Embracing Creativity
I’m not sure about you, but I know “creative” is never an adjective I’ve used to describe myself. That description was for my friends making beautiful paintings or sculptures in art class, the drummer and bass guitar coming together and creating beautiful music without a single word, or the writer creating meaningful short stories. However, why did I box creativity up like that? Isn’t it the whole point that creativity is limitless, cannot be contained? New ideas, new connections, etc.
Just because you may not think you’re “right-brained” doesn’t mean you don’t use creativity every day or wouldn’t benefit from it. Whenever you’re creating something, you tend to get “lost” in the activity - it requires more thought and concentration than it seems. This total absorption is sometimes considered to be “flow.” Being in this state of mind is caused by changes in brain function - brain waves slow down and original thoughts are easier to form. The prefrontal cortex actually deactivates for a time, which helps us be more courageous and less critical of our ideas. Endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine are all released in abundance - who wouldn’t want that? This is similar to how your brain would act during yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, such a natural feeling of contentment (Brenner, 2019).
Releasing those natural chemicals listed above lessens depressive symptoms, decreases anxiety, improves your immune system, and reduces stress (Brenner, 2019). During the peak of COVID-19, I spent a few days every week with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. I would babysit my cousins during the day while my aunt and uncle worked from home. At this time, my aunt and I really got into puzzles. I started to notice a pattern - after some meetings, she would come out and work on the puzzle for about 10 minutes. I would work on it for a bit throughout the day too, and we’d work on it together after her workday was done. Puzzles provided a creative outlet and a healthy break from work.
Creativity also allows our brain to process experiences that we’ve gone through. Art therapy is a way that many individuals who are dealing with trauma or PTSD can express themselves and reveal how they’re feeling. Sometimes, it’s harder to explain this verbally, but creating can provide an emotional outlet (Field, 2021).
Ways to be creative come much easier than you’d think. Of course, there are the obvious ones like writing, painting, sculpting, music, etc. But creativity can be in activities like baking, gardening or potting plants, flower pressing, software design, makeup, and even video games. Creativity isn’t just for artists or people who make their career that way, it’s for all of us, and it’s necessary in order to keep our brains healthy. If you aren’t consistently engaging in a creative activity, I encourage you to start doing so!
References:
Brenner, B. (2019). Creativity is your secret advantage for mental health and well-being. Therapy Group of NYC. Retrieved from https://nyctherapy.com/therapists-nyc-blog/creativity-is-your-secret-advantage-for-mental-health-and-well-being/.
Field, B. (2021). How creativity positively impacts your health. Very Well Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-creativity-positively-impacts-your-health-5113162.
Challenges/Points:
Creativity can help our brain waves slow down, our prefrontal cortex disengage for a bit, and our brains release chemicals like dopamine.
Creativity can help us process hard experiences or trauma in our lives in a non-verbal way.
Evaluate your current routine to determine if you’re allowing for creativity throughout your week. If not, make a change!
Questions:
How do you regularly engage with creativity?
Think back - what is your favorite thing you’ve created, ever?
What’s a new creative activity you’d like to try?
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