Sometimes life can get us feeling a bit down, there’s no shame in that! The good news is that being creative is one easy way of helping to boost your mood, here’s how . . .
Artist Bon Collins, who goes by ‘The Distressed Artist TM’ (www.distressedartist.co.uk) has shared her knowledge of art and mental health with us.
She’s also given us a few creative ideas that will hopefully take your mind off the stresses of daily life.
So, why do we need to look after our mental health?
Bon says: “For us to become a mentally healthy society, we need to recognise that our mental health is just like our physical health. It fluctuates.
“We do things naturally to boost our physical health – we may eat healthily or take up a sport.”
She continues: “Our brains need something to help them relax. Creativity, in my opinion, is great for this.”
How can creativity help you cope with life?
Bon told us: “Being creative allows us to focus on something that may not be the things our brain is trying to deal with.
“It gives us the opportunity for peace of mind and to focus on something else. From a neurological point of view, it is vital.”
Creative ways to boost your mood
Bon says she tries to be creative in all sorts of different ways but is biased towards painting and drawing.
She told us: “Personally I love to draw and paint animals and landscapes to unwind. I spend hours studying them to lose myself in them and then bring myself back to the current moment as I create them.”
We feel relaxed just looking at Bon’s painting of this beautiful landscape . . .
Here are Bon’s ideas for being creative and boosting your mood: “It could be writing, knitting, papercraft, Lino printmaking, sewing or reading. One of the great things is that you can choose to do these activities alone or with others.”
Do you need more creative ideas to help you unwind?
Then keep your eye on the uni-ball blog (https://uniball.co.uk/blog/,) as we will soon be sharing a mood-boosting creative checklist packed full of even more ideas.
