach challenges from new angles. When you’re thinking creatively, you stop seeing problems as a road block, but instead as something that needs an innovative solution.
Being creative also just makes us feel good. Since creativity doesn’t have any rules, those of us who tend to get stuck in perfectionism or are ruled by a fear of failure should be experimenting with creativity to help overcome that way of thinking. Creativity allows you to just be you.
Creative play isn’t only for children. It’s too easy to lose that playfulness as adults, but allowing ourselves to play helps life to feel less heavy. Play is fun, and for those of us who feel loaded down with life’s stressors, it’s time we pursued some upbuilding fun.
With how hectic our lives seem to be, we can easily think of spending time on creative outlets as a luxury we just don’t have access to.
But we don’t need to take art lessons to be creative. Here are some ideas of how you can add creativity into your day. A lot of these activities you can spend as little as 10 minutes and it will completely shift your mindset:
Random doodles in a notebook
Use a paint by numbers canvas (There are a ton on Amazon! I got this one)
Pick up an instrument
Sing
Go outside and take pictures on your phone of nature
Scrapbook
Knitting or Crocheting
Rearrange the furniture in a room
Spend time gardening
Start or work on a DIY project
Experiment with personal style
Rearrange your wardrobe
Try a new hairstyle
Try a new makeup look
Journal
Write Poetry
Write a heartfelt letter or card
Plan out a party
Plan out an adventure or date night
Figure out fun new ways to celebrate milestones
Dance freestyle or learn a choreography
Create a new workout routine
Find unique ways to save time or organize your day
Cooking or baking new recipes or create your own
Innovate new ways to be productive at work
Innovate your parenting style, create new tools
Maybe think of a creative way to add some of these activities into every day! Actually schedule it in if you need to. We have so many demands on us every day or information coming in that’s heavy and hard to process, it’s so important to build in these peaceful, nourishing moments.
Pick one thing and do it today. Let go of judgement, let go of should’s, and let yourself just play. Doesn’t that sound like fun?
