We are creative beings so it is not surprising that during these challenging times many people are exploring their creative talents to manage their mood and stress levels.
Why have our skills stayed latent for so long? Time is often a reason so lockdown and social restrictions may mean we now have pockets of time where we could really settle to something, plus we may now have a stronger motivation to keep busy and feel productive. Another common reason is that at some point we have learnt that it is not our skill. Maybe being graded at school against exam criteria has stifled your creativity or a critical comment has dented your confidence. Somehow we fall out of love with creating something for the fun of it.
What do we mean when we talk about creative? Well the list is endless but here are few ideas:
Music – playing an instrument, singing, DJ-ing, editing, adding soundtracks, making playlists
Craft – knitting, crocheting, sewing, pottery, jewellery making, candle making, model making, pyrography, metalwork, woodwork.
Gardening – planting a flower bed, creating pots, hanging baskets, planting seeds, weeding, flower arranging, tidying current lawn or hedges, potting indoor plants or window boxes.
Art – photography, painting, pottery, collage, decoupage, drawing, cartooning, scrapbooking, creating spaces or worlds on online games or apps.
Cooking – baking, bread-making, meals, tackling new recipes, cooking with children, wine, beer or gin making, cake decorating
Writing – creating poems or stories, journaling, thought diaries or daily records, blogging, organising and creating decorative labels.
Drama – join an amateur dramatics group, act our stories with the kids, puppet shows, video blogging or TikTok, Cosplay or creating characters in gaming
Dance – put some music on at home or join a class on Zoom, follow videos to be the next Strictly star or learn Zumba steps.
Whatever you are drawn to try, start by putting the fun back into it. Approach it fearlessly as you did as a young child. Nothing you create has to be perfect nor does it need to be put out there to be critiqued. Creating is a process not the end result. As well as bringing benefits of mindfulness and confidence building, creative arts have an ability to express difficult feelings in a non-verbal way. This is something counsellors are well aware of and embrace. Although known as a talking therapy it is common, if the client prefers, to use non-verbal activities to help process feelings and emotions that might be difficult to understand or name.