How the arts can benefit your mental health (no talent required)
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Sunday, December 22, 2024


How the arts can benefit your mental health (no talent required)
The notion that art can improve mental well-being is something many people intuitively understand but can lose sight of — especially if we have become disconnected from the dancing, creative writing, drawing and singing we used to enjoy as children. (Keith Negley/The New York Times)

by Christina Caron



NEW YORK, NY.- When Dr. Frank Clark was in medical school studying to be a psychiatrist, he decided to write his first poem.

“All that chatter that is in my head, everything that I’ve been feeling, I can now just put it on paper and my pen can do the talking,” he said, recalling his thoughts at the time.

Back then, he was struggling with depression and had been relying on a number of things to keep it at bay, including running, therapy, medication and his faith.

“I had to find something else to fill the void,” he said. It turned out that poetry was the missing piece in his “wellness puzzle.”

“I saw an improvement in my mood,” said Clark, who now sees patients in Greer, South Carolina. “It gave me another outlet.”

The notion that art can improve mental well-being is something many people intuitively understand but can lose sight of — especially if we have become disconnected from the dancing, creative writing, drawing and singing we used to enjoy as children.

But there’s a “really robust body of evidence” that suggests that creating art, as well as activities such as attending a concert or visiting a museum, can benefit mental health, said Jill Sonke, research director of the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine.

Here are a few simple ways to elevate your mood with the arts.

Try the Three-Drawing Technique

Dr. James Gordon, a psychiatrist and founder of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, pioneered the “three-drawing technique.” It is featured in the new book “Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.”

“In my experience, art like this goes beyond words in helping us to understand what’s going on with ourselves and to understand what we should do with it,” Gordon says in the book.

You don’t need to be good at drawing — stick figures are OK. Start by quickly drawing yourself; don’t overthink it. The second drawing should show you with your biggest problem. The third drawing should show you after your problem has been solved.

This exercise is meant to encourage self-discovery and help give people agency in their healing. It can be done with or without a therapist, said Susan Magsamen, an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a co-author of the book.

Color Something Intricate

If you are one of the many people who have turned to adult coloring books, it may not come as a surprise that research suggests this activity can help ease anxiety.




Coloring within the lines — of an intricate pattern, for example — appears to be especially effective. A study that evaluated college students, and another that assessed older adults, found that spending 20 minutes coloring a mandala (a complex geometric design) was more helpful at reducing anxiety than free-form coloring for the same length of time.

Susan Albers, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic and the author of “50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food,” described coloring as a “mini mental vacation.” When we focus on the texture of the paper and choose the colors that please us, it becomes easier to tune out distractions and stay in the moment, she said.

“It’s a great form of meditation for people who hate meditation,” she added.

Enjoy More Music

Listening to music, playing an instrument or singing can all be beneficial, research shows.

A 2022 study, for example, surveyed more than 650 people in four age groups and asked them to rank the artistic activities that helped them “feel better” during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. The youngest participants, ages 18-24, overwhelmingly rated musical activities as most effective. Across all age groups, “singing” was ranked among the top activities.

Other studies have found that singing reduces levels of cortisol, a hormone that the body releases when it is under stress. As one example, mothers who had recently given birth and regularly sang to their babies had less anxiety.

Magsamen noted that music can be effective at reducing stress because things like rhythm and repetitive lyrics and chords engage multiple regions of the brain.

“I sing in the shower,” Magsamen said. “I sing at the top of my lungs to the radio.”

Write a Poem

Clark has continued to write poetry since graduating from medical school and offered some tips for those interested in trying.

First, banish any thoughts that you aren’t creative enough. “I think a lot of times we are our own worst critic,” he said. “I believe anybody can write poetry.”

Start with a simple haiku, Clark suggested. Haikus consist of just three lines — the first and last lines have five syllables and the middle has seven.

Consider involving your friends, too — a suggestion from a 2020 paper in the Journal of Medical Humanities that explored poetry’s “healing power.”

As the authors wrote, “Simply by reading a poem once a week, sharing a poem with a friend or spending five to 10 minutes to free write about a favorite memory, a current idea, a worry or hope can all be effective first steps in experiencing the benefits of poetry.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

May 31, 2023

The mystery of the disappearing van Gogh

Romance & Nature: Berkshire Museum displays collection from Hudson River School of Art

Chiharu Shiota: Memory Under the Skin on view at Galerie Templon

Yoshitomo Nara: All My Little Words now on view at the Albertina Modern

'Picasso: Untitled' 50 works to be retitled and re-signified by 50 artists

L.A. museum exhibition celebrates Keith Haring's embrace of activism and community

Now on view: Focused installation of Philip Guston's late works

How the arts can benefit your mental health (no talent required)

Peabody Essex Museum announces the launch of a TikTok Creator-in-Residence program

How many giraffes are in the air we breathe? at Nottingham Contemporary

Morphy's June Fine & Decorative Arts Auction offers ultimate in luxury and quality

Guitar making as a life's work

This town made Tina Turner. She made it famous.

Club Ebony, a historic blues venue tied to B.B. King, rises again

A provocative satirist left a pervasive legacy, influencing African writing

Museum of the African Diaspora receives largest individual gift ever in 18-year history

Charles Arnoldi: Rock, Paper, Scissors on view at Charlotte Jackson Fine Art

John Moran Auctioneers' Modern & Contemporary Fine Art sale, Tuesday, June 13th

UOVO, leading storage and services provider for art expands to Southern California

Amsterdam gallery presents 'UNUSUAL': pushing the boundaries of photography

Michaan's June auctions offers 5 auction days with treasures from all over the world

'The Casablanca Art School Platforms and Patterns for a Postcolonial Avant-Garde 1962-1987' opens at Tate St Ives

Tips on Safely Packing Breakable Objects

The Transformational Power of Technology in the Coming Years 2050

Blue World City: Islamabad's Premier Housing Society

6 Ways to Explore Art from the Comfort of Your Home

Boosting Productivity: Essential Tools for Busy Professionals

3 Best sites to Buy TikTok Followers safely

ONPASSIVE: Revolutionizing the Future of Digital Marketing




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง
Motorcycle Accident Lawyer

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful