creative writing on mental health

Writing can improve mental health – here’s how

Creative Writing Lecturer, Cardiff Metropolitan University

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Christina Thatcher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Cardiff Metropolitan University provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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Ernest Hemingway famously said that writers should “write hard and clear about what hurts” . Although Hemingway may not have known it at the time, research has now shown that writing about “what hurts” can help improve our mental health .

There are more than 200 studies that show the positive effect of writing on mental health. But while the psychological benefits are consistent for many people, researchers don’t completely agree on why or how writing helps.

One theory suggests that bottling up emotions can lead to psychological distress . It stands to reason, then, that writing might increase mental health because it offers a safe, confidential and free way to disclose emotions that were previously bottled up .

However, recent studies have begun to show how an increase in self-awareness , rather than simply disclosing emotions, could be the key to these improvements in mental health.

In essence, self-awareness is being able to turn your attention inward towards the self . By turning our attention inward, we can become more aware of our traits, behaviour, feelings, beliefs, values and motivations.

Research suggests that becoming more self-aware can be beneficial in a variety of ways. It can increase our confidence and encourage us to be more accepting of others . It can lead to higher job satisfaction and push us to become more effective leaders . It can also help us to exercise more self-control and make better decisions aligned with our long-term goals.

Self-awareness is a spectrum and, with practice, we can all improve. Writing might be particularly helpful in increasing self-awareness because it can be practised daily . Rereading our writing can also give us a deeper insight into our thoughts, feelings, behaviour and beliefs.

Here are three types of writing which can improve your self-awareness and, in turn, your mental health:

Expressive writing

Expressive writing is often used in therapeutic settings where people are asked to write about their thoughts and feelings related to a stressful life event. This type of writing aims to help emotionally process something difficult .

Research shows that expressive writing can enhance self-awareness , ultimately decreasing depressive symptoms , anxious thoughts and perceived stress .

Reflective writing

Reflective writing is regularly used in professional settings, often as a way to help nurses, doctors, teachers, psychologists and social workers become more effective at their jobs . Reflective writing aims to give people a way to assess their beliefs and actions explicitly for learning and development.

Writing reflectively requires a person to ask themselves questions and continuously be open, curious and analytical. It can increase self-awareness by helping people learn from their experiences and interactions. This can improve professional and personal relationships as well as work performance, which are key indicators of good mental health .

• Creative writing

Poems, short stories, novellas and novels are all considered forms of creative writing. Usually, creative writing employs the imagination as well as, or instead of, memory, and uses literary devices like imagery and metaphor to convey meaning.

Writing creatively offers a unique way to explore thoughts, feelings, ideas and beliefs. For instance, you could write a science fiction novel that represents your concerns about climate change or a children’s story that speaks to your beliefs about friendship. You could even write a poem from the perspective of an owl as a way to represent your insomnia.

Writing creatively about challenging experiences, like grief , can also offer a way to communicate to others something which you feel is too complicated or difficult to say directly.

Creative writing encourages people to choose their words, metaphors and images in a way that really captures what they’re trying to convey. This creative decision-making can lead to increased self-awareness and self-esteem as well as improved mental health .

Writing for self-awareness

Self-awareness is a key component for good mental health and writing is a great place to start.

Why not take some time to write down your feelings about a particularly stressful event that has happened during the pandemic? Or reflect on a difficult work situation from the last year and consider what you have learned from it?

If you prefer to do something more creative, then try responding to this prompt by writing a poem or story:

Think about the ways your home reveals the moment we are currently in. Is your pantry packed with flour? Do you have new objects or pets in your home to stave off loneliness or boredom? What you can see from your window that reveals something about this historic moment?

Each of these writing prompts will give you a chance to reflect on this past year, ask yourself important questions, and make creative choices. Spending just 15 minutes doing this may give you an opportunity to become more self-aware – which could lead to improvements in your mental health.

• Mental health
• Self-awareness

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Writing Can Help Us Heal from Trauma

• Deborah Siegel-Acevedo

Three prompts to get started.

Why does a writing intervention work? While it may seem counterintuitive that writing about negative experiences has a positive effect, some have posited that narrating the story of a past negative event or an ongoing anxiety “frees up” cognitive resources. Research suggests that trauma damages brain tissue, but that when people translate their emotional experience into words, they may be changing the way it is organized in the brain. This matters, both personally and professionally. In a moment still permeated with epic stress and loss, we need to call in all possible supports. So, what does this look like in practice, and how can you put this powerful tool into effect? The author offers three practices, with prompts, to get you started.

Even as we inoculate our bodies and seemingly move out of the pandemic, psychologically we are still moving through it. We owe it to ourselves — and our coworkers — to make space for processing this individual and collective trauma. A recent op-ed in the New York Times Sunday Review affirms what I, as a writer and professor of writing, have witnessed repeatedly, up close: expressive writing can heal us.

• Deborah Siegel-Acevedo is an author , TEDx speaker, and founder of Bold Voice Collaborative , an organization fostering growth, resilience, and community through storytelling for individuals and organizations. An adjunct faculty member at DePaul University’s College of Communication, her writing has appeared in venues including The Washington Post, The Guardian, and CNN.com.

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30 Creative Writing Prompts for People Living With Mental Illness

Written by Hannah Blum , author of  The Truth About Broken: The Unfixed Version of Self-Love

I believe writing is one of the best ways to express yourself, especially when you live with mental illness. However, it’s hard to know where to start, which is why I have written creative prompts crafted for those of you living with mental illness. Some require more time, and this isn’t something you should do all in one sitting. Spread it out, and make it a journey. Grab your pen, do not overthink, and start sharing your truth about life with mental illness.

If you could explain to someone what it feels like to live with mental illness, what would you say?

Read the following quote, and express your interpretation of it and how it relates to your life with mental illness. It’s feeling full of everything and empty of it all at the same time. This is mental illness.

Write down something you have learned about the history of mental illness and stigma. I encourage you to research online and come back to this prompt. I have listed some resources at the bottom of this blog post. For example, In my research about Bedlam Asylum in the 14th Century, as means of raising hospital income, it was allowed public and casual visitors with no connection to the inmates to watch patients displayed in cages.

Write one chapter of your story.

Read the following quote, and express your interpretation of it and how it relates to your life with mental illness. When you live with a mental illness you spend most of your time “trying to explain” over taking care of yourself.

What does self-love mean to you?

What do you want society to know about those of us living with mental illness?

What is making you feel anxious right now and why?

What has been the toughest part about living with mental illness?

Read the following quote, and express your interpretation of it and how it relates to your life with mental illness. It was when I was lost that I suddenly felt found.

Write down your favorite book and why it meant so much to you.

Write down your biggest source of inspiration.

If you have a passion for any form of art, how do your emotions contribute to your art or writings, photography or any piece of content?

If you could tell a psychiatrist and psychologist how you want to be treated and what you want from them, what would you say?

What struggles are you facing right now?

Someone, who lives without a mental illness, asks you, “How can I be supportive to my friend with mental illness?” Write down your response

Write what you love about yourself.

What has your mental illness taught you about life?

How do you want to get involved with the mental health community?

Why do you think there is so much stigma in society and how can we reduce it?

Read the following quote, and express your interpretation of it and how it relates to your life with mental illness. The mental health problem is not just a health crisis, it’s a social injustice. It’s the mistreatment of the misunderstood. 

Those of us living with mental illness struggle with self-love. Why is that? Write down how you think we can improve our self-perception.

How has stigma affected your life?

If you could make change in the mental health care system, what would it be?

Write a fictional story that explains mental illness.

What is one thing you can do that will help you get to where you want to go?

Write down 5 steps you can take that will help you improve your confidence.

In your own words, write an affirmation for you to recite each morning to yourself.

Free Write. Write whatever comes to your mind. Doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not. We can make sense out of nonsense.

Historical references:

Mental Health: Tracing The Stigma of Mental Illness

A Brief History of Mental Illness

Bedlam Asylum History

I hope you enjoyed this post. For more content follow me on Instagram.

At the age of 20, Hannah Blum went from Prom Queen to a mental patient in the blink of an eye, but what she believed would be the end was only just the beginning. In her first book,  The Truth About Broken: The Unfixed Version of Self-Love , Hannah Blum redefines what it means to love yourself and takes readers on an unforgettable journey towards embracing what makes them different.

Copyright: The quotes used in this blog post are the original work of Hannah Blum.

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• Mar 11, 2019

Creative Writing Prompts for Mental Health

Updated: Mar 12, 2019

There is plenty of great research proving that journaling and creative writing can improve mental, and even physical health. Writing is a powerful tool that can be used for so many things; making sense of difficult situations, identifying and understanding big emotions, easing loneliness, cultivating meaning, improving self-esteem, learning to forgive...the list goes on!

However, all writers can attest to the anxiety that a blank page can induce. It's a lot of pressure to sit down and figure out how to write something that improves your mental health. If you're not sure where to begin, skim through the following prompts and write to the prompt that speaks to you the mos

Personify your anxiety, panic, depression, or addiction. Give it a name, a voice, a physical form-human or otherwise. When your symptoms are at their worst, what is this being saying to you? What do you want to say back? (For some reason, my anxiety is an insidious green version of Mad Magazine's Spy vs. Spy pictured below. His name is Jeff).

Ten years from now, in a perfect world, who are you and what are you doing with your life?

What positive things are you doing in your life right now that you never get thanked for? How would things change if you started being appreciated for those actions?

Do you have ghosts?

Write about a time you meant to go one place, but ended up somewhere else.

Spend some time thinking about who your alter-ego might be. How does this person look/act/dress? What pieces of yourself does your alter-ego express?

Are there cycles or seasons to your life that you haven't thought about before? How do you know you are in one of these cycles/seasons?

What is terrifying?

What is awe-inspiring?

What are you f---ing mad about?

Here, at the tail end of winter in Denver and Summit County, many of us need a little boost in mood and energy to get us through to those warmer, sunnier summer months. Writing can be a great addition to your self-care practice, which is especially important during the darker, colder times of year.

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Mental Health Resources for Creative Writers

Written by Jack Levinson

When people think of creative writers, they often imagine the stereotypical “tortured artist,” who channels their inner strife into beautiful works of expression. It’s true: many great writers draw from their moments of difficulty to find inspiration and tell stories that are impactful to others. But this doesn’t mean that writers should be less concerned with preserving their mental health than others are. In fact, many would argue that the life of a creative writer requires an especially large amount of discipline, fortitude, and faith – all the hallmarks of putting in the work to protect one’s well-being.

A writer’s life can be hard, requiring great patience and a tenacious work ethic. Beyond the creative pressure writers put on themselves in their creative pursuits, many balance their literary efforts with other forms of employment. It’s no surprise that many working writers report living under great stress, which among other things can often be a huge hindrance to productivity, creating even more stress in its wake. This vicious cycle can be an unfortunate part of writers’ mental health. Indeed, many longtime writers advocate for the benefits of a healthy, conscientious lifestyle, arguing this to be the only way to maintain mental well-being while working diligently on a creative practice.

If you are a writer who is struggling with your mental health, know that there are resources out there to help you.

Writers are often introspective people who might feel that they can manage their emotional wellbeing on their own. But there is no shame in seeking the support of others during times of hardship. In fact, doing so can be a source of tremendous relief and personal empowerment. This is why it’s important to know the signs of mental distress, taking stock of your habits and routines and taking action when things feel amiss.

Writers’ mental health issues include the following:

• Suicidal thoughts
• Addiction and drug abuse
• Compulsive behaviors

These can take a variety of forms and levels of severity for different individuals. What’s important is that you be proactive about finding support when things feel unmanageable.

This guide provides a list of mental health resources for writers who are seeking support, whether from professional counselors and therapists or other writers who can lend a sympathetic ear during hard times.

How Writers Can Use Their Creativity Through Crisis

When discussing strategies to help individuals face their mental health issues, many advocates recommend a free and straightforward activity that’s known to have therapeutic effects: writing. For those who already spend their days doing this – whether for professional or purely creative reasons – this may sound funny, or worse, exhausting. After all, writing may be one of the very sources of anxiety or stress that one is hoping to get past. But mental health experts are serious about the major health benefits of creativity, and as an artist this is something you can use to your advantage.

Therapeutic writing has a distinct purpose from the writing you may do in other parts of your life. It is not oriented toward the goal of publication, and it doesn’t require any other readers. In fact, it can be helpful to determine in advance that what you’re writing will never be shared or otherwise made use of – rather, it is a document that will exist just for you. This alone can have a powerful effect, distinguishing this writing time as separate from the rest of your schedule.

So what do you write? Different people have vastly different approaches. Some take the time to journal directly about their feelings and experiences, putting into words the thoughts that they have recently been dealing with. Others choose to pursue routine practices like automatic writing, which have been found to have effects similar to meditation.

Writing alone is not a cure for mental health issues. But it can be a wonderful way to take space for yourself and examine your inner life.

As a working writer, you have the skills to quickly initiate a self-directed therapeutic technique. Not everyone is able to easily jump into a personal writing practice, but if you already have one, you already have one of the tools you need to take on your personal challenges, illuminating them in words so that you can learn and grow from them.

Writers’ Support Groups

Many writers participate in groups where you read each other’s work, providing useful feedback and insights to improve your craft. But this isn’t the only support writers can provide to one another. Many creative writers form networks that specifically provide mental health support to one another, responding to the unique pressures of the job and the solace that can be found in like-minded people. These support groups can serve as fantastic free mental health resources for writers, offering a space of solidarity and empathy in the face of issues that are difficult to take on alone.

To be clear, these support groups are not designed for critique, networking, or other forms of professional guidance. They are intended to discuss writers’ mental health and the particular choices writers are faced with that others might not understand.

Below is a list of a few of the top writers’ support groups to turn to when you are in need.

Insecure Writers’ Support Group

True to its name, this support group is specifically designed as a space to help writers deal with the emotional difficulty of their profession. As an added bonus, their website includes professional tips and opportunities for working writers.

The Novelry

Among its other offerings, The Novelry offers a variety of workshops and support groups for writers. Some of these are oriented around traditional critiques, but others are designed specifically for authors to find spaces of encouragement and understanding.

Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers offers an extensive index of writers groups ranging from online to in-person. Some of these groups are intended to share and discuss work, while others are designed more primarily for moral support. One must create a free P&W account to browse their offerings.

Writers Helping Writers

This organization offers multifaceted mental health resources for writers, including how-to guides, self-publishing software, and in-person workshops in locations spanning the United States and Canada to help facilitate connections between professionals.

Advocacy and Educational Resources

If you are not looking to necessarily work directly with others but would like to learn more about writers’ mental health issues and strategies to improve your day to day wellbeing, the following provide educational materials on a range of topics. These are terrific mental health resources for writers to keep bookmarked for times of need.

American Psychological Association

This article offers a research-based argument for the connection between creativity and mental health, outlining how writing can help people overcome mental health challenges and even strengthen the body overall.

Gotham Writers: The Writing Therapist

In this article, a writer turned therapist shares his insights into the creative process, the working conditions for writers, and what writers can do to address their unique mental health concerns.

PEN America: Community Amid Coronavirus: Mental Health Tips for Writers

This article by PEN America was written during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but contains many recommendations that are still pertinent today, including tips for working from home as a writer and other techniques to strengthen one’s mental health.

Psych Central: The Power of Writing: 3 Types of Therapeutic Writing

This article provides three different techniques that can be used as forms of therapeutic writing, with strategies you can try out right away. This is an excellent resource for those who are seeking free mental health resources for writers.

Positive Psychology: Writing Therapy: How to Write and Journal Therapeutically This guide from Positive Psychology explains how creativity and wellness go hand in hand, explaining the benefits of using writing as a therapeutic exercise to help you take the reins on your mental health.

Publication Coach: How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Help Writers

This article discusses the mental health techniques of CBT and how they can be employed during difficult parts of the writing process. It also makes the important link between a writer’s productivity and their own mental wellbeing.

Therapy and Counseling Services for Writers

The tried-and-true option for dealing with mental health issues is through direct counseling, which is seen as one of the most effective ways for individuals to approach personal issues. Indeed, talking through one’s problems can be critical to writers’ mental health; though you may be used to sharing your innermost thoughts with the blank page, the supportive ear of another can do wonders in turning your mindset around.

The resources listed below link to counseling services that are specifically designated as being for artists, writers, and other creatives. However, if you can’t find a therapist in your area from the provided organizations, don’t fret – many other options for therapeutic services are out there that could accommodate your needs.

Write By Night: Writer’s Block Counseling

Though named “Writer’s Block Counseling,” these services are available to help writers with more than just finishing their novels. They are supportive programs customized around your needs to help address a range of writers’ mental health needs.

ZenCare: Artists’ Mental Health

This platform is designed to help individuals find therapists in their area. Their search function includes a tag for those specializing in artists’ mental health, which is a category that certainly includes writers.

Taking the next steps to start a creative writing career

While sitting down to write feels like an immense chore to some, for others, it is a calling. Those who are determined to start careers as creative writers are often unshakable in their convictions and sense of purpose. If you know that you are called to pursue a career in creative writing, CreativeWritingEDU.org has all the resources you need to launch a thriving career.

The first step to becoming a working writer is receiving your degree. Our Creative Writing Degree Guide provides extensive information on the different options out there for creative writers and the questions they should think through before applying to writing programs.

For additional information on career paths, personal perspectives on the writing process, tips and tricks for new writers, and more, visit our blog here .

Finally, visit our homepage for a general overview of the lay of the land for aspiring creative writers as well as an index of creative writing programs by state.

Mental Health

How creative writing saves me in the thick of mental illness.

Creative writing has always been there for me… well, since first grade if we’d like to be more specific. It has been there for me ever since, in 2001, my first grade teacher in Ohio, gave us our first creative writing topic.

We had just read a story about boats and ships, and so the topic was, “On a Ship.” And so, I couldn’t tell you the specifics of my story, but it was far from brief (for a first-grader anyways, keep in mind).

There was room for a drawing at the top, but I didn’t care so much for that part. I was never the best at drawing realistic things, even if I did love scribbling and doodling. I was more entranced by the fact I could put words on paper that were all mine.

This story belonged to me, came from within my mind. There was something special about that. I remember asking my teacher for extra pieces of paper as well as extra time to write. She granted it to me, and with a smile, she called me “a long-winded writer.”

Over the years, my creative writing passion has bloomed like a flower — ranging from the short books my twin sister and I created in second grade to share with our parents and classmates, to the novel I am currently writing in graduate school as I pursue my master’s degree in fine arts… with lots in between!

Today, I love to write fiction stories with characters both similar to me and yet so uniquely different. These characters are often culminations of several different people in my life twisted together, with a dash or so of pure imagination and inventiveness to complete. I also write nonfiction, such as here on The Mighty. I love to educate others through my writing. Additionally, I write poetry and I journal, mostly as a means to get the feelings out and process my past and present, while sometimes even planning for the future.

And what does this have to do with mental health , you may ask?

It has everything to do with mental health, or at least that’s how I see it. Creative writing has always been the best way for me not only to communicate to others what is going on with me, but for me to communicate it to myself, whether directly through journaling or less directly through metaphors and fictional beings.

Being able to write creatively is also a coping skill for me. It has, with no exaggeration here, saved my life on more than one occasion. It has helped me simultaneously distract myself from my pain and process components of what I am going through, whether I realize it or not.

Instead of turning to self-destructive behaviors, I like to turn to writing; and it doesn’t need to be well-written or a literary work! In fact, during times of major distress, just getting the thoughts out or writing a silly poem (again, a good distraction!) can do the trick to take me out of that headspace.

Writing has also made me feel less alone. As a neurodivergent person who also has depression , anxiety  and trauma , turning to my imaginary characters and the written word has helped me find connection even during times when it is lacking (such as, during a global pandemic or an episode of depression or stress).

Lastly, my ability and passion for creative writing has not only helped me, or so I have been told. I have had friends, family and strangers who follow me on my public mental health and neurodiversity-based Instagram account (@obsessive.but.awesome) tell me my writing has helped them. I have received feedback here on The Mighty at times, too. I know it isn’t because I am a literary genius or the most gifted writer out there, but moreover because of the passion and emotion I instill into my words, or so I believe.

I love to write and it has saved my life . It is one of my hobbies and passions that has remained consistent since I was in first grade in 2001… two decades later and I am still going strong! I hope to be a published novelist and poet one day, and until then (and likely long after as well), I will be posting my thoughts on the internet as a means of not only helping others, but to help myself, too.

Do you have a hobby or passion that has worked as a coping skill for you or made a significant difference in your mental health recovery? Let Kaden know in the comments!

How Creativity Positively Impacts Your Health

Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

Mixetto / Getty Images

Creativity Improves Mental Health

Creativity puts you in a flow state, how to enhance your creativity.

Creativity helps us perceive the world in new and different ways. It helps us create works of beauty, problem solve, and refresh our bodies and our minds. It's fun, and when you are having fun, you are positively impacting your health.

Expressing yourself through artistic and creative activities is like a prescription for your mental health. Turning to creativity has been proven in extensive research to relieve both stress and anxiety. Creativity also helps lessen the shame, anger, and depression felt by those who have experienced trauma.

The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center has an art therapy program for soldiers with PTSD. Veterans often find it difficult to express their trauma verbally. Art therapy manager Tammy Shella, PhD, ATR-BC, says, “Through art therapy, patients can convey how they really feel on the inside and reveal things that they weren’t comfortable sharing with the world.”

Have you ever been so immersed in writing in your journal, creating postcards out of your recent photographs, or dancing to your favorite band that you lost all sense of time?

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the cofounders of positive psychology, calls this “flow state.” During this time, you’re focused with optimal attention on a task or activity. It’s sometimes called being in the zone .

This is an excellent and often euphoric state to be in. In this state, we are more mindful and relaxed. This allows us to feel more positive and brings a sense of accomplishment. People who experience flow report higher levels of creativity, productivity, and happiness.

Maybe we don’t think of ourselves as artists or as innovators trained in coming up with bold, new ideas. However, the key traits of innovators include energy, intelligence and discipline, which we all have in varying amounts.

Although we might not be artists or innovators by profession, that doesn’t mean we can’t tap into ways to expand our creativity. We all have the ability to express ourselves and come up with alternate ways of looking at things.

The good news for those of us who didn’t excel at art during our childhood is that the beneficial effects happen during the art process. They are not based on the end product.

Laurel Healy, LCSW, says, “Engaging in a creative process, like singing, dancing, painting or drawing, has full body benefits. When we focus on something that is challenging and/or fun, we make new neuropathways, increasing connectivity in the brain.

"Increased connectivity, especially in the left prefrontal cortex of the brain, makes us more emotionally resilient in a way that is similar to what occurs when we meditate. The release of dopamine brings an enhanced sense of well-being as well as improved motivation,” Healy says.

Draw or Paint 

A growing body of research demonstrates that activities like drawing and painting can relieve stress and depression. Artistic activities have been linked to improving memory and resilience in older adults, even helping seniors with dementia reconnect with the world. Actively making art rather than simply appreciating art has also been shown to stave off cognitive decline.

Sing or Play Music

Music bonds us. According to researchers, when we harmonize or synchronize with others, we have more positive feelings towards them. This occurs even if they aren’t in the same room.

Singing raises oxytocin levels in both amateur and professional singers. If you’re not enamored with singing, do you like to just listen to music? Simply listening to music releases oxytocin. Music directly impacts oxytocin levels and oxytocin affects our ability to trust and socially connect to others.

Dancing is not only fun, it’s actually really good for you to move with music. Studies have shown that dancing relieves anxiety, improves quality of life for breast cancer patients, and lowers the risk of dementia for older people.

What is surprising in the research is that the benefit wasn’t due to physical exercise alone. Compared to other forms of exercise, dancing was the only exercise that made a difference.

While playing or storytelling might seem in the moment, there are psychological and developmental benefits that accrue and are long-lasting.

Jennifer A. Perry, former VP of worldwide publishing at Sesame Workshop and executive director of Perry Educational Projects Consulting, points to the long-term benefits of play and creative pursuits. 

She says, "By exploring imagination and creativity through art, storytelling, interactive games, music, and all kinds of play, children learn lifelong skills... how to express themselves, communicate with others, problem solve, develop self-confidence, appreciate diverse ideas and cultures, and find things that make them feel fulfilled and happy."

Play isn’t just kid stuff. It’s also beneficial for adults. The National Institute for Play underscores the research that already exists on play: “A huge amount of existing scientific research—from neurophysiology, developmental and cognitive psychology, to animal play behavior, and evolutionary and molecular biology—contains rich data on play. The existing research describes patterns and states of play and explains how play shapes our brains, creates our competencies, and ballasts our emotions.”

Spend Time in Nature

A study titled “Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning Through Immersion in Natural Settings" showed how nature affects creativity. A group of hikers who spent four days immersed in nature and disconnected from technological devices increased performance on a creativity/problem solving task by 50%.

