Why is creativity so good for you?

Your creative prescription for the weekend

Have you noticed how much better you feel when you write, or make art, or craft, or sing, dance, bake, garden… basically when you do any creative activity?

This isn’t just a vague feeling of niceness because you enjoy it - creativity is scientifically proven to improve your mental, emotional and even physical health.

I mean, just look how happy I am here after running a creative therapy workshop!

Some benefits of creativity include:

• Reduced stress and anxiety

• Relief from depression

• Increased positivity and self-esteem

• Greater emotional resilience

• Improved problem-solving and decision-making skills

• Better balance and coordination

• Improved memory

But wait, there’s more! Did you know that regular engagement with creative activities can…

• Lower high blood pressure

• Improve heart health

• Reduce the inflammation associated with chronic pain

• Boost the immune system

Creativity is really, really good for you. So when I tell you to reclaim your innate creative power, I’m not just trying to jolly you along. Allowing yourself to play and experiment with creativity could revolutionise your wellbeing.

You don’t need to clear hours in your diary to be creative.

A lot of people worry that they simply don’t have time for artistic pursuits. We’re all overworked, overwhelmed and exhausted. The idea of sitting and sketching for hours by a riverbank, carefully working pottery for a day in a studio, or labouring for months on a novel just doesn’t feel possible for many of us.

But that’s ok, because, unless you’re going to make creativity your full-time career, you don’t have to do any of those things. If you love them and you can carve out the time, great. But if you’ve got other stuff going on and all you can snatch for yourself is a few minutes here and there, that’s totally cool. A few minutes at a time is all you need.

When it comes to creativity as a wellbeing practice, the outcome is irrelevant - the process is the point. You don’t have to produce carefully crafted works of art, you just have to allow yourself a few moments of play and self-expression.

The Creative Prescriptions tab is where you’ll find regular creative therapy exercises and prompts to support a wellness and healing practice through artistic expression. Each exercise will be something you can do quickly and simply, with whatever time and materials you can cobble together in the moment.

Like this one…

Mood Doodle

This is a great exercise to use as a quick check-in on how you’re feeling and what you might need. You can do it at any point throughout your day - while you’re waiting for a kettle to boil, getting dinner ready, waiting for a bus… Just grab a couple of minutes to tune in to your self.

What you need:

• Paper

• Pen or pencil

What to do:

Sit or stand quietly for a moment. If possible, close your eyes, or just soften your gaze. Take a few deep breaths, and think of three words to describe how you’re feeling right now. Just see what words come - don’t overthink it or judge the words that show up.

Now take your pen or pencil and doodle on the paper and shapes, images, words, symbols or anything else that relates to those words or your mood. This doesn’t need to take more than a minute or two.

If you’ve got more time and you want to take this further, you could get more involved in creating the pictures and decorating them. But you don’t have to - a quick doodle is all that’s needed.

If it shows you anything that you might need or want in this moment, listen to that and consider what you can do about that.

Then go back to your day.

Want a week of deep creative healing?

I’m running a FREE Creative Self-Care Immersion from 21st - 27th June - seven days of creative therapy exercises designed to give you a thorough emotional cleanse as we hit the midpoint of the year.

Each day during the immersion, you’ll get a creative therapy exercise in your inbox that you can complete in your own time. You won’t need any special materials or skills, and you’ll only need around 10 minutes each day.

Join me for a week of self-connection and expression, absolutely FREE!