Five Great Mental Health Benefits Of Art
When it comes to art, there's no secret that it certainly has its share of misconceptions. Some people feel that in order to consider yourself a real artist, you have to create something such as a sculpture or painting, while others believe that you either are or are not born with talent. However, every one of us are born with the desire and ability to express ourselves, and art is a wonderful way to achieve this, especially in terms of our mental health.
Here are five of the best mental health benefits of art.
Art Relieves Stress
Drawing, sculpting, painting, etc. are great ways to lower your overall stress levels and make you feel much better mentally. Essentially, it provides a distraction that will give your brain a much-needed break from all of your usual ways of thinking. Perhaps one of the most popular artistic stress relievers, especially nowadays, is coloring books, many of which have been created specifically with stress relief in mind.
Art Helps To Encourage Creative Thinking
As opposed to math, art doesn't require any kind of a correct answer. Instead, you can come up with your own type of solution and further stimulate your brain with this type of creative thinking. This is especially the case since you will be able to use both hemispheres of your brain.
Art Helps To Boost Self-Esteem and Offer a Sense of Accomplishment
Similar to hanging a child's artwork somewhere can boost their self-esteem and sense of accomplishment, doing the same with your own artwork can create the same type of effect. Even better is the fact that you don't have to create something that looks absolutely perfect in order to obtain these feelings, and it doesn't even matter what type of art you create, whether its drawing, photography, or even knitting.
Art Encourages Brain Activity
Whenever you engage in any kind of a new activity, your brain begins working to create connections between all of your different brain cells. In terms of creating art, this helps to stimulate all sorts of connections between various portions of your brain itself.
Art Improves the Overall Quality of Life in Dementia Patients
Art has been shown to enhance factors such as memory and cognitive abilities, especially in those who suffer from serious mental disorders such as dementia. While it's been shown that different types of drug treatments generally don't work very well in these individuals, creating art provides a great sense of pleasure for them. This is because it has been shown to greatly improve their self-esteem and social behavior, as well as reduce various psychiatric symptoms associated with their disorder.
