How Art Therapy Helps Your Mind

This year October 10 we will all celebrate #World Mental Health Day. We all know that art can be beautiful. But some of us may not know that art has real benefits for our minds! More and more research shows that creating art therapy can increase well being and brain function. At mindmilk, we love to help others learn about their minds. And creating art is something we do everyday! Nourish your mind and read along to learn more about what happens in our brains when we create art or do something creative.

Why Is Art Therapy Good For You?

There is an increasing amount of research that proves art enhances our brain functions. In fact, scientific evidence shows that art influences our brain wave patterns, emotions and nervous system. Art can even raise our serotonin levels! (Serotonin is sometimes called the “happy chemical,” as it’s responsible for altering mood levels in the brain.)

This discovery is not new. As Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Painting embraces all the ten functions of the eye; that is to say, darkness, light, body and color, shape and location, distance and closeness, motion and rest.” If painting can involve that many parts of the brain, it’s no wonder that it can offer numerous other benefits. Modern day researchers agree with this statement, saying that all types of creativity is good for the brain. "Anything that engages your creative mind—the ability to make connections between unrelated things and imagine new ways to communicate—is good for you," says Creative Therapies expert Girija Kaimal. 

The way that we experience the world around us is influenced by art. The power of art can even be seen through brain scans. Research shows that when looking at art that they found to be beautiful, the blood flow in viewers' brains increased by ten percent. This is the same percent as when someone looks at a loved one. Talk about a strong, positive reaction!

Research has also shown that viewing art can make us more empathetic, tolerant and loving. Stanford University professor, Jane Shaw, even teaches a course on how the arts can make us more empathetic, in hopes of helping her students understand others better. Brain scans have also shown that looking at works of art triggers a surge of dopamine in the same part of the brain that recognizes the feeling of love.

How Art Therapy Helps Mental Health

It’s pretty amazing to learn that art can actually change our outlook on life. But it’s even more amazing to learn about the healing qualities art can have. "Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world," says Christianne Strang, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham and the former president of the American Art Therapy Association. 

Engaging with art or partaking in a creative activity reduces stress levels. Even more so, creativity can lessen the impacts of depression. Interestingly enough, the healing properties of art reach beyond the mind. Just ask art therapists, creativity can contribute to lessening the burden of chronic disease.

Because creativity can activate the reward centers in our brain, making art actually allows us to feel like we’ve achieved something. A 2017 scientific study found that art even benefits people dealing with health conditions that activate the reward pathways in the brain. The brain’s reward pathways are activated in conditions like addictive behaviors, eating disorders and mood disorders.

Art therapy has also been a beneficial recovery tool for Dementia patients. As we know, creativity and art enhance our cognitive abilities and memory. This fact is true even for people with serious brain disorders. Dementia is typically described as a memory loss problem, but people with Dementia experience other symptoms too. Art has been proven to relieve agitation, aggression, anