How creativity can improve your health. I talk a lot about the importance of physical activity and how it affects our mental health and physical health. I truly believe that we should all be making a conscious effort to be active every single day. I also think, however, that a big part of our well being is allowing ourselves to be creative.

Let me explain. My favourite form of physical activity is dancing and I attend class whenever I can. It actually serves two purposes because while it is hard and intense work, it’s also very creative. I have the advantage that I get to straddle the two worlds whenever I attend class.

Now, of course dancing isn’t for everyone and that’s totally okay, you need to choose the type of workout that suits you best but I also urge you not to forget about incorporating creative elements in your life. When you allow your mental and emotional health to take a back seat, you’ll find that your physical health suffers as well.

HOW CREATIVITY CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

Stress Relief. Sure, being active releases those feel good endorphins but did you know that being creative or even watching someone else be creative is great for stress relief too. This isn’t about taking on yet another hobby and it’s certainly not meant to stress you out. Every few days set aside some time to paint or write or even bake. Don’t worry about being perfect and producing a finished product this is more about the process.

Similar To Meditation. Think about this for a second, when you are writing or painting (or anything similar) it’s almost impossible to be multi-tasking. Sure you might have some music on in the background but you can’t be watching television while you are writing. Trust me, I sometimes do this and it really doesn’t work very well. So when you immerse yourself fully in one activity, it allows your brain to calm down and enter an almost meditative state.

Helps With The Healing Process. The concept of using art for therapy is not new. It allows people to express themselves artistically and can improve self-esteem. When someone is having difficulty expressing themselves with words art can also be a means of communication.

Can Improve Your Mood. It’s fairly normal to, on occasion, feel down or depressed. When that happens, try turning off all social media and external distractions and just write. Let your imagination take over, don’t worry about spelling or even if what you are writing makes sense. You’ll find that those outside stressors fade away and you’ll be left with an improved outlook.

It Fills A Void. It’s easy to focus solely on the things we have to do everyday, but when we are that focused we can sometimes forget ourselves. Not only does being creative help heal our brains, but it can also do wonders for our hearts. When you create something you are proud of, or when you watch a beautiful performance, or when you see a fascinating exhibition those are all things that can inspire us to do better and to fulfill our dreams.

TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE

After I moved, I found myself slowly falling into a somewhat depressive state that I couldn’t pull myself out of. I also found myself suffering from a very bad case of writer’s block. One day as I sat staring out the window trying desperately to write something, I had an idea. I picked a photograph I had lying around and I started to write down what I saw. Before I even realized what had happened I had written several pages of a short story. Suddenly I felt myself getting excited to write again. It was instantaneous, all I wanted to do was create.

It’s at that moment that I realized that I can’t be the only person who relies on visual stimulation to get my creative juices flowing. I’m a big fan of museums, galleries and even just wandering around busy downtown streets. When all of that wasn’t available to me, I began having a hard time producing my work.

As they say, sometimes the greatest things happen when you least expect it. What came out of my state of mind was a book of visual writing prompts called Tell Me What You See. It’s filled with photographs of my travels accompanied by fun prompts that get your creative juices flowing!

You can find more information about it on CAROLINETOPPERMAN.COM  and you can order your very own copy here: TELL ME WHAT YOU SEE: visual writing prompts for the traveling writer

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