Nature in this study provided emotionally positive stimuli. By reducing the usage of phones and computers, those in the study weren’t switching tasks or multi-tasking, attending to sudden events, maintaining task goals or inhibiting irrelevant actions. Therefore, spending quality time in nature improved their creativity test scores.

So, when you are stumped by problems, move away from the computer. It helps to think creatively about solutions and alternative options while walking in the garden or hiking in the park.

A Word From Verywell

The everydayness of our daily lives might make everything seem flat or mundane. The result is a numbing sameness or a sense of endlessly being on the hamster wheel.

Creativity inspires novel thinking and ideas. So, step away from your routine, indulge yourself in playful and fun activities. Creating art, singing, dancing and playing will not only make you feel good, it will renew and revitalize you. 

The Cleveland Clinic. How art can help you cope with the pandemic .

Twohig MP, Levin ME. Acceptance and commitment therapy as a treatment for anxiety and depression .  Psychiatr Clin North Am . 2017;40(4):751-770. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01654

Tarr B, Launay J, Dunbar RI. Music and social bonding: "self-other" merging and neurohormonal mechanisms .  Front Psychol . 2014;5:1096. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01096

Burzynska AZ, Jiao Y, Knecht AM, et al. White matter integrity declined over 6-months, but dance intervention improved integrity of the fornix of older adults .  Front Aging Neurosci . 2017;9:59. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2017.00059

The National Institute for Play. Science and human play .

Atchley RA, Strayer DL, Atchley P. Creativity in the wild: improving creative reasoning through immersion in natural settings .  PLoS One . 2012;7(12):e51474. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0051474

By Barbara Field Barbara is a writer and speaker who is passionate about mental health, overall wellness, and women's issues.

Creative writing in recovery from severe mental illness

Affiliation.

• 1 School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4059, Australia. [email protected]
• PMID: 23211053
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2012.00891.x

There is evidence that creative writing forms an important part of the recovery experience of people affected by severe mental illness. In this paper, we consider theoretical models that explain how creative writing might contribute to recovery, and we discuss the potential for creative writing in psychosocial rehabilitation. We argue that the rehabilitation benefits of creative writing might be optimized through focus on process and technique in writing, rather than content, and that consequently, the involvement of professional writers might be important. We describe a pilot workshop that deployed these principles and was well-received by participants. Finally, we make recommendations regarding the role of creative writing in psychosocial rehabilitation for people recovering from severe mental illness and suggest that the development of an evidence base regarding the effectiveness of creative writing is a priority.

Keywords: creative writing; recovery; rehabilitation; severe mental illness.

© 2012 The Authors; International Journal of Mental Health Nursing © 2012 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

• Cognition Disorders / nursing
• Cognition Disorders / psychology
• Cognition Disorders / rehabilitation
• Creativity*
• Middle Aged
• Psychotic Disorders / nursing*
• Psychotic Disorders / psychology
• Psychotic Disorders / rehabilitation
• Young Adult

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Ultimate Guide to Creative Writing Therapy (with Writing Therapy Prompts)

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Creative writing therapy, or therapeutic writing is a form of therapeutic intervention that uses writing as the tool to explore and express your thoughts, feelings and emotions. It’s also known as journal therapy – and it’s essentially the art of writing in a journal to heal yourself. 

Writing therapy can be a useful tool for people who struggle with mental health, have experienced trauma or grief, or are simply looking for a creative outlet to process their thoughts and feelings. Today we’re going to explore what creative writing therapy is, how it works, and the potential benefits of writing therapy. We’ll also share writing therapy prompts to help you get started and explore writing therapy today. 

Please keep in mind that there is no true substitute for seeing a licensed therapist, and if you feel like you could benefit from talking to someone and getting help with what you’re going through – you’re not alone! There are tons of incredible therapists out there to help you. Here at Made with Lemons we’re big advocates for therapy and if you’d like a more inside scoop to our own journey with therapy, join On Your Terms . It’s a wellness newsletter that shares a more inside look to our own wellness journey as well as tools to help you along yours. Learn more about On Your Terms here.

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What is Creative Writing Therapy?

Writing therapy, also known as therapeutic writing, is a form of creative and expressive therapy that involves writing about your personal experiences, thoughts and feelings. It can take many forms, including journaling, poetry, creative writing, letter writing, or memoirs. Writing therapy can be done individually or in a group setting. It can also be facilitated by a therapist, counselor or writing coach.

The purpose of creative writing therapy is to help you express and process your emotions in a safe and supportive environment. It’s helpful to be able to write out your thoughts and feelings that might be hard to articulate in other ways. 

You might also see therapeutic writing used to help explore issues that are difficult to discuss in traditionally talking therapy sessions. And when your therapist invites you to try writing therapy, it’s also used in conjunction with other forms of therapy, such as trauma-focused therapy, to enhance its effectiveness. 

An example of creative writing therapy could be writing a letter to a person who hurt you, and then shredding or burning the letter to release some of the hurt and anger. 

How Does Therapeutic Writing Work?

Writing therapy works by allowing individuals to express their thoughts and feelings in a way that is both private and creative. The act of writing can help you organize your thoughts and gain clarity on your emotions. Writing can also be a way to release pent-up emotions and relieve stress. 

For example, if you’re feeling stressed after a long day of work, taking a few moments to write down what’s stressing you out and allowing yourself to let it go, can help you have a calm and more relaxing evening. 

Writing therapy should be a truly non judgemental space. It’s a time to write without worrying about grammar, punctuation, or spelling. The goal here is to let words flow freely, without judgment or criticism. Creative writing therapy sessions can be structured or unstructured, and sometimes it’s helpful to use prompts or exercises to help you get started. (i.e. what in your life is bringing you the most anxiety, or writing a letter to your friend to express ___________ hurt you when they said that.)

Oftentimes we find it easier to write about our hurt, our pain and the experiences that caused that, as opposed to opening up to talk about those things. In this way, writing can be a way to explore and process complex emotions such as grief or anger in a safe and supportive environment, where no one can get hurt further by what’s being felt and expressed. 

Potential Benefits of Writing Therapy

Now let’s talk about some of the benefits of therapeutic writing. 

Improved mental health

Writing therapy can be a tool that helps you manage symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. You can use journaling therapy to express and process difficult emotions, which over time can lead to improved mental regulation and a better sense of control over your thoughts and feelings. 

Increased self-awareness

Creative writing therapy can help you gain a better insight into your thoughts and behaviors. By reflecting on your experiences through writing, you can start to identify patterns and gain an understanding of yourself. 

Stress relief

Therapeutic writing can be a way to relieve stress and reduce anxiety. Writing is often cathartic, allowing you to release pent-up emotions and start to feel relief from things that would otherwise feel overwhelming. 

Improved communication skills

Journal therapy can also help you improve your overall communication skills. When you practice expressing yourself through writing, you can develop more confidence to communicate more effectively in both your personal and professional relationships. In essence, writing your feelings can help you communicate them better when needed. 

Increased creativity

Lastly, creative writing therapy can also be a way to tap into your creativity and imagination. We talk a lot about your inner child around here, and journal therapy can be another helpful way you can interact with your inner child. Through writing you can explore new ideas and perspectives, leading to your own personal growth.

How to try Creative Writing Therapy Today

Now let’s talk about how you can try therapeutic writing for yourself today. These tips are going to help you get started with writing therapy from home, as a personal activity to help heal yourself. 

Set aside dedicated time for writing therapy

Like most self improvement and self care techniques, it helps to set aside a dedicated time to write regularly. We know this can be a challenging task, especially if you’re struggling with mental health issues or challenges in your life. A good place to start is to set aside a few minutes each evening to write and decompress from your day. It can be just 2 minutes before bed. Remember, therapeutic writing is a non judgemental activity, so the amount of time you dedicate isn’t important, it’s just important to show up for yourself. 

Find a quiet and comfortable space

Find a place that’s quiet and comfortable, and where you can write without interruptions. Some people find it helpful to create a writing ritual, such as lighting a candle or playing soft music to create a sense of calm and focus. Find what works for you, in a space where you can be alone for a few minutes. 

Choose a writing therapy prompt or topic

At the end of this guide we’re going to share writing therapy prompts to help you explore creative writing therapy and give you a starting point. You can also talk to your therapist to get prompts, or find some online. Prompts can be general, such as “write about what makes  you grateful or happy”, while others can be more specific, such as “write about a time that you felt overwhelmed.”

Write freely and without judgment

The most important thing about writing therapy is to write freely, without judging yourself. Allow yourself to write without worrying about grammar, punctuation or spelling. Don’t put a time limit on your writing, or feel like you have to write a certain number of words or pages. The goal here is to allow your thoughts and emotions to flow freely without any judgment at all. 

Write honestly and openly

Along with being judgment free, it’s also so important that you write honestly and openly. Writing therapy is a space for honesty and openness. This space is created for you to share your thoughts and emotions, even if they're difficult or uncomfortable to confront. Just be open to exploring them, and remember that you don’t have to share this with anyone, so it’s a space where you can be fully honest with yourself. 

Reflect on your writing

After writing, you can take a few moments to reflect on what you have written. It might even be helpful to come back to what you have written at another time, when you have a clear head or have left the emotions behind. This can help you consider the emotions and patterns that you have expressed. Doing this reflection can help you gain more insight into your thinking patterns and emotions for future sessions. 

Consider sharing your writing with a therapist or counselor

Lastly, consider sharing your writing with a therapist or counselor. They can help you process emotions and gain a deeper understanding of yourself. Sharing your writing can also help you feel less alone in your struggles and provide important validation for your experiences. 

20 Writing Therapy Prompts

• When do I feel the most like myself?
• How do I feel at this moment?
• What do I need more of in my life?
• What do I look forward to every day?
• What is a lesson that I had to learn recently?
• Based on my daily routine, where do I see myself in 5 years?
• What don’t I regret?
• What would make me happy right now?
• What has been the hardest thing to forgive myself for?
• What’s bothering me? And why?
• What do I love about myself?
• What are my priorities right now?
• What does my ideal day look like?
• What does my ideal morning look like? Evening?
• Make a list of 30 things that make you smile
• Make a gratitude list
• The words I’d like to live by are…
• I really wish others knew this about me…
• What always brings tears to my eyes?
• What do I need to get off my chest today?

Creative writing therapy can be a powerful tool for exploring and processing thoughts and emotions. When you set aside a dedicated time to write, and create a safe and supportive space for yourself, you can gain insight into your emotions and develop better tools to manage them. With practice and commitment, writing therapy can become a habit for your self care routine. 

If you’d like to build the habit of writing therapy in your own life, then we’d like to invite you to download our habit tracker. It’s super easy to use, beautifully designed and completely free. All you need is a google account to access it. Grab a copy of our habit tracker here.

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Writing for Mental Health

By Katie, a Writing Coach

January 2023

During the last few years, I kept hearing that writing can be a tool to improve mental health. Despite being someone who loves writing, whether it be writing creative fiction on my own or the academic writing that comes with being a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, I’ve never really thought of writing in that way. However, I’m a stressed-out and anxious individual that often struggles to maintain my mental health, so I thought I would take this blog post as an opportunity to see how I can put this passion of mine to use.

So, I decided to set myself a task for the next month: to write something small every single day, no exceptions. Specifically, to write a three-sentence story, like a tiny journal entry, about an aspect of my day or how I’m feeling. Those are the only rules that I’ve set — I want to see what strange and magical places my brain takes me in the next month and whether it helps me feel less anxious about the everyday goings-on in my life.

“Why three sentences?,” you may be asking yourself. Well, the official answer is that I want to dedicate one sentence to the beginning, middle, and end of each story. In every one, I want there to be something resembling a narrative arc. However, the second answer is also just that three sentences per day is probably the max that I can do without immediately getting burnt out. I don’t think that writing every day will be able to help my mental health if I spend the whole time feeling stressed about having to write every day.

I don’t know what to expect from this self-inflicted assignment. But, as I go, I’ll record not only my three-sentence stories, but also my general thoughts on this task. Let’s see what happens!

The notebook that I’ll be writing all my three-sentence stories in — just think of all the potential in these blank pages!

February 2023.

Some of my three-sentence stories will be below (including the date they were written), and my reflections on the assignment will be in italics. I haven’t included my entries from every single day, but rather I picked out my favorites. Strap in, you’re about to get quite the personal glimpse of the inside of my brain.

February 1: When I first put my contact lens in, the rainy world around me becomes astonishingly clear. Later on, I wait at the bus stop and stare at the wet grass and bright green three-leaf clovers that light up in the rain. As I marvel at their beauty, I think to myself, “I should look more.”

On this first day, I was surprised how quickly the idea for my three-sentence story came to me. I had my idea for it before I even left my apartment, and I found myself eager to scribble it down on the way to campus. So far, so good.

