Mental Health Benefits of Art

For a long time, creating art has been known to relieve stress, as well as increase the placidity of the brain. Not only that, but creating art is also known to encourage creative thinking, and bring about many other mental health benefits.
Over the years, there have been a lot of misconceptions about art. In fact, many people think that in order to be paint and sculptor, you actually have to be a real artist. On the other hand, some people think that you actually have to have artistic talent in order to create art.
However, this is not true at all. Instead, what you need is an innate desire to express your feelings or views. In this article, we focus on the mental health benefits of art.

Creating Art Relieves Stress

Undertaking art activities such as sculpting, painting, drawing, or photography, allows you to relax your mind and get into a creative space. As a result, you will feel calm and mentally clear as soon as you start creating art.
The moment that you start creating art, you will notice that your mind will be distracted from what’s going on around you. This has the ability to give your brain a break as you are totally immersed in your art and get into a state of “flow.”
What happens when you start being creative is that you get into a meditative-like state. This focuses your mind on what you are working on, making you forget about everything else that might be going on around you.
Another great advantage of art is that your brain gets into a state where you concentrate more on the details that you are creating. This general trains your brain to concentrate more, as well as pay attention to your environment.

Colouring for Stress Relief

In some cultures, people actually colour books in order to relieve stress. In France, where the idea first became popular, patients who relied more on tranquillizers, prescription drugs, and antidepressants, were urged to try colouring books, which turned out to be very effective.
Since then, it has been proven that colouring books offer art therapy, helping people to sleep better and feel better.

Art Encourages Creative Thinking

When you create art, your brain gets into a state where you have to be creative so as to create unique solutions on your own. This allows you to think out of the box, thereby growing new neurons.
A lot of people have been made to believe that when you think creatively, you use your right side of the brain. However, this is not true. Instead, what happens is that both hemispheres of your brain actually communicate with each other. This is because when you perform some of the most complicated functions, you actually require your whole brain to think.
That means you get to use your whole brain to create amazing art. This has the advantage of training your brain, which inevitably makes you a better problem-solver. That means you will be able to make better decisions, even when you are not creating art.