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How does creative expression help mental health?
Mental health benefits of creative activities In 2015, psychologist and art therapist Dr. Cathy Malchiodi cited multiple studies confirming that being creative can increase positive emotions, lessen depressive symptoms, reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and even improve immune system functioning. Creative ventures help to fight anxiety because they activate the parts of your brain that process emotions. Music and art, for example, help to calm brain activity and allow the individual to feel a sense of emotional harmony. The traditional psychological definition of creativity includes two parts: originality and functionality. You can’t be creative unless you come up with something that hasn’t been done before, says psychologist Dean Keith Simonton, PhD, of the University of California, Davis. Creative play is important for healthy brain development 75 percent of the brain develops after a child is born, between birth and the early 20s. During this time, creative play stimulates the brain to develop connections between nerve cells.
What is the relationship between creativity and mental health?
Links between creativity and mental health have been extensively discussed and studied by psychologists and other researchers for centuries. Parallels can be drawn to connect creativity to major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD and ADHD. Creativity makes us feel good about ourselves. It validates our unique ideas and our ability to turn ideas into something physical. Taking time for your hobbies and crafts often provides a sense of self-worth and confidence in our abilities. Creativity helps us relate to each other, address obstacles and challenges in our lives, and even remember how to play! It can be difficult to authentically express who we are, but creative expression helps us open to new possibilities. Creative expression provides a distraction, a feeling of control, a sense of accomplishment, pleasure, relaxation and relief from stress, anxiety or even physical pain. Sharing that activity with others provides camaraderie, connection and a shared sense of purpose. Creating art is simply good medicine.
Do creative people struggle with mental health?
Science has proved the mad genius is not a myth. Studies of artists and writers collated in Scientific American confirm that artists and writers are up to 20 times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder (also called manic depressive illness) and 10 times more likely to suffer from depression. Parallels can be drawn to connect creativity to major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD and ADHD. For example, studies have demonstrated correlations between creative occupations and people living with mental illness. Mental health benefits of creative activities In 2015, psychologist and art therapist Dr. Cathy Malchiodi cited multiple studies confirming that being creative can increase positive emotions, lessen depressive symptoms, reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and even improve immune system functioning. Artistic expression is an enjoyable component of an overall wellness plan that enhances mood and emotion. Creative activities can decrease depressive symptoms, reduce stress, and in some cases improve immune system functioning and cognitive strength. It’s the emotional intensity of happiness, anger, sadness, and so on, that provides the impetus for creativity. At low or average levels of mental ability, intelligence is highly correlated with creative ability; most people’s ability to complete creative thinking tasks corresponds with how smart they are. But among individuals with high mental ability, there is a very weak correlation with creativity.
Does self-expression improve mental health?
Research conducted at the Georgetown Behavioral Health Institute confirms that self-expression in the arts positively affects mood, function, cognition, and behavior. Self-expression plays a significant role in developing our capacity to relate to others and engage in deep relationships. What is creative self-expression anyway? Artistic in nature – creative self-expression involves the pursuit of beauty or emotions. The process calls upon heart and intuition as much as mind and intellect. Ultimately creative self-expression is about showing your individuality. “We define self-expression as expressing one’s thoughts and feelings, and these expressions can be accomplished through words, choices or actions.” (Kim & Ko, 2007). This is an intuitive definition—self-expression is, at its core, the action of expressing yourself, and it can take a wide variety of forms. Creative expression is the ability to understand and express personal emotions outwardly. By combining our imagination and our emotions, creative expression helps individuals find a better outlook on their past experiences, trauma, and other blockages on their recovery journey. Expressive therapy uses forms of creative expression such as art, music, and dance to help people explore and transform difficult emotional and medical conditions. Psychologists use this type of therapy in a variety of settings. It’s often used in combination with more traditional psychotherapy techniques. Creative expression helps children articulate their feelings and thoughts. They think critically about their world and practice visual communication. Young children learn colors, shapes, and sounds during creative play. They begin to understand cause and effect.
What is creative self-expression for health coping and resilience?
Engaging in creative self-expression is a wellness practice, as beneficial to your child as spending time in nature, good nutrition, sleep, and physical exercise. Creative self-expression reduces stress and increases a sense of well-being and other positive emotions. It unblocks old patterns or habits of thinking. It allows for non-linear thinking. Creativity enables empathy. Creativity connects us to ourselves. Creativity requires permission to be open and fearless – not only from others, but from yourself. Once you have permission to think crazy, don’t let the sky be the limit. Feeling confident is key to creativity. Avoid restrictive thoughts about what’s allowed, and what’s not. Self-expression allows us to feel and communicate our emotions in healthy ways. When we suppress our emotions, entire parts of who we are, we cause ourselves more sadness and despair. We might build up frustration, bitterness and resentment at not being able to be vocal about our pain.