February 2: I feel my shoulders tense as I’m led into a classroom that I’ve never been in before. As I sit, I wish to myself that I didn’t have waves of anxiety in new places. Maybe someday.

February 5: I let her in, then retreat to my own room. For as long as she’s here, I stay in there, trying to remain quiet. I never thought I would feel so trapped in my own home.

Before I started this assignment, I imagined myself wanting to write about small things that brought me joy. These two days surprised me because when I sat down to write, the first events that came to mind involved the negative emotions that I had experienced throughout the day. While they’re often hard to reflect upon (and even harder to post online for random strangers to read), these days served as a reminder to me that part of taking care of my mental health is thinking about the bad along with the good.

February 6: I put my book down and stare at the ceiling, just letting some time pass. The ceiling fan above me is a different color than I remembered. I can’t help but wonder to myself: did it change, or did I?

February 9: I stare at the greens in the painting: the stairs, the flowers, the walls. They remind me of a place, of a specific feeling. Then I realize — they remind me of home.

These last two entries helped remind me of the importance of reflection. While a lot of the inspiration for these short stories are coming from random, passing moments in my day, these two came from moments where I specifically sat down and thought for a longer period of time. I don’t think I would have been able to fully express the conclusions that I came to without taking that time for reflection. Guess I should set aside more time for reflecting!

February 10: I don’t have any ideas today. I just keep drawing a blank. Maybe I’ll think of something.

“Why did I do this to myself?” was on my mind this day. As the entry suggests, I was flat-out of ideas and feeling discouraged about the thought of having to reflect on my day. Sometimes these bad, uncreative days happen, and I just had to accept that. But no worries — I bounced right back.

February 12: Trix finally settles in, a warm bundle of fur sitting on top of me. She falls asleep, and soon my legs start to grow numb. But it doesn’t bother me in the least, because there’s a cat in my lap.

February 13: My mom and I got to the mall too early and decided to waste time by walking around Barnes and Noble. The two of us walk from table to table, pointing out the books we’ve read and the ones we want to read. Time flies.

February 15: I hear a gasp come from someone walking toward me, and I’m pulled out of my reverie. They approach me with bright eyes, like I’m someone they look up to and are actually excited to see. I didn’t know I was that person to them.

These last couple stories remind me of how important the people (and animals) we surround ourselves with are to our mental health. For almost three days in a row, my mood and health was marginally improved by those around me. I’m realizing that it’s vital to stop and ask myself how the people I’m surrounded by impact the way that I think and the actions that I take, whether that impact is conscious or subconscious.

February 18: To escape into another world, I flip open a book. The pages breathe a new sort of happiness into me. It is these hours that I feel truly alive.

February 21: I get called to the front of the room, and I spend far more time up there than I expected. I stumble at times, but try to be frank and honest with everyone in the class. At the end, they applaud me.

February 22: As I chop carrots, she sits on a stool behind me and tells me about everything going on in her life. As she rolls meatballs, I stand to the side and tell her about everything going on in mine. It’s been too long.

These three entries remind me that things both big and small have an effect on our mental health. Throughout this process, I felt inspired to write about the big things that shaped, made, or broke my day, but I was also inspired to write about small moments that I might have otherwise found to be inconsequential.

February 24: It has been a day of changing emotions. First, a jubilant happiness, then a resigned indifference, then the burst that comes with shock. Now, at the end of the day, I only crave silence.

This entry was a nice reminder that it’s normal to have roller-coaster days. Sometimes, it can be easy to lean into the chaos of roller-coaster days and feel overwhelmed or like I’m being overdramatic. During these times, I’m trying to remember that every emotion that I feel is valid and that it’s important to reflect on why I’m feeling the way I am.

February 27: Today, I take time to revisit something that I haven’t done in a while. As I do so, I wonder why I stopped. Am I the same person that I used to be?

In this last entry, I contemplated the changes in my life throughout the last few years — a daunting and terrifying thought for many, to be sure. Even though I wrote this story with a specific tone in mind, I realized after writing it that my tone could be interpreted in a variety of different ways, whether it be someone who is anxious about changes or excited about them. That’s the beauty in words on a screen — they can be interpreted in so many different ways and can open doors to explore new perspectives.

A full page of my notebook with some bonus entries.

Well, the month is over, and it’s time for my final reflections. Were there times where I loved sitting down and writing my daily story? Yes. Were there also times that I sighed in exasperation and rued the day that I decided to do this activity? Yes.

But really, I do feel like my small writings helped me express how I was feeling most days. It can be easy to go without reflection or without sitting down and just thinking about my mental health (especially on busy days), but forcing myself to take some time daily to focus on me made a big difference. I feel like I became more self-aware than usual and more in tune with my own emotional state. I got better at monitoring what was good and bad about my days and what caused these changes, which helped me act more intentionally and in a way that is beneficial to my mental health. Lastly, I feel like I just learned a lot about myself and my health that I had not previously known.

This activity also helped me branch out into a genre of writing that I had never tried before — I’ve never been one to keep a journal, so this kind of expressive writing was completely new to me. I definitely found it challenging at times, especially how personal this style of writing can be. When I was picking which entries to put in this blog post, I had to filter through a lot of stories that felt super intimate to me and that I didn’t want to share with a wider audience. However, I really do love many of these more personal entries — they were emotionally difficult to write, but probably the most rewarding to reflect and read back on. They made me dig deep and find new ways to express how I was feeling, which I think not only improved my mental health but my skills as a writer. I feel like I’ve learned how to express myself in a more concise way and in language that I may not always use, which I predict will transfer to me writing academic, non-reflective pieces more succinctly. I also feel like my ability to write something impactful in a small space has improved — which should help me express my arguments in academic papers in a more powerful yet still condensed way.

Moral of the story (or, in this case, blog post): Challenge yourself as a writer, and try new formats that you’ve never used before. Writing is a form of expression whether you’re writing a literary analysis, an application essay, a lab report, a policy brief, or a three-sentence story. So, use it to express yourself! And maybe you’ll also learn something about yourself along the way.

Creativity, Wellbeing and Mental Health Practice pp 101–116 Cite as

Creative Writing, Literature, Storytelling and Mental Health Practice

• Tony Gillam 4  
• First Online: 01 March 2018

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture ((PASCC))

This chapter draws on the author’s own experience of writing and of facilitating a creative writing group for service users. It provides an overview of therapeutic uses of creative writing, including Pennebaker’s work on expressive writing. It reviews evidence for the use of literature, creative writing and poetry in mental health care, exploring bibliotherapy, therapeutic writing and poetry therapy as well as narrative biography. Creative writing is examined as a tool for promoting both the recovery of service users and the professional development of mental health practitioners, including a discussion of the value of storytelling in mental health nursing. The chapter concludes by considering the role of journaling and blogging and the overlapping areas of therapeutic writing, literary writing, autobiography and writing for publication.

• Facilitating creative writing groups
• Therapeutic uses of creative writing
• Pennebaker and expressive writing
• Literature, creative writing and poetry in mental health
• Bibliotherapy
• Therapeutic writing
• Poetry therapy
• Narrative biography
• Professional development
• Storytelling in mental health nursing
• Autobiography
• Writing for publication

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“Écrire, c’est une façon de parler sans être interrompu.” (Jules Renard , 1895.)

I have created a blog – to be found at https://tonygillam.blogspot.co.uk / – to publish material supplementary to this book and which, I hope, will offer an ongoing forum for those interested in creativity, wellbeing and mental health practice.

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Gillam, T. (2018). Creative Writing, Literature, Storytelling and Mental Health Practice. In: Creativity, Wellbeing and Mental Health Practice. Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74884-9_7

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115+ Writing Exercises for Emotional Exploration

By: Author Valerie Forgeard

Posted on August 17, 2023

Categories Self Improvement

Picture this: you’re sitting quietly, pen in hand, preparing to explore your mind. With our guide on ‘Writing Prompts for Mental Health’, you’ll discover the healing power of journaling.

We’ve researched and analyzed various methods just for you. So, don’t worry if you’re stuck; we’ve got plenty of strategies to help overcome that block.

Get ready to incorporate writing into your self-care routine – it’s easier than you think!

Key Takeaways

• 115 Writing Prompts for Mental Well-being: Delve into introspection and nurture your mental well-being with tailored prompts. Harness the power of writing as a therapeutic tool for self-awareness and healing.
• Writing prompts serve as a powerful tool for promoting mental health and emotional well-being.
• Journaling with writing prompts allows for deep exploration of emotions and thoughts, leading to stress reduction and improved mood.
• Incorporating artistic expression into journaling enhances therapeutic value and aids in emotional resilience.
• Writing prompts promote self-awareness and self-reflection, providing a mirror to the inner world and aiding in self-exploration.

115 Writing Prompts for Mental Well-Being

In a world that often prioritizes hustle over hush, many find solace in penning down their thoughts. Writing can serve as a mirror, reflecting our deepest emotions, fears, hopes, and aspirations. The act itself is therapeutic, providing clarity, closure, and even catharsis. “Inner Reflections” offers a collection of thought-provoking prompts, specifically crafted to guide you through the intricate tapestry of mental well-being. Whether you’re seeking to better understand yourself, nurture your mental health, or simply engage in meaningful introspection, these prompts are your stepping stones to inner peace and resilience. Dive in, and let the words flow.

• When was a time you felt truly at peace? Describe the moment in detail.
• What are your personal signs that you may be struggling with your mental health?
• Describe a healthy coping mechanism that helps you through tough times.
• What does your ideal safe space look and feel like? Describe it.
• What does self-care mean to you? List 5 ways you like to practice it.
• What affirmations help ground or motivate you when you’re struggling?
• How do you show compassion for yourself in difficult times?
• What brings you hope when things feel bleak?
• List 10 small joys that boost your mood.
• What quote resonates with you when you feel anxious or sad?
• When have you felt your strongest and most confident? Describe the memory.
• What simple pleasure brings you joy and comfort?
• What energizes and uplifts you?
• What calms and grounds you?
• When have you overcome a mental health challenge that seemed daunting?
• What healthy habits support your mental wellbeing?
• What creative outlets help process or express difficult emotions for you?
• Who is part of your mental health support system? What do they do that’s helpful?
• What small steps could you take to be kinder to yourself every day?
• How do you reframe negative thinking into a more balanced perspective?
• List things that help distract you from anxious thoughts.
• What brings meaning and purpose to your life?
• When have you advocated for your mental health needs?
• What psychological or emotional breakthroughs have shaped your growth?
• How has therapy or counseling been helpful for you?
• What misconceptions about mental illness have you encountered? How can we challenge stigma?
• How can we normalize conversations about mental health in everyday life?
• When has someone’s kindness or understanding uplifted you in a difficult time?
• What qualities do you appreciate most about yourself?
• How can you set healthy boundaries while still being kind?
• What self-limiting belief could you try rewriting with something more compassionate?
• When has nature been restorative or healing for you? Describe a memory.
• What brings you feelings of acceptance and belonging?
• How can you cultivate more self-acceptance and patience for flaws or setbacks?
• What helps you feel gently held during sad or lonely times?
• What healthy sleep habits help your mental health?
• When have you found the courage to be vulnerable about your mental health struggles?
• How could you extend more understanding and compassion to others facing mental health challenges?
• What LGBTQ+ ally resources could you share to support mental wellbeing in that community?
• How has stigma around mental illness affected you or loved ones? How can we change this?
• What self-care practices help you cope with stress or anxiety?
• When have you felt dismissed, misunderstood or judged for mental health struggles?
• How could mental health professionals be more inclusive, validating and empowering?
• What qualities help a therapist support you effectively?
• How can you balance self-compassion with motivation for growth?
• What brings you feelings of inner calm, safety and peace? Describe in detail.
• How can journaling or expressive writing support mental wellbeing?
• What mental health misconceptions existed in your family or culture? How have your views evolved?
• How can we work together to challenge mental health stigma in schools and workplaces?
• What self-care practices help you through depression or boost your mood?
• How has mental illness impacted your family or loved ones? How has it shaped your perspective?
• When have you felt empowered to take control of your mental health?
• How can we show compassion for behaviors driven by mental health struggles?
• What mental health advocacy and education makes you feel hopeful?
• What key conversations about mental health do young people need today? How can we support them?
• Share a time you felt genuinely appreciated and accepted for who you are.
• How can family and friends thoughtfully support someone battling mental illness?
• What brings you feelings of inner confidence and self-acceptance?
• How has therapy helped equip you with mental health coping tools?
• How can we work together to make mental health resources more accessible?
• What self-care actions could you take today to be kinder to yourself?
• How can you create a haven of peace within yourself to draw strength from?
• When have you overcome mental health obstacles that once seemed insurmountable?
• What healthy emotional outlets help you process sadness or anger?
• How has mental illness shaped your worldview or life path?
• How can we make mental health a normal part of everyday conversation?
• What inspiring advocates are reducing mental health stigma? How are they making a difference?
• List small ways your friends or family have shown mental health support or understanding. Appreciate these gestures.
• Name 3 positive traits, strengths or qualities you have.
• When has nature, creativity or self-expression been healing for you emotionally?
• What mental health misconceptions persist in your community? How can you kindly challenge them?
• How is mental health addressed in your workplace? What changes could reduce stigma?
• List small pleasures or activities that boost your mood.
• How have psychologists helped you gain insight into behaviors or thought patterns?
• What self-compassion mantras help you through dark times?
• How has depression or anxiety impacted your life and perspective?
• What keeps you feeling meaningfully connected with others?
• How have psychiatrists, medications or treatments improved your mental health?
• What stigmatizing language about mental illness have you used or heard? How you reword this more positively?
• How can you kindly address a loved one showing signs of mental health struggles?
• What helps you feel safe and soothed when you feel panicked or anxious?
• How can you be gentle with yourself when you make a mistake or fall short?
• How has depression or anxiety impacted your friendships and relationships?
• How can you cultivate more self-acceptance for life’s ups and downs?
• What mental health advocacy efforts make you feel encouraged and hopeful?
• What key conversations about mental health do men need today? How can we support them?
• How has grief, trauma or loss impacted your mental health? What helped with healing?
• How can we make mental health resources more accessible in underserved communities?
• What self-care or support has been most helpful through your mental health journey?
• How have you overcome mental health shame, stigma or discrimination? What did you learn?
• What brings you a sense of meaning, purpose or spiritual wellbeing?
• How can society better understand complex mental health conditions like bipolar disorder?
• What self-love mantras help you cultivate kindness and compassion for yourself?
• How has mental illness affected your personal growth and resilience?
• How can peers, coworkers and community members provide better mental health support?
• What mental health misconceptions did you have in the past? How has your thinking evolved?
• What key mental health conversations need to happen to support people of color?
• How has art, music or creativity helped your healing process during mental health struggles?
• What self-care practices bring you solace, restoration and strength?
• How has therapy or counseling been helpful in your mental health journey?
• What mental health advocacy efforts make you feel inspired and uplifted?
• How can we make mental health care affordable and accessible for all?
• Share ways your loved ones have supported you through mental health challenges.
• What self-care actions help boost your mood when you feel down?
• How can journalists report on mental illness more compassionately?
• What triggers your anxiety? What healthy coping mechanisms help?
• How have psychiatric medications or treatments benefited your mental health?
• How can society better understand conditions like OCD, PTSD and personality disorders with compassion?
• What gives you hope when facing mental health obstacles or setbacks?
• How has mental illness shaped your purpose or career path?
• What myths about suicide need to be dispelled with compassion and facts?
• How can teachers better support students’ mental health needs?

