I have seen this first hand, working as a tutor at New Leaf Recovery and Wellbeing College, as well as through my work in social prescribing and arts on prescription. The more I speak with people, the more stories I hear of people taking up hobbies such as crocheting, painting, upcycling, writing and journaling. It seems that more and more people are turning to creative pastimes, and for good reason.
A report from the National Alliance for Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPG) 2017 found that the arts can help us to keep well, aid recovery and support people to live longer, healthier lives. The health benefits of creating visual art includes increased happiness, mood and mental health; it can reduce pain and increase the ability to manage intense emotions as well as provide opportunities to connect with others (on and offline). Even just looking at art has been found to quiet the mind and leave people feeling more relaxed.
The list of benefits continues beyond improving mood too. Creativity helps:
- promote thinking and problem-solving
- reduces stress and anxiety
- with feelings of accomplishment and pride
- improve your ability to focus
- to encourage us to be lifelong learners
- give you a sense of purpose
- you to enter your happy zone and have fun
- promotes risk-taking and iteration
- is a prerequisite for innovation
- links you to others with the same passion
Being creative isn't just about art. Any form of creativity can help, whether that includes writing, gaming, coding, building and designing for example. We run a number of courses and seminars which explain how creativity can benefit your personal recovery journey as well as giving you some practical ideas about how to incorporate creativity and art into your daily lives. Courses include:
To find out which courses are running this term, view our current timetable.