How does being creative help with your wellbeing?

Getting involved with the arts can have powerful and lasting effects on health. It can help to protect against a range of mental health conditions, help manage mental ill health and support recovery.

There are many ways to engage in art

Art and health classes led by artists can deliver health benefits through participatory arts programmes and arts engagement in everyday life.

When we talk about the arts, we include visual and performing arts, such as traditional crafts, sculpture, digital art, text, dance, singing, gardening, film, literature, music and culinary.

Engaging in art can enable people to deal with mental ill health conditions and psychological distress.

The best part is, that it helps people to improve their mental health through creativity.

Making art is helping many people express themselves, without having to use words.

Art also helps at a community level!

As we get older, we face isolation through loosing friends, family and work-mates, as well as loosing our physical health and youth.

Through getting involved in arts projects, older people can regain their social connections and extend existing support in their communities.

This helps in reducing loneliness and isolation. This is true for care homes, where arts and crafts can help increase interactions between the residents and staff which improves moods and wellbeing.

The arts role in mental health is beginning to be widely recognised!

More people are appreciating that arts and culture play a valuable role in helping people who have mental health problems.

As noted: engaging in art and social activities within the community can help with challenges such as ageing and loneliness. It helps boost confidence and helps make people feel more resilient. As well as all of this, engaging in art alleviates stress, depression and anxiety.