Benefits of Creativity for Mental Health

This isn’t the first time I’ve talked about the power of creativity. Creativity has been transformative in my own healing journey, and I believe it can have the same effect on your own mental health. Finding a creative outlet separate from your own career - whether you’re a creative or an artist like me or not - will keep you inspired and fulfilled through play and fun! It’s essential to overcoming creative blocks and processing all of your thoughts and feelings. If you’re ready to start taking steps toward true mental healing and restoration, here’s how doing something creative can support you on that path.

Creativity Improves  Brain Function

Research has proven working analog (with our hands) to be beneficial to our brains and our mental/emotional health. Research has shown active hands stimulate your brain to produce chemicals that balance emotions and lower stress levels. Working with our hands activates more of our brain than moving other body parts. In our modern, technology driven world, we are doing less and less with our hands, so actively pursuing activities that require the use of your hands can stimulate your brain in a way that digital consumption does not.

If you’re struggling with unplugging from life and getting good, effective rest, a creative, analog activity can be a much more fulfilling way to relax. Better rest and relaxation can have a huge ripple effect throughout your life meaning better sleep patterns, less burnout and better stress management.

Creativity Breeds Creativity

Even if your main medium is something other than paper (like paint or music or words), using your creativity outside of that practice makes you more creative and will positively affect every other creative project you’re working on. Maya Angelous said. “You Can’t Use Up Creativity. The More You Use, The More You Have.” There is no greater truth! A variety of creative play helps you learn faster, increase your creativity and think more innovatively.

Creativity Helps with Depression and Anxiety

When choosing a creative project to heal depression and anxiety, those with tangible end results are the most satisfying! Having creative outlets with a finished product to show for it will give you a sense of accomplishment, and that feeling of success and fulfillment will naturally overflow into all other parts of your life! Even more, research has shown creative thinking and practice positively affects our overall well being and happiness. By inviting creativity into your life, you are inviting joy and healing.

So, what does this look like? What kinds of creative projects can you use to help your mental health, and how do you get started?

Why You Should Try Collage Making

Collage making is one of the best creative projects for mental health because of the very active hand stimulation’s calming effect, plus it has no strict rules or limitations and creates an end result! Even more, it doesn’t matter what kind of creative person you are - or if you even consider yourself creative at all - anyone can do it!

Collage uses both repetitive actions (which don’t demand much cognitively and therefore give the mind a chance to relax and rest) and actions that require some careful concentration (which requires slowing down, being present and breathing similar to meditative practices). It involves soothing balance within the freedom of just letting loose and playing with your creative side!

You don’t need a lot of artistic technique to get started. Collage is based on found imagery, so you’re not starting from nothing unlike a drawing or a painting, where you start with a blank page or canvas. Starting with a jumping off point like found imagery helps us feel more playful and creative. The only thing you need to be good at collage making is imagination! 

You also don’t need to spend a lot of money on materials. All you need is scissors and glue. All the other materials can be found and free! 

How to Get Started

If you want to explore collage making but don’t know how to get started, sign up for my Cut Paste and Play workshop to join a group of energetic peers in creating unique and playful space-themed collage art! This virtual collage making event is the perfect creative play Happy Hour to explore collage for the first (or fifth) time. Sign ups close on May 1st, so sign up now to secure your spot.