Understanding the Power of Writing for Mental Health

It’s crucial to understand that writing can serve as a powerful tool for mental health improvement. You might be wondering, how does it work? The magic lies within therapeutic storytelling and writing therapy.

Research indicates these methods give you the power to articulate complex emotions and experiences, fostering a greater understanding of your inner world.

Through therapeutic storytelling, you craft narratives about your life events. This not only provides an emotional outlet but also helps in redefining perspectives on past traumas.

Writing therapy, on the other hand, offers a non-judgmental space where you confront feelings instead of burying them deep inside.

The Role of Journaling in Emotional Well-being

As you delve deeper into the realm of mental health, it’s important to consider the potent benefits journaling can bring to your emotional well-being.

Research highlights how this simple yet profound practice serves as a powerful tool for emotional release; providing an outlet for pent-up feelings and offering a safe space to self-reflect.

Exploring these techniques not only promotes self-awareness but also allows you to analyze your thoughts and emotions in a meaningful way, thus empowering you towards achieving greater mental clarity.

Journaling Benefits

Journaling’s been proven to have numerous benefits for mental health, including stress reduction and improved mood. Mindful journaling, particularly, allows you to dive deep into your emotions and thoughts. It’s an act of self-care that encourages you to slow down, examine your feelings objectively, and make sense of them.

Artistic expression in journaling further enhances its therapeutic value. Drawing or doodling alongside writing might unlock layers of emotions that words alone can’t express. You’re not just documenting your thoughts but also actively processing them, which aids emotional resilience.

In essence, the practice isn’t about perfect grammar or impressive vocabulary—it’s about understanding yourself better. So embrace this liberating journey of self-discovery and healing—you’ll be surprised by how much it enriches your mental wellness.

Emotional Release Techniques

You’ll find that incorporating emotional release techniques in your journaling routine can significantly help in dealing with stress and negative emotions. Research shows these methods bring out hidden feelings, leading to a sense of relief and clarity.

Here are three effective techniques:

• Art Therapy : This isn’t just about creating beautiful art, it’s about expressing what you’re feeling inside. Draw or paint your emotions; no artistic skills required.
• Mindful Meditation : This technique helps you focus on the present moment, letting go of past regrets and future worries.
• Writing Prompts : They guide your thoughts towards certain areas, helping you pour out bottled-up feelings.

Promoting Self-awareness

In this next phase, let’s explore how journaling can promote self-awareness in your life. With mindful messaging as our guide, you’ll find that writing out your thoughts and feelings provides a mirror to your inner world. It’s not just about venting; it’s an analytical process where you dissect your emotions, identify patterns, and gain insights.

Consider integrating art therapy into your journaling routine. Drawings or paintings can express what words sometimes can’t and provide a different perspective. Research shows that the combination of writing and visual expression enhances self-exploration and understanding.

How to Use Writing Prompts for Self-Reflection

Using writing prompts can greatly assist you in your journey of self-reflection. When you’re struggling with how to express your thoughts, feelings, or experiences, these prompts serve as a guide. They pave the way for self-expression techniques that allow you to delve deeper into your psyche.

The ‘Mindful Narrative’ approach involves weaving together an understanding of your past and present, analyzing patterns and drawing meaningful conclusions. It’s not just about jotting down what happened today or yesterday—it’s about connecting those events in a mindful way.

The Connection Between Creative Writing and Stress Relief

Now that you’ve understood how to use writing prompts for self-reflection, let’s delve into the connection between creative writing and stress relief.

Research shows that Writing therapy and Therapeutic storytelling can significantly reduce your stress levels. Unleashing your creativity through words not only distracts you from the cause of your stress but also provides a safe space to express hidden emotions.

• Writing therapy allows you to release pent-up feelings and clear the mental clutter.
• Therapeutic storytelling helps in understanding complex emotions by weaving them into narratives.
• Creative writing exercises like poetry or journaling encourage mindful observation, thus promoting relaxation.

Analyzing these aspects, it’s evident that harnessing your inner storyteller is more therapeutic than one might initially perceive.

Exploring Different Types of Mental Health Writing Prompts

Let’s explore different types of therapeutic cues for self-expression, specifically designed to boost one’s emotional well-being. Customizing prompts is crucial to this quest. Why? Because everyone’s emotional landscape is unique and deserves personalized attention.

Therapeutic storytelling can also be an effective tool in this respect – it gives voice to your deepest feelings and experiences.

Think about it: you’re not just writing; you’re navigating your emotional labyrinth, making sense of what’s within. So, whether you’re reflecting on past experiences or projecting future aspirations, the key is personalization. Your writing prompts should resonate with your current state of mind and cater to your healing needs.

Remember that these tools are here to help guide you towards better mental health, so don’t hesitate to modify them as needed. You’ve got the power!

Writing Prompts for Anxiety Management

You’re about to delve into therapeutic cues specifically designed for managing your anxiety better. Research shows that techniques such as anxiety visualization and therapeutic storytelling can be incredibly effective at easing your anxious mind.

Anxiety visualization involves creating a mental image of what’s causing your stress, then mentally transforming it into something less intimidating. For instance, you could imagine your anxiety as a large wave, then visualize it shrinking down to a small ripple.

Therapeutic storytelling can work similarly. It can encourage you to craft narratives about overcoming challenges or fears, aiding in reframing the way you see your anxieties. By focusing on triumph rather than stress in these stories, you gently guide your mind towards more optimistic perspectives.

Depression and the Therapeutic Impact of Writing

Shifting gears, we’ll explore how penning down your thoughts and feelings can serve as a powerful tool in combating depression. Research reveals that writing, particularly Depression Narratives, has been effective in managing depressive symptoms.

When you engage in Art Therapy Writing, it’s like conversing with yourself – identifying the triggers behind your emotions and mapping out possible solutions. This process enhances self-awareness which fosters healing.

Moreover, it isn’t just about venting; it’s also about restructuring those bleak narratives into more positive ones. By actively decoding your experiences through writing, you’re not just releasing pent-up emotions but also reshaping your perspective towards them.

Promoting Positive Thinking Through Writing Activities

You’re likely no stranger to the relentless grip of negative thinking. But have you ever considered the power of identifying these patterns and using transformative writing exercises to combat them?

Research has consistently shown that we can rewrite our narratives, replacing harmful thought cycles with positive affirmations.

Let’s dive deep into this fascinating subject and explore strategies for harnessing your own pen to promote positive thinking and mental wellbeing.

Identifying Negative Thought Patterns”

It’s crucial to recognize when you’re falling into negative thought patterns, as they can greatly impact your mental health. These are often triggered by cognitive distortions, which tend to cloud the mind with irrational thoughts and beliefs.

Keep these three steps in mind:

• Identify : Be mindful of your internal dialogue. If it’s predominantly negative or self-deprecating, that’s a sign.
• Analyze : Reflect on why these thoughts are recurring. What triggers them? How accurate are they?
• Reframe : Challenge these thoughts and replace them with more rational ones.

Practicing mindfulness writing exercises can also help in this process, providing an outlet for self-expression while enhancing awareness about your thought patterns.

Transformative Writing Exercises

Transformative writing exercises can be an effective tool in challenging and reframing negative thought patterns. When you’re stuck in a loop of pessimistic thinking, narrative therapy methods like expressive writing can serve as a lifeline. Studies indicate that this form of self-expression allows you to dissect your emotions, providing clarity and relief.

In the process, you’re not just venting; you’re actively engaging with your thoughts. You analyze them from different perspectives, which opens up new ways of understanding yourself. It’s like being both the narrator and listener of your own story – creating an empathetic dialogue within yourself.

Tips to Maximize the Benefits of Mental Health Writing Prompts

Consider starting your mental health journaling with a positive affirmation to set the tone. Your prompt selection is crucial in therapeutic writing, as it directs your thoughts and emotions towards healing. Opt for prompts that offer introspection, allowing you to delve deeper into your feelings. This process isn’t just cathartic; studies show its potential in improving overall mental health.

Analyzing your emotional responses to these prompts helps identify triggers or stressors negatively affecting you. This self-analysis can be an insightful tool for growth and coping strategies. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all in journaling—it’s about finding what works for you personally.

Therapeutic writing is a journey of self-discovery and healing—your chosen prompts should facilitate this process effectively.

Case Studies: Healing Through Writing

You’ll find numerous case studies demonstrating the healing power of putting pen to paper. As a proven technique, Narrative Therapy harnesses this transformative potential in treating various mental health issues.

One pivotal study demonstrated how Expressive Writing can significantly reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Participants were asked to write about their traumas for 15-20 minutes over four consecutive days, and the results were remarkable. Researchers found that those who engaged in this therapeutic activity exhibited fewer PTSD symptoms compared to those who didn’t.

These findings aren’t isolated; similar patterns are seen with depression, anxiety, and grief. So take heart! Your expressive writing journey isn’t just cathartic—it’s backed up by science too. It’s more than therapy; it’s a pathway towards healing.

Overcoming Writer’s Block in Mental Health Journaling

You’re not alone if you’ve ever hit a wall when journaling for mental health; it’s a common challenge many face.

We’ll delve into these issues, identifying the specific hurdles that might be hindering your progress.

From there, we’ll explore various research-backed strategies to unblock your thoughts and get back to obtaining the therapeutic benefits of journaling.

Identifying Journaling Challenges

Identifying your journaling challenges can be tough, but it’s an important step in improving your mental health.

Journaling obstacles may stem from various sources including the mental health stigma that often surrounds discussions of emotional wellbeing.

