As you know mental health is a huge component of The Creative Link as such we asked our members the following question: Do you believe there is a strong link between mental health and creatives / creativity? These are the answers we got…
I believe there is I believe whatever we experience personally it inspires us to be creative in whatever form we feel we can whether that be music or writing I know from experience that when I write I have to go back to experiences that I went through personally to tell the story in a strong way and can always relate my own experiences with mental health with the characters.
– Ben Yates
Yes there definitely is a connection.. I use it as a form of expression so putting my emotions into art, pictures music etc.. this also gives a release when I feel I cant open up to people or have no one to open up to.. I think creative people tend to struggle with mental health when their creativity is limited or restricted in any way as this is their emotional outlet. Also it can be used as a distraction I think by focusing on something away from your thoughts.. almost like meditation really..putting your focus into creating something like decorating colouring or playing an instrument. All these have therapeutic effects
– Ghost
Yes I do
– Mya Koda
1) can actually enhance creativity if the person taps into their shadow side or their part of themselves that is being questioned as holding them in a certain state of mind.
2) can decrease creativity in terms of imagination/ outwards perspective on life and reality..
3) medication
4) immediate environment and support network
5) how much the person was creative before, and what they learnt about creativity growing up.
My innerstanding of some mental illnesses… Depression stems from living in the past. Anxiety stems from being worried about the future. However nothing in the past can be changed so ACCEPTANCE is paramount. & The future is not hear yet. Therefore trust and positivity are key here. In reality all we will ever have is The Present Moment. And it is for that reason I totally 💯 agree that Creative pursuits assists us in staying in the Present Moment. Therefore for me is key to keeping our mental health in good standing. Because when we create we do it NOW. Everything is done NOW. This was one of the key pieces of information I learned. An amazing book to read thats delves further into this: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
– Mystical
On a different side I’ve seen the mental health effects my dance industry has on dancers. You are told to look a certain way, constantly told no before you get a yes because you haven’t got the right look, the right height, not the right ethnicity. The pressure of training to be the best so you stand out from the rest. As great as being a creative can ease the mind being part of the creative industries can be detrimental to the mind if you don’t have what we call a thick skin. I’ve seen dancers break down cause they didn’t make it through an audition, cause they feel like their body isn’t the way the industry thinks it should be and more. Being a creative can defo help with mental health but being part of the creative industries and the pressure of it can be harmful to your mental health.
– Lil Tee
I think our mental state is the most important one to take care of as that determines the choices we make. Havin a good mental state starts with health and what we allow our bodies to absorb nutritionally. Low vibrational foods will result in a feeling of low vibrations mentally. Food is essential when we take a closer look. Everyone suffers mentally because of the oppressive state of our living. Institutionalization plays a big part in the way we feel and think and I think that enjoying wat you do plays a vital part in keeping us mentally stable. I suffered really bad thru break ups and goin to jail. Havin my kids taken away from me and loosing almost everythin i had worked for. Bein creative brought me from the very bottom and when your alone its even worse. I had a really good support system and family but ultimately there was only ever gonna be one person that was gonna help me get better and it was me… As much as I have the support only I could make the choice to use it… sorry if I’ve gone of on tangent but i missed most of the convo. I heard mental health and creativity.
– Kingz
The link that I find between mental health and creativity… I know for a fact that if I didn’t choose my own level of sanity as priority (as in making music), over family and what I think I should be doing for others then I would be in a mentally low place in my life. I’ve had to make the sacrifice and actually tell the Mrs that Yes I choose my music over her. It didn’t go down well at first but she eventually understood that if I could’ve actually made that decision and be mentally strong and thrive with that decision, then it must be for a reason. I can wholeheartedly say that just me within myself knowing who I am. I’m in a better position and have never felt better knowing that I was happy to be single and with my stance it ended up being something that has transformed into support from even more people than I thought. I believe that knowing how creative I can be, I absolutely need to be in zones where I can be creative, otherwise I’m an absolute miserable, cantankerous, bad attitude having, territorial, male being 🤦🏿♂️
– Astro
So those were just some of the thoughts on how mental health and creativity are connected our members. If you have any thoughts you’d like to share on our blog on mental health, or anything pertaining to creativity then please submit a post via our submit section.
