Creative Outlets
By: Lauryn Gladd
“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun. ”
What does creativity look like for you? For me, it’s attempting to construct a recipe from scratch, designing a photo album of a recent trip, or even just painting my nails once a week. However, such activities often get cast aside for more pressing pursuits. What happened to our childhood days when we would get lost in an arts and crafts activity for hours? We may have busier schedules now, but making time for creative outlets proves to be worthwhile. Not only do they provide a refreshing and fun break from everyday stressors but they also yield a variety of health benefits.
According to a variety of studies reviewed in the American Journal of Public Health, “there is evidence that engagement with artistic activities…can enhance one's moods, emotions, and other psychological states as well as have a salient impact on important physiological parameters” (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010). Consequently, these activities can aid in reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and the burden of chronic disease. The review’s investigation of music engagement, visual arts therapy, movement-based creative expression, and expressive writing all showed significant positive effects on health (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010).
How does creativity help alleviate the burden of chronic disease? The use of the arts for healing purposes “complements the biomedical view by focusing on not only sickness and symptoms themselves but the holistic nature of the person.” This is important because it helps patients engage and identify with something outside of their illness, helping them develop “congruence between their affective states and their conceptual sense-making” (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010). One way this is done in the medical world is through art therapy. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy “is an integrative mental health and human services profession” that uses active art-making and applied psychological theory to improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self-esteem, and cultivate emotional resilience, among other qualities (“About art,” 2017). It has been shown that art therapy has helped patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, cancer and other chronic illnesses” (“Abstract healing,” 2018).
Considering the widespread mental health benefits and due evidence supporting engagement with the arts, it is a valuable use of time to implement this practice into your lifestyle! Finding the right creative outlet for you might take some time and experimenting; if your homemade vase looks more like a disfigured cave than something you’d buy at Pottery Barn, don’t worry- there are plenty of other options to try out. Read below to explore some ideas that will help you get started.
Visual Art
From doodling in class to constructing a complex digital design project, artistic outlets can come in many forms. Try having a relaxing painting night with friends or even convince them to take a pottery class with you. Photography, scrapbooking, sewing, making floral arrangements, or even woodworking- there are so many options, the list goes on and on.
Music Engagement
If you want to be like my downstairs neighbor who recently acquired a saxophone, try your hand at a new instrument. However, keep in mind that your neighbors might not want to hear the Star Wars theme song butchered on a Wednesday night. Jokes aside, music has been shown to “calm neural activity in the brain, which may lead to reductions in anxiety, and that it may help to restore effective functioning in the immune system partly via the actions of the amygdala and hypothalamus” (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010). If playing an instrument isn’t your thing, assembling a new music playlist on Spotify can be just as fun!
Cooking
In true hol3health form, try cooking your own dish from scratch! Bonus points if you pretend you’re on the cooking show Chopped and challenge yourself to put together three random ingredients from the pantry into an appetizing meal. For inspiration check out some of our own writers’ recipes!
Movement-Based Creative Expressions
Creative activities such as dance or tai chi that focus on physical forms of expression can help promote well-being (Stuckey & Nobel, 2010). Conscious dance, described as “free flow” dancing, encourages self-discovery through unchoreographed movement and has been shown to improve mental health. In one UCLA Health study of 1,000 conscious dancers across the world, it was found that 98% of all dancers said the practice improved their mood and many said that it “helped them let go of distressing thoughts and gave them greater confidence and more compassion” (UCLA Health, 2021).
Writing
Consider letting go of your thoughts onto paper by writing or blogging! Journaling and expressive writing in particular can help you identify and work through feelings, improve relationships, and learn new things through unfiltered self-reflection. Read Ellie Graham’s article about the health benefits of journaling here.
Reference List
About art therapy. American Art Therapy Association. (2017, June). Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/
Abstract healing: Art therapy for patients with chronic conditions. USC. (2018, April 25). Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://nursing.usc.edu/blog/abstract-healing-art-therapy-chronic-conditions/
Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2010, February). The connection between art, healing, and public health: A review of current literature. American journal of public health. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804629/
UCLA Health. (2021, July 22). 'free moving' dance has healing benefits for Mental Health. https://connect.uclahealth.org/. Retrieved April 19, 2022, from https://connect.uclahealth.org/2021/07/22/free-moving-dance-has-healing-benefits-for-people-with-mental-health-concerns/