• Lack of Time: You may feel like you’re too busy to commit to a regular journaling routine.
• Fear of Confrontation: Writing about your feelings might be intimidating due to fear of confronting uncomfortable emotions.
• Mental Health Stigma: Society’s negative attitudes towards mental health issues can make it difficult for you to openly express your feelings even in a private journal.
• Absence of Prompt Ideas: Without clear direction, starting a journal entry becomes challenging.

Recognizing these hurdles is crucial as it paves the way towards overcoming them and enhancing your emotional wellness journey through journaling.

Strategies for Unblocking

It’s essential to develop strategies for unblocking and overcoming your journaling challenges. Engaging in creative catharsis can be a profound method. You might feel stuck when you face the blank page, but remember, it’s not about perfect prose; it’s about expressing yourself freely.

Another strategy is therapeutic storytelling. Research shows that crafting stories from our experiences can help organize complex emotions and foster understanding. It doesn’t have to be an epic tale— even small anecdotes have power.

Ultimately, don’t pressure yourself to write every day or fill pages upon pages— consistency matters more than volume. Be patient with yourself, take deep breaths, and recognize that each word you write contributes to your mental health journey.

Incorporating Writing Into Your Mental Health Routine

Incorporating writing into your mental health routine can help you process emotions more effectively. Research shows that techniques like Writing Therapy and Mindful Scribbling offer significant emotional benefits. Think of it as decluttering your mind, allowing for deeper analysis of thoughts and feelings.

Writing Therapy is a structured method where you express yourself through words to gain insights into your mental state. On the other hand, Mindful Scribbling lets you freely jot down thoughts as they come, fostering mindfulness and present moment awareness.

Additional Resources for Mental Health Writing Prompts

You’ll find plenty of additional resources that can guide you in expressing your thoughts and feelings through the written word. These resources aid in prompt curation and offer a comprehensive mental health vocabulary, which are essential tools for this journey.

• Visualize an overflowing library, filled with books, journals, and articles on mental health.
• Imagine workshops geared towards teaching effective ways to articulate feelings.
• Picture online forums offering support from individuals who also use writing as a therapeutic tool.
• Envision mobile apps providing guided prompts tailored to your emotional state.

You’ve explored the power of writing for mental health and seen its impact firsthand through case studies. Now, it’s your turn to conquer that writer’s block and delve into self-reflection. Let creativity wash away stress and remember, it’s not just a pen and paper; it’s a tool in your mental wellness routine.

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Write Mind, a creative writing workshop to improve mental health

Christina Szuch , an embedded clinician for the College of Arts and Sciences, started Write Mind, a creative writing workshop for the Counseling and Consultation Service (CCS) , to help student attendees explore the mental health benefits of creative writing. 

Szuch is an alumna of the Department of English where she studied creative writing as an undergraduate. Her love for reading and writing began at an early age. In fact, she earned a lot of Pizza Hut Book It! personal pan pizzas for being a young, avid reader. 

“I was one of those kids who was constantly reading,” says Szuch. “I think that naturally evolved into wanting to write. I still have an ‘illustrated’ book I wrote at around six years old about sentient foods going about their daily lives, managing whatever interpersonal conflicts sentient foods deal with.”  

Szuch enjoyed all the classes on fiction, poetry, creative writing and screenwriting offered by the English department. After graduating with her BA, she now has “almost a full bookshelf of poems and stories by people I know personally.” She adds, “this year I also started a routine of taking a walk and then reading in a coffee shop every Friday, so I’m trying to keep up that Book It! energy even without the free pizza.”  

With her Master of Social Work from Ohio State, Szuch became a full-time clinician working closely with students. Szuch likes to include clients’ unique strengths and interests in treatments. She is also excited to explore the role of creative writing, bibliotherapy and other art forms in mental health. “There’s research coming out on things like therapeutic writing groups and bibliotherapy for adults using fiction books and series rather than the traditional self-help books you’d probably think of,” she says.  

Szuch mentioned that researchers also study how tabletop roleplaying games, such as Dungeons & Dragons, can be used therapeutically. There is a potential to incorporate every form of storytelling, including creative writing, in mental health treatments. 

“I’ve also seen how, anecdotally, a lot of people including myself find comfort in expressing and processing emotions through their art,” Szuch says. “We can let out feelings we might not feel comfortable showing in everyday life, find characters we relate to or admire, or maybe just escape our own anxieties and spend time in a fictional universe for a bit.” 

One student organization Szuch was involved in during her time as an undergraduate, The Grove – A Creative Writing Community, inspired her to develop the first–of–its–kind therapeutic writing workshop on campus, Write Mind. She elaborates, “The Grove had a similar structure of prompts, freewriting time and discussion. I used that general structure but added time to read examples by well-known writers...and the psychoeducational components like discussing benefits of writing and where students can go for further mental health resources.” 

Each Write Mind workshop lasts 45 to 60 minutes, and students don’t need any prior writing experience to join. The workshop starts with an introduction and a short discussion about wellness tips. After that, students can read short pieces of writing provided by Szuch or look up pieces they find inspiring. Szuch then provides optional prompts based on the reading and encourages students to write for about 20 minutes on mental health concepts.  

“Each prompt is based on a different short piece of writing,” she adds. “For example, we read the lyrics to Bo Burnham ’s  That Funny Feeling  and tried to create a list of imagery about our pandemic experience using all 5 senses, or read a Hanif Abdurraqib poem and wrote about a childhood memory brought up by a song.” 

Szuch stresses that there’s no pressure to finish or share the writing if students don’t feel comfortable. “I tell students that if they take away nothing else, I at least want them to see what it’s like to dedicate 20 minutes in the middle of a busy week to doing something creative just for fun without pressure or expectations,” Szuch says.   

Most participants are part of the First Year Success Series (FYSS) or Second-Year Transformational Experience Project (STEP). Students in both programs can attend any CCS workshop as one of their campus activities. Sometimes, Szuch sees a few engineering and business students visiting the workshop. 

Szuch says her favorite part of the workshop is getting to know different types of art students are into and how they incorporate creativity into their lives, such as cooking, knitting, weekly museum trips, photography, dance and music. “Another cool thing is that I’ve had a few students talk to me at the end and ask about ways to get involved with writing communities in Columbus because it’s something they want to do more of,” she says.  

Kurt Steelman , a student in STEP, finds the experience “extraordinarily relaxing” and hopes to make creative writing part of their future routine after experiencing first-hand the benefits of creative writing. 

“It felt good to come out of the session with a distinct feeling of accomplishment,” Steelman writes in their reflection. “Although I don’t think I wrote anything worth a prize, it was still cool to have a piece of work to call my own. In the future, I will certainly look to creative writing as a way to relax and provide me with something other than a traditional job to work on.” 

Szuch plans to run Write Mind in the coming autumn semester and encourages students to check out or request a workshop as part of student organizations, classes or events on the CCS website .  

Reflecting on her journey from a book lover and writer to a mental health clinician, Szuch concludes, “Art can’t always be a complete substitute for mental health treatment, but I do see it as a supplement.” 

By Han Chen

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• v.49(1); Jan-Mar 2007

Creativity and mental health: A profile of writers and musicians

K. s. pavitra.

Sridhar Nursing Home, Shimoga - 577204, India

C. R. Chandrashekar

* Department of Psychiatry, NIMHANS, Bangalore, India

Partha Choudhury

Creativity and its link with mental health have always been much speculated about. However there have been a handful of methodologically sound studies to clearly establish the relationship between creativity and mental health. The objective of the study therefore was to examine the psychiatric morbidity stress profile, coping skills and personality profile in creative versus non-creative populations. Forty writers, 40 musicians and 40 controls chosen after randomization, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria constituted the sample of the study. All the subjects were administered GHQ-28; SCAN for all GHQ positives (and 10% of GHQ-ves), Perceived stress scale and coping check list and NEO-FFI. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 11.0 version. Pearson's correlation, Chi-square and ANOVA one-way tests were used. The present study corroborated the findings of earlier studies in 70's and 80's that there was no difference between creative and non-creative groups in terms of mental illness and stress profile. The writers differed significantly from the other two groups on religious and faith domain of coping skills. The two creative groups had similar personality characteristics and scored significantly high on all dimensions compared to the non-creative group.

Creative imagination, creative motives and creative products are unique to human beings and are the source of their cultural achievement. Creativity is an ability to make new combinations and it is one of the most highly valued of human qualities. Creativity may prove to be the key to success or failure in human beings' quest for knowledge, in their journey beyond the bounds of the sure and seen and in exploration of the unknown. A creative thinker is always trying to create something new and this involves a great amount of unconscious rearrangement of symbols. In general there is a great recognition in today's living across the globe to be creative in one's everyday activity.

Though creativity has been of interest over the years; there has been no universal acceptance of its definition or of methods for its measurement. There are many definitions of creativity. However the characteristics of creative thinking given by Goertzels[ 1 ] appear relevant here.

• The product has novelty and value either for the thinker or the culture.
• The thinking is unconventional.
• It is highly motivated and persistent or of great intensity and
• The problem was initially vague and undefined so that part of the task was to formulate the problem itself.

There have been 3 distinct stages in the conceptualization of creativity. From prehistory until well into the medival period, it was generally considered to be a mysterious, supernatural process – a gift from the gods or from God, depending on the religion or the culture (Greek, Hindu, Egyptian, Incan V/s Moslem, Jewish or Christian). As the Renaissance led to humanism, the concept of inherited genius took over. Gradually psychological and contextual influences received more recognition

Creative Individual

Since ancient times, the observation has been made that extremely creative individuals were unusual in many ways and it has been suggested that psychological processes akin to those observed in madness might be an important component of the special abilities of genius. In the research into the connection between creativity and psychopathology a theoretical connection has been drawn between creative functioning and unusual or regressed thinking processes,[ 2 ] affective symptoms,[ 3 , 4 ] personality traits and values[ 2 , 4 ] and behavioural characteristics. Almost any extraordinary performance or creative achievement, then – whether it is in writing, music, poetry, philosophy, dance, art, sculpture or intellectual discovery – could be said to be the variants of the belief that there can be “no great genius without some touch of madness”. References to famous, emotionally disturbed artists, writers, poets, composers, scientists and philosophers – Vincent Van Gogh, Franz Kafka, Edward Munch, Ezra Pound, Delmore Schwartz, William Cowper, Ernest Hemingway, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eugene O'Neill, Charles Darwin, Fyodor Dostoievsky, Robert Lowell, Sylvia Plath and others are cited widely in the literature. Likewise, results of various studies and anecdotal reports suggest an increased rate of schizophrenia, manic-depressive disorder, depression, personality disorder or alcoholism in creative individuals. While it is quite clear that emotional instability is usually detrimental to creativity, it also may be advantageous. It may provide the intense motivation, the conviction, egocentrism, the unconventionality, the imagination and the inspiration so necessary for new discoveries and breakthroughs. It may also allow the artist, writer, poet, composer and scientist to escape the powerful social and cultural constraints that mostly favor conformity and convention. What remains to be determined is just what types of psychopathology inhibit or facilitate what types of creative activity.

Whether one needs to “be sick to be creative”? Can one lead a peaceful and pleasant life and still have hopes of being innovative? Or does not have to experience abnormal extremes of some sort?

A basic difficulty is that despite the intriguing nature of such reports, the relationship between creativity and insanity may be apocryphal. Many other artists, writers, poets, composers and scientists presumably have led reasonably “sane”, emotionally stable lives – William Shakespeare, Albert Einstein, Jules Henri Poincare, Wealt Whitman, William James, Aldous Huxley, Carl Jung, Camille Pissarro, Niels Bohr, Duke Ellington and the like. Reports, such as the Stanford 35 – year follow-up study of over 1,000 “geniuses”, Ellis' psycho biographical study of eminent men, the MacKinnon study of creativity in architects and others, suggest a connection between creativity and mental health rather than mental illness.

These conflicting results leave many key questions unanswered. Is mental illness essential or merely incidental to the creative process? Do psychoses, mood disturbances, intoxications or severe characterlogical defects serve as sources of inspiration, allowing innovators to perceive reality in novel ways or do they inhibit creativity? Do mental symptoms or emotional distress represent the consequence of creative activity – the price to be extracted for relentlessly pursuing the unknown as Carl Jung might claim – or the impetus for discovery and innovation? Are many artists and writers apt to rely on alcohol and drugs to still their overactive minds or to fuel their imaginations when they are feeling emotionally blocked and intellectually inhibited? Even more to the point, are certain types of individuals, with certain kinds of psychopathology, in combination with certain other talents and abilities and under certain circumstances more likely than other types of individuals to make scientific breakthroughs or important works of art?

While a great deal of attention has been paid to dysfunctional creative individual the healthy creative person is barely represented in the literature. It might prove worthwhile to look closely at the lives of creative person with less dramatic life history since they may serve as positive models others may emulate.

