Recovery Through Art
Artistic habits and engaging in creativity could be a gateway to a healthier you.
We know that these things are good for wellbeing, but there are a range of studies that show how engaging regularly with the creative experiences that resonate most with you, you are able to lower your stress baselines, which will contribute to increasing your quality of life.
This health benefit and opportunity for recovery comes in a range of different places. It can range from visual art in recovery environments, to utilising soundscapes for relaxation, and can include different artistic activities for health in creative spaces. It is clear that there is so much potential in this area.
Art, culture and creativity plays an integral part in how we teach, learn, communicate and heal. Because of this, all these things can be uniquely suited to helping each of us to understand and communicate concepts and emotions by drawing on all our senses and capacity for empathy. This can be increasingly beneficial in terms of recovery and healing.
Art can help us to emotionally navigate the journey of battling an illness or injury, to process difficult emotions in times of emergency and challenging events.
“The creation and enjoyment of the arts helps promote holistic wellness and can be a motivating factor in recovery. Including the arts in health care delivery has been shown to support positive clinical outcomes for patients while also supporting other stakeholders, including health care providers, the patient’s loved ones and the wider community.” – World Health Organisation.
This means that there are exciting opportunities for artists in partnership with healthcare providers to work together to create and support healing environments and create opportunities for positive outcomes in our communities.
With an ongoing increase in understanding and evidence about the impact of arts, culture and creativity on healing, the World Health Organisation conducted a scoping review looking at “What is the evidence on the role of the arts in improving health and well-being?” This review looked at research literature between 2000 and 2019.
The review is quite comprehensive, but five key understandings from the review in relation to art and health are:
- 1. Enhancing Social Bonding
There is a wide literature on the potential role of the arts – in particular, music – in enhancing social bonding. This can help to reduce loneliness and foster social inclusion.
- 2. Improving Child Development
Creative activity can solidify bonding, and things like music plays an important part in language development. For people with with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, arts therapy can improve behaviours, particularly through improved communication.
- 3. Encouraging healthy behaviours
Observational studies show promising evidence that people who engage with the arts are more likely to lead healthier lives, including eating healthily and staying physically active. Engagement with community activities such as arts and crafts has been shown to improve general self-perceived health and aspects of mental health and wellbeing.
- 4. Bringing positive emotions
There is a large body of research showing how arts engagement can enhance positive emotions we have in our daily lives, our life satisfaction or our sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. There is also a growing literature on the preventive benefits of arts engagement in relation to mental health. Activities such as making and listening to music, dancing, art and visiting cultural sites are all associated with stress management and prevention, including lower levels of biological stress in daily life and lower daily anxiety
- 5. Supporting caregiving
Exhibitions, books, performances and installations can support science communication and encourage new audiences to engage with research on health. The arts can also support mental health and wellbeing in health-care staff. There is increasing research showing how the arts can improve clinical skills, personal skills and communication among health-care professionals.
So, what does this mean in daily life for all of us?
Finding ways to increase your engagement in creative activity is a good thing. You could always check out what is going on in your neighbourhood that could inspire you. Or, perhaps take up a new creative activity guided by a local artist.
Even just something as simple as singing each day can be a transformative habit.
Neuroscientist Daniel Levitan shares that “when we play an instrument (including singing), we are engaging more mental facilities that almost any other activity: motor systems, motor planning, imagining, sensory auditory processing, and – if we’re inspired – creativity, spirituality, pro-social feelings and, possibly, a state of heightened awareness coupled with calm known as the flow state.” This is an exciting thing to remember.
Find the creative activity that connects with you and use it as a way to help keep yourself healthy every day. In the words of singer Linda Rondstadt: “Art is for healing ourselves, and everybody needs their own personal art to heal up their problems”.
Written by: Dr. Jeremy Mayall, Creative Waikato CEO