Here's How Getting Creative Can Help Your Mental Health

When asked if they are creative, most people will laugh and respond, “no, I’m not creative. I try, but I’m just not.”

This is interesting, because when children are in preschool they all test high for creativity levels. However, a study that tested creativity levels in kids over a 50 year period showed that people tested lower and lower in levels of creativity as they grew older. Children in elementary school test much higher than children in high school.

Perhaps this correlates with the fact that anxiety and depression increase in teens and adults. Being creative is as ingrained in our design as the need for love, for food, for water. But we’re just too busy to take the time to do it, and our brains are starving for it. We tie the hands of our excellent educators with countless standards and requirements, leaving them no room to get creative with their students.

Creativity is one of the most overlooked resources for improved mental health.

For example, being creative reduces anxiety and depression. A creative act like crafting, cooking a meal, or planting a garden requires focus which has been shown to calm the brain in the same way that a long session of meditation can. Writing and painting has been shown to help people process traumatic events and negative emotions. Patients with dementia show improved cognitive function and memory when they are given art or music activities to do. Humming a low tune can actually help regulate your heart’s rhythm, and there are countless studies on the positive ways playing an instrument and singing can improve your health.

Neuroscientists have discovered that while we are creating our brains release dopamine, which is a natural antidepressant. People who already struggle with mental illness might even find that adding creativity to their mental health routine can boost the work of cognitive therapy, medication (if prescribed by and monitored by a professional), exercise and lots of veggies and fruit, and other positive lifestyle choices.

The decline in creativity could also be part of the reason drug and alcohol use increases during the teen and adult years.Creating something gives a person a natural high.Creating also requires concentration and focus which stimulates the brain. It’s certainly possible that the lack of this natural stimulant leaves our brains search desperately for another source. If young people are not creating, their minds are still searching for this high and unfortunately they are getting it from counterfeit, destructive, addictive sources.

The amazing thing is that God actually provided creativity for this very purpose. If we encourage kids to get creative on a regular basis, we could provide them with a healthy, God designed “high” that produces good fruit in their lives. If we are going to tell them “don’t do drugs”, then we need to make sure they have the know-how to get what their brains truly crave. We must also make a short time of creativity as much of a priority as sports practices and homework assignments. We must remind them to do this until it becomes a habit that they seek out themselves.

Here’s what this can look like in real life:

When my daughter comes to me and expresses that she “just feels sad and lonely”, I tell her to get out her paints and brushes. She resists at first, because when a person is feeling that way they often don’t know how to move past it. But I insist, and help her get them out, because I know that this is as important as her therapy and her daily vitamin. After about 5 minutes, her whole demeanor changes and her spirits lift. Inside her brain, the creativity is producing a rush of dopamine that is helping her body feel as good as her soul wants it to. Sometimes I give her a choice of what she would like to do to get creative. But when she’s feeling especially negative, I make the choice for her and help her along. Eventually, this habit will be formed and she will seek it out the moment she feels that empty feeling.

With my son I also do this. When I can tell he is stressed out and agitated, I ask him to get creative. Sometimes I have him draw things and do art, but his personality enjoys creating in other ways too. He loves a recipe to follow, for example. He enjoys designing a barn or a process for feeding his cattle. Again, he says, “MOM, I don’t WANT to do that right now.” But I insist. And a few minutes into it, he’s found some relief.

Right now I still have to be the one to point them in the direction of creating when they are feeling anxious or depressed. But more and more I have seen them begin to choose it themselves. My goal is to help them develop this habit so well that they will, as adults, take care of their mental health daily through creating (in addition to other things) and turn to creative acts like cooking, art, music, gardening, or designing instead of negative sources like zoning out on TV for hours, overeating junk food, isolating themselves, or worse: drugs, alcohol, and other addictive sources.

We want to encourage the kids in our community to get creative every day, even for just 5 minutes. We believe this can help them improve their mental health and also keep them from reaching for that bottle of Hawkeye Vodka or weed laced with who knows what.

Creativity doesn’t always have to be painting landscapes. Here are several awesome ways to get creative:

Cooking

Cake Decorating

Drawing

Painting

Writing

Designing

Photography

Putting together outfits for a week

Building

Gardening

Farming

Singing

Songwriting

Playing and Instrument

Sewing

Hair/Makeup/Nails

Create Plays for Sports

Make up a game

What are your favorite ways to get creative?

Parents: Take care of your mental health too and get creative yourselves! If we want to be a resource for our kids, we have to take care of ourselves as well. I highly encourage people to see a therapist if they are feeling depressed or anxious, and don’t be afraid to take your kids, either! It’s a GOOD thing.