Back when I was a university student studying art and art history while holding down multiple jobs and volunteering, I was pleased to find that my creative activities helped me to de-stress. My roommates were surprised that even during exam time, they could find me in the evenings sometimes sitting and working on knitting a cushion cover! Or cooking my dinners from scratch, which is a creative activity for me that not only helped me save money and prevented me from gaining the famous freshman fifteen, but helped to relax me. Knitting, drawing, painting, doodling, photography and even my performance art, video art, art installations, and acting classes and writing, were all creative outlets that supported me in my mental health and well-being.
Knitting
Decades later as a middle age woman with a full time career and also my own blog and business, I creativity and mindfulness activities are still my favourite way to destress. My activities have grown to include gardening, walking in nature and forest bathing, baking, writing poetry, and writing guided meditations, as well as journaling and listening to music while doing crafts. Watching a movie or show can be fun but for me is not a way to relax and bring myself back to a balance. When I want to replenish my wellspring of energy and reset my balance, I choose from the creative and mindful activities.
There are many articles and books written about the health benefits of creativity and mindfulness and people have been becoming more aware of this. Creative and mindful activities including art and meditation but also many other activities, can help with your mental and physical help, pain management, stress related health issues, etc. If done with other people, they can also be ways to reduce loneliness and connect with others which is in itself something that can support better physical and mental health. By keeping us mentally alert and helping with stress, creativity and mindfulness activities can be good for people of any age looking to start learning a new skill. These activities can stimulate many different parts of the brain and positively affect your cognitive function. It’s never too late to take a pottery class, or learn to crochet or take a painting in watercolours class outdoors in nature.
Art is a healing tool.
Taking action is an important part of making a change or starting something new in your life, and whether you are more interested in enjoying creative pursuits through art appreciation or in creating something yourself, it is good to make a choice of how you will start and take the next step in your journey of creativity and mindfulness. Decide what your start and next step will be, when you will do them. Schedule them in and watch them be achieved. Even if you are just calendaring in a 20 minute music appreciation session every evening when you will listen to music, or you decide to write in your journal every morning for 15 minutes, or perhaps it’s a weekend activity for you, by scheduling it in and routinely keeping to it, you will be able to begin to enjoy the health benefits of creativity and mindfulness.
Forest Bathing
Also read my blogpost on gardening as an act of creativity and mindfulness: Gardening is Creativity and Mindfulness.