A Light in the Dark: Study Finds Creative Activities Improve Emotional Health

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By Michelle Robinson

For many people, creative pursuits like writing, drawing and dancing offer a welcome escape from the world. They give us the chance to express our emotions and feelings in a healthier way. They reduce stress, they can provide solace in times of abject darkness. And can bring us the kind of joy we just can’t find in anything else. (For this writer, all of the above apply.)

A-light-in-the-dark-pin - A university study found that pursuing creative hobbies like painting, creative writing and sketching can increase emotional health and well being.

But is there any real evidence that being creative can improve your mental and emotional health? We’re so used to seeing the romanticised idea that to be really creative, there has to be some element of pain. That to be a really prolific writer, artist, or song writer, you have to be a tortured soul. You know the stories. The depressed poet, the song writer whose lyrics speak only of darkness and loss. Or the artist who lived in complete isolation and misery.

Creative outlets do allow people to express these types of feelings. But they are also capable of making people feel great happiness and joy. Study finds doing creative activities improves emotional health

A study

A university study found that pursuing creative hobbies like painting, creative writing and sketching can increase emotional health and well being, and lead to better mental health. The aim of the study was to find out whether doing something creative every day impacts positively on people’s emotional well being.

Researchers from the Department of Psychology at New Zealand’s University of Otago asked 658 university students to do something creative every day for 13 days. The students kept a journal to record their experiences and emotional state each day.

The types of activities the students chose to do were song writing, creative writing, knitting and crochet, cooking, painting, drawing, sketching, graphic design and playing a musical instrument.

The findings

The research found that doing something creative not only increased feelings of pleasure, engagement, happiness, joy, excitement and enthusiasm on that day, it increased the chances of these feelings continuing into the next day.

The research team called this an ‘upward spiral’ for well being and creativity. Meaning that doing something creative one day leads to feelings of well being on the following day. This then increases the chance that you’ll be motivated enough to do something creative then too.

What does this mean for creativity and good mental health in the longer term?

The study’s findings suggest that everyday creativity is a great way to stay emotionally well. This idea is nothing new. The use of Art and Music Therapy to promote good mental health is already established in a lot of hospitals and mental health resource centres. You don’t need to be the next Paul McCartney or Van Gogh either. Just the fact that whatever you’re doing makes you feel good is enough.

The importance of finding a light in the dark

There is a growing body of psychology research which associates creativity with healthy emotional functioning. But most of it has examined the effect of emotions on creativity, not the effect that creativity has on emotions, until now.

Whether or not you believe that you can write your way to emotional health and well being, and draw your way out of depression, having an outlet is a positive thing when you’re dealing with difficult thoughts and feelings. It could be a hobby or just something that brings you comfort even for a precious few hours. Whatever it is, whether you know it or not, it’s giving purpose to your days. And giving you hope that you won’t always feel this way.

It’s about finding the light in your darkness.