Art provides a “path to the sacred and spiritual, even in a profane and fragmented world”. We need to encourage creativity and creative people in our midst. We also need to find more effective ways, to prevent, treat and destigmatise mental illnesses of all kinds. We need both good art and good science. Science and art, creativity and mental illness may all be trivialized, however and we may do more harm than good to those “afflicted” with either creativity or mental illness if we promote romantic association that over-look best evidence.

Summing up, biographical studies offer impressive indications that eminent writers as a group suffer more problems than do other eminent creators or the general population. Despite the robustness of the statistics, they must be considered cautiously. Diagnoses have often been made posthumously using loose and inconsistent diagnostic criteria. In many cases the validity of a diagnosis of mental illness, alcoholism or suicide cannot be verified. In addition, solid statistical evidence of the extent of mental illness, alcoholism and suicide in the general population is still far from precise. Finally, it is possible that the creative persons with dramatic lives and early deaths are more likely to become eminent and have biographies written about them.

Hence this study was conceived in a manner to overcome earlier methodological flaws by having a randomized sample, a control group and studying different dimensions like psychopathology, personality profile, stress profile and coping skills using structured instruments and strict inclusion & exclusion criteria.

Aims and objectives

• To study the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in Creative population compared to a non-creative population.
• To study the stress level and coping skills in Creative population Compared to a l non-creative population.
• To study the personality profile in Creative population. compared to general non-creative population.
• Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity is not higher in creative people (musicians and writers) compared to non-creative people.
• Coping skills are better in creative population compared to non-creative people.
• There is no difference in the personality profile of creative people compared to non-creative people.
• There is no difference in the level of perceived in creative people compared to noncreative people.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Experimental group.

Forty writers and 40 musicians were recruited through randomization using lists in alphabetical order available in Karnataka Sangeeth Academy, Karnataka Sahitya Academy and Kannada and culture department. The lists consisted of 300 accomplished musicians and writers. Random numbered tables were used to choose the subjects with the help of the statistitian. The contact details were noted from the sources.

Control group

Forty subjects were chosen after ensuring exclusion criteria in the general population by the following method. One subject was chosen from every fourth house of forty experimental subjects after randomization. No matching was done.

Inclusion criteria

• Age range of 25 to 65 years
• Either sex.
• Active creative work in the last 5 years in the respective fields namely literature and music.
• Bangalore based writers and musicians with inclusion in the respective directories.
• Availability of a written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria for cases

• Current acute medical or neurological illness.
• Mental retardation
• Nonavailability of written informed consent.

Additional Exclusion criteria for controls

• Major regular creative activity (music/ dance/ painting/ theatre) as either a hobby or profession.

Instruments/tools

After randomization, the subjects were screened using a checklist for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The following instruments were used for the assessment after obtaining written informed consent (Appendix I).

• Sociodemographic data sheet (Developed for the current study).
• General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28)[ 5 ]
• SCAN 2.1 version (WHO1998.
• Perceived Stress Scale – PSS.[ 6 ]
• NEO-5 factor Inventory[ 7 ]
• Coping check list[ 8 ]

Mode of recruitment

After being randomly chosen, experimental subjects were contacted through mails and telephone. The Researcher introduced herself and the purpose of the study was presented and an overview was given. All subjects who consented over the phone or replied back were interviewed. At the time of interview written informed consent was taken. The investigator interviewed each subject personally over two sessions. Randomly chosen experimental subjects were asked to introduce the researcher to the neighbourer in the fourth house from his or her house.

Statistical analysis

Data was expressed using descriptive statistics such as mean standard deviation for continuous variables and number and percentage for categorical variables.

The reverse coding of items was done to calculate the domain totals. Domain scores were calculated. Categorization of NEO 5 domains based on standardized scores was done.

Comparison between various groups for NEO 5 domains, coping skills domains and other continuous variables was carried out by ANOVA followed by post hoc tests. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi-square test P < 0.05 was considered

Statistically significant

All the statistical analysis was carried out by SPSS version 11.0 software.

Sample characteristics

A total of one hundred and twenty Bangalore based people, forty each in the groups of musicians, writers and noncreative who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. There were 63 women and 57 men with a mean age of 48.4 (SD ± 11.3) years. All the subjects belonged to above middle class with a monthly income of 12,366 (± 7,570) rupees [ Table 1 ].

P <0.05

Socio-demographic characteristics

Socio-demographic profile

Socio-demographic characteristics of subjects in each group were comparable in domains of sex, income and experience in years. However they differed significantly on ANOVA ( P =0.004) in terms of age as writers were older compared to the noncreative and musician groups. The duration of stay in Bangalore was greater for the musicians compared to the groups ( P =0.001). There was significant difference in the birthplace and early childhood stay in the three groups, as musician and noncreative groups were from an urban background, the writers were predominantly from the rural background ( P =0.014). Comparing the educational status, it was found that the writers were more often postgraduates where as others two cohorts were graduates or lower educational qualification ( P <0.001). Musicians (25%) were more often single as compared to writers (0%) and noncreative (5%) population but this did not reach statistical significance.

Family characteristics

Comparison of the familial characteristics was done and it was found that musicians and writers had high percentages (100 and 82.5) family history of creativity; that is either they had accomplished musicians/writers in the family or there was a family member who had at least 5 years of experience in music, writing, painting, dance or sculpture and differed significantly from the noncreative group (15%) ( P >0.001) ( Table 3A ). Most of the children of the creative population pursued creative work in the form of writing, theater, music, dance and painting which was statistically significant ( P >0.001). However it was observed that creative population had higher occurrence of mental illness in the family ( P =0.001) and more commonly it was affective illness ( P =0.007) and less commonly psychosis and substance abuse.

Familial characteristics

Pattern of mental illness in the families

Family history

Comparison of GHQ positivity

SCAN dianoses

Neurotic dimension

Extroversion dimension

Openness dimension

Agreebleness dimension

Consclentiousness dimension

Psychopathology

All the groups were administered GHQ-28 and 44 members scored above 5 on the scale, which was the cut off to administer, SCAN. The above 44 subjects along with other 10% (8 subjects) of GHQ-28 negative population were administered SCAN 2.1 Version. Of the 52 people who were administered SCAN 2.1 Version 44 had syndromal mental illness, which was higher in the creative population though not of statistical significance. None of the 8 GHQ negatives had any syndromal mental illness. Depression was most common in all the groups and it was observed that substance abuse was higher among writers −29.4% (Table ​ (Table4a 4a and ​ andb b ).

General health questionnaire positivity among the groups

Figures in parentheses are in percentage, GHQ – General health questionnaire

Scan diagnoses among groups

Perceived stress

Coping patterns

On administering the coping check list which has 7 domains, namely problem focused, emotion focused, distraction, acceptance/ redefinition, religion/ faith, denial/ blame and social support, it was found that there was a significant difference between the groups in religion/faith domain [ Table 6a ].

P <0.05;

The ten most common coping behaviors used by each group have been shown in the [Tables ​ [Tables6b, 6b , ​ ,6c, 6c , ​ ,6d]. 6d ]. It was noted that the coping skills no.s 1, 20,30,52,53 and 54 were common to all the three groups.

Ten most common coping skills adapted by controls

Ten most common coping skills adapted by writers

Ten most common coping skills adapted by musicians

Perceived stress score

Stress profile across the groups was assessed using Cohen's perceived stress scale (PSS). Though writers had highest percentage of scores (22.5%) this did not reach statistical significance

Personality profile

Personality characteristics were compared between all groups on NEOFFI. On neurotic dimension comparison it was found that musicians ( P =0.011) and writer's ( P =0.023) had high scores compared to noncreative population but there was no difference between the creative groups. Comparing the extroversion dimension most of the subjects in the creative population scored higher (n=37) ( P <0.000) compared to the noncreative sample where scores were evenly distributed. On the Openness dimension, Agreeable dimension and Conscientiousness dimension similar results were established ( P <0.01).

Comparison across groups on neuroticism dimension

C = Controls, W = Writers, M = Musicians.

Comparison across groups on extroversion dimension

Comparison across groups on openness dimension

Comparison across groups on agreeableness dimension

Comparison across groups on conscientiousness dimension

The discussion aims at examining the various issues about creativity and mental health in relation to this study and in comparison with prior studies.

Methodological issues

This study was a case control randomized study. The study sample were chosen from the directories of eminent writers and musicians after randomization and compared with a randomized sample from the general population. Assessments were done in the areas of mental illness, coping patterns and personality profile.

The sample size was 40 in each group, which is comparable to similar studies, done earlier, which have looked for mental illness in creative people.[ 9 , 10 ] Larger sample sized studies have been mostly retrospective biographical studies.[ 11 ]

The recruitment of subjects for the study was done from alphabetically organized directories from literature and music academies after randomization. This was unlike earlier studies most of which did not have randomized control sample.

All subjects chosen for the study willingly participated in the study. Nobody refused to give written informed consent.

Sociodemographic findings

The sex distribution was equal across the groups, which eliminated any bias in terms of any domain assessed. The education level of the writers was mostly post graduation, which is similar to the findings of earlier studies.[ 11 ] The music group and the control group were comparable education wise.

In terms of birthplace and child hood stay, most of the writers were from rural background and musicians were from urban background as were the controls. Whether these had any advantages or disadvantages is not clear. The earlier studies have not looked at this data.

Most of the writers were married and were staying together so were control population but among the musicians staying single was more common which was in contrast to earlier studies.[ 1 ]

It was notable that 100% of musicians had history of creativity (music, dance, theater, literature) in the family. It was also significantly high in the writers. It was also seen that the children of these creative people pursued creative work either as a profession or as a hobby. Whether this suggests that creativity is a hereditary trait and hence runs in the families or there are environmental factors like being in creative surroundings getting more opportunities, including early exposure in the childhood and adequate training, is not clear. It is also worth mentioning that creativity in the spouses of creative population also was significantly higher than those of the control population.

Several authors have reported a high occurrence of mental illness among the relatives of the creative population.[ 9 , 11 ] In agreement with these studies we also found significantly higher rates of mental illness in the family especially mood disorders. In both groups of the creative population unlike these studies, which found higher rates of BPAD in 1st degree relatives, there was only one writer out of our whole creative population who had a family history of BPAD in our sample. However it should be noted that in the present study no structured tool was used to elicit family history of mental illness. It was based on the descriptive data given by the subjects, which may involve memory bias.

Clinical correlates

The subjects were given GHQ-28 to screen for psychiatric caseness and then the GHQ positive cases were administered SCAN 2.1. The prevalence of mental illness across the groups was similar and was not found to be statistically significant. This finding was similar to earlier studies on creativity and psychopathology.[ 12 ]

Recent studies in 80's and 90's have shown artists and writers to have higher prevalence of mental illness.[ 9 , 11 ] It is to be noted that these studies, had studied biographies and none of them were randomized.

In our study we found that the majority of the people who were having mental illness suffered from depressive disorders (dysthymia, mild and moderate depression). This was in agreement with the earlier studies.[ 3 , 13 – 15 ] Some of the studies had found more of bipolar spectrum among creative people. We did not find this. Whether periods of hypomania were considered as bursts of inspiration, short lasting and enhancing creativity, hence subjects did not find anything abnormal in these periods needs to be looked in to.. However in our study when administered a structured interview (SCAN) none of them had any evidence of hypomania, cyclothymia either at present or in the past. Earlier studies found lesser prevalence of mental illness in creative people[ 16 ] and others found that it was comparable to general population.[ 10 ] In the present study one of the musicians was a diagnosed case of paranoid schizophrenia. He was in remission on treatment and was carrying on well with his profession. Similarly one of the writers had been diagnosed as having OCD and was on regular treatment. These findings were similar to recent Indian studies,[ 17 ] which found more of depressive disorders. Also in this study alcohol dependence was found to be more though not statistically significant in writers. Many writers have spoken about alcohol dependence being more in creative population.[ 15 , 18 ]

What is striking in the present study is that 7 out of 11 people(one with substance use, 6 with depressive disorders) in the control group had sought psychiatric help whereas except for 2 (one with OCD and one with schizophrenia) none of the experimental group had sought psychiatric help. There can be different explanations for this:

• The stigma of a well known person (writer or musician) contacting a psychiatrist would fetch them a ill-fame.
• The fear that taking neurotropics would hinder their creativity
• The popular notion that you have to be “little mad" to be creative
• The idea that the creative people are better equipped than the general population to cope with stressors (i.e., to handle their depression by themselves).

Coping skills

There have been earlier studies,[ 10 , 19 , 20 ] which have spoken about effect of psychiatric treatment and illness on creativity. In one study by Schou[ 20 ] it was shown that treatment with Lithium hindered creativity in 12 persons, improved creativity in 6 and was unchanged in 6. It was also noted in Andreasen's study in 1987 that many writers reported that they were more creative in euthymic states rather than in an affective episode (which is again contrary to the popular beliefs).

In the present study, we studied the coping patterns in the 3 groups. To the best of our knowledge there are no major published studies regarding coping in creative people. In this study the musicians and controls were noticed to have more of religious and faith domain skills and differed significantly from writers. In musicians perhaps this can be explained by the basis of Indian Music (both Carnatic and Hindustani Music), which has a religious background. It was surprising that in spite of having music or writing as a skill/ talent most of them said they do not use it at the time of stress (As answers to items no. 50 and 57 appendix 5) and when they are free from stress only then they are able to produce creative work of good quality (Answer to item 50 appendix 5). This is again in contrast to the popular belief that writers and musicians come out with sudden ‘bursts of inspiration’ ‘madness or ‘intense emotions’ and then would create something great. Previous studies[ 9 ] have corroborated this finding. Andreasen's (1987) sample said they would prefer a euthymic mood state to write.[ 9 ] reported in his study that the 75% of writers told him that alcohol hindered their creativity.

Items 1, 20,30,52,53 and 54 were common to all the three groups. These belong to problem focused and acceptance redefinition domains.

Stress profile

We studied the stress profile in the three groups by administering Cohen's perceived stress scale. Though earlier studies[ 21 , 22 ] have spoken about higher levels of stress and anxiety in creative population none of these studies have actually measured perceived stress using a structured instrument. In the present study the stress profile was comparable across the groups. Though writers had highest percentage of scores (22.5%) this did not reach statistical significance.

In the present study the dimensional personality profile was assessed on NEO –FFI (1989) on the following domains. Neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness conscientiousness. It was notable that higher scores were found on each of these dimensions for the creative groups compared to non-creative group but there was no difference between the writers and the musicians. This was in agreement with[ 18 ] where she used international personality disorder examination scale (IPDE) and found no difference between artists and scientists regarding the personality profile.

The creative groups scored high on the openness dimension which was statistically significant which mean that the creative people were more aesthetic and differed significantly from the noncreative group in feelings, actions, ideas, values and fantasy. This is in agreement with the earlier studies.[ 21 , 23 ] On the dimension of agreeableness which consists of traits trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty, tender mindedness and Conscientiousness which comprises of competence order, dutifulness, achievement, self discipline, deliberation again musicians and writers scored high in agreement with the earlier studies.[ 24 ]

The questions that now arise are:

• Are these personality traits that make a person creative?
• Does the creativity make a person attain these traits
• Whether scoring high on these dimensions makes the creative groups more vulnerable to mental illness?
• Are they protected because of their creativity though they have higher scores on these dimensions?
• Is there no role of the personality characteristics in making a person more vulnerable to mental illness?

Across the studies,[ 4 ] it has been well established that highly creative individuals showed a characteristic pattern of interest which was interpreted as a concern for meaning and implies more cognitive flexibility, interest, accuracy in communication, intellectual curiosity and lack of interest in policing their own interests or those of others. The IPAR studies (1939) showed that highly creative individuals in different fields shared many personality characteristics.

Strengths of the study

• This was a randomized control study, which was conducted with personal interviews with the subjects.
• Structured instruments were used.
• Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were used.
• An effort was made to study different aspects of creativity; l creativity and mental illness; stress profile and coping skills and two different creative groups were studied with a controlled population.
• The subjects who participated in the experimental group were accomplished writers and musicians many years of experience in their respective fields.

Limitations

• The sample size was small and case to case matching was not done.
• Though 2 groups of creative people were studies the findings cannot be generalized to other creative groups.
• No scales to assess creativity were used.
• Family history was not assessed using structured instruments
• Local adaptation of NEOFFI and PSS was not done.

Future directions

• Creativity and mental health needs to be studied in large epidemiological samples, which will overcome the ascertainment biases.
• Whether developing a hobby like dance, music or painting would be promoting mental health and better coping skills in general population needs to be looked into.
• There is a need to study other creative groups like theatre artists, painting artists, dancers and architects and to look into these aspects.
• It would be worthwhile studying the creative groups who take creative work as the sole profession and earn livelihood through it and studying whether they have different patterns of psychiatric morbidity and personality characteristics.

This paper was co-winner the Marfatia award in ANCIPS, 2007 at Chennai.

Source of Support: Nil

Conflict of Interest: None declared

M. F. (Mike) Alvarez on suicide, mental health and illness, the ethics of autoethnography, fine art, reflexive writing, creative writing, interdisciplinarity and biases in suicidolodgy and the academy The Death Studies Podcast

What's the episode about? In this episode, hear M.F. (Mike) Alvarez on suicide, mental health and illness, autoethnography, fine art, reflexive writing, creative writing, interdisciplinarity and biases in the academy  Who is M.F. Alvarez?  M. F.  (Mike) Alvarez is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, USA. He is the author of two books: The Paradox of Suicide and Creativity (Lexington Books, 2020), and Unraveling: An Autoethnography of Suicide and Renewal (Routledge, 2023). He is also lead author of A Plague for Our Time: Dying and Death in the Age of COVID-19 (McFarland, forthcoming), and lead editor of Suicide in Popular Media and Culture (Bristol UP, in progress). Dr. Alvarez is a founding member of the National Communication Association’s Death and Dying Division. He teaches courses in mental health communication, end of life communication, film and media studies, and autoethnography. How do I cite the episode in my research and reading lists? To cite this episode, you can use the following citation: Alvarez. M. F. (2024) Interview on The Death Studies Podcast hosted by Michael-Fox, B. and Visser, R. Published 1 April 2024. Available at: www.thedeathstudiespodcast.com, DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.25516474 What next? Check out more episodes or find out more about the hosts! Got a question? Get in touch. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thedeathstudiespodcast/message

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17 Creative Outlets for Coping With Mental Health Struggles

Posted: March 25, 2024 | Last updated: March 25, 2024

When we struggle with our mental health, there are many steps we can take. Experts often recommend indulging in our existing talents or taking the opportunity to try something new.

Creative work can be soothing and help lift our mood. It also provides a good distraction from whatever is troubling us. If you already possess a talent, you’ll know which path to take, but if not, here are some ideas.

1. Painting

Painting is where many creative people start. When we think of creative subjects, painting is often the first option that comes to mind. Taking classes to improve your skills is easy, but you don’t have to return to school.

Buy a canvas, some paints, and brushes, and dive right in. Natural talent helps, but less skilled might even consider a paint-by-number set. It’s an excellent activity for mental health, and no one should feel excluded.

Creative writing can take many different forms. Try some poetry, or if you have storytelling ambitions, try your hand at fiction. Others like reporting on current events. Writing can offer a welcome boost if you take a break due to mental health concerns.

Another good idea is to start a journal. Write down your thoughts and feelings to record your progress through this journey.

3. Model Building

The term “model building” covers a range of options, and you can do anything your imagination desires. A popular choice involves “real-world” scenarios, so perhaps you’d like to build a model railway village.

My passion project is to build a model soccer stadium. You can buy pitches, teams, and stands online and design them any way you want. Some would argue it’s not creative if the items are pre-constructed, but I don’t see it this way. Your imagination takes over as you make the stadium according to your vision.

Singing might be another creative for you. The premiere of TV shows depicting ordinary people joining choirs has led to a rise in singing as a hobby. Start by belting out some tunes in the shower, and see if you’d like to do this in front of others. Millions of popular songs are online, so pick a few karaoke tracks and see what works for you.

If you’re ready for the next step, a greater interest in singing may spur you to join a local choir or spend the occasional night at a karaoke bar.

5. Playing an Instrument

Many of us don’t have the voice of an angel and would never dare to sing. If you’d run a mile from a choir but are interested in music, why not learn to play an instrument? Local college courses are available, or you could hire a tutor to come to your home. Many music stores also offer lessons from professionals.

Consider starting a band or joining a local orchestra if you’re already a skilled musician.

6. Knitting

Knitting is a dying art, but it’s time to revive it. Like other hobbies on this list, it has the qualities needed to offer a boost when you’re mentally drained. Knitting is therapeutic, and seeing the finished product can provide a welcome sense of satisfaction.

Hobby stores should stock everything you need to start knitting, or you can order materials online. If you’re new to the hobby, it’s easy to pick up, and all the instructions you need are available on websites or online videos.

Some may think this suggestion should have appeared in the painting section, but there are differences between the two disciplines. Drawing requires fewer materials to get started. Grab a pencil and sketch pad, and you’re ready to go.

Drawing also involves less mess and is a preferred option for many creative people.

8. Woodworking

If you’re already a skilled woodworker and have the tools at home, this is a great time to indulge in your favorite hobby. If you’re a novice, there are classes you can take to help develop those talents.

Many of us took woodworking classes in school. There was satisfaction in working with natural materials and producing a chess board or spice rack. You can feel that sense of achievement in adulthood, too.

Cooking is an essential activity in the home, but if you want to test your skills in the kitchen, you can take it a step further by making it creative and turning it into an art form. Move on from basic dishes and aim for a complex meal that you’ve always wanted to try.

Baking and dessert making can also produce impressive results that delight your family and friends.

10. Photography

If you’re the type of photographer who points and clicks, it may be time to elevate those basic skills. Many of us have an eye for a good picture but can’t figure out the various camera settings to get the best results.

Online courses are there to help, or you could take an extended break to practice trial and error. Photography is a rewarding hobby and a satisfying way to indulge your creativity .

11. Gardening

Many don’t see gardening as a creative outlet, but they’re wrong. The best gardeners are artists who turn a blank yard into something beautiful. If you’re already skilled in this craft, it’s perfect for its mental health benefits , but anyone can get involved.

Learning the basics of gardening will help you grow plants, flowers, and shrubs, and you can even stock up your fruit and vegetable cupboard. It’s therapeutic, and I recommend gardening as a mood lifter.

12. Coloring

Adult coloring books took off in a way that surprised many of us. We were sure we left that all behind in kindergarten, but sales figures were impressive for the most imaginative designs.

We shouldn’t be shocked. Coloring is a calming activity that can help us achieve a meditative state. While some skills are involved, they’re not as complex as some of the hobbies on this list, so coloring books are a good option for all creative talents.

13. Sculpture

Sculpture is an overlooked area in art, mainly because few people take up sculpting at school or college. Materials are relatively expensive, and mastering this craft is difficult.

If you’ve yet to try it, maybe you have a hidden talent. If not, it doesn’t matter. Working with clay is fun and another activity that can boost your mood.

14. Dancing

Dancing is another pastime where some will argue against the level of creativity, but don’t let that stop you. Dancing is fun. It releases endorphins, which help reduce stress and boost cognitive functions.

Local dance classes have taken off recently, so you’ll almost certainly find one in your neighborhood. You could even try interpretive dance if you want to test your creativity.

15. Make Jewelry

Jewelry-making kits are readily available in hobby stores and contain everything you need to start. The creative aspect helps relax the mind, but the end products can be helpful in different ways.

If you’re happy with the results, you can give jewelry to friends and family for birthdays and other occasions. A homemade bead necklace can also be used as a fidget tool to help restore calm in stressful situations.

16. Upcycling

Upcycling is restoring new life to products that seem destined for the garbage. Furniture is a popular medium, but upcyclers also work with pallets, tin cans, and anything that inspires creativity.

A host of TV programs, online videos, and blogs offer inspiration so anyone can get started with this fascinating and rewarding hobby.

17. Quilt Making

Quilting has a long history in the United States, dating back hundreds of years. It’s less popular today, but many families like to keep the tradition alive. Finding time is an issue, so why not use any break you take while looking after your mental health?

Using up scraps of material is a worthwhile process in itself. In this wasteful age, we’re all looking to recycle, and quilt-making is a great way to be creative and help the environment while you’re at it.

18 Gen X Trends Whose Time Has Past

Every generation has distinctive trends and behaviors – some timeless, others not so much. The Gen X cohort, those born between 1965 and 1980, definitely left their mark on the culture of the time. However, like all trends, some of this era have become outdated and should be reconsidered. Here are 18 Gen X trends that might have outlived their relevance.

18 Life Lessons Many Wish They’d Learned Earlier in Life

As Gen X journey through the ever-changing landscapes of work, relationships, and personal growth, they’ve gained insights they wish to impart to their younger selves. These life lessons are not only reflective of their generation but also universally relevant. Let’s delve into 18 profound lessons that Gen Xers hope to share with the next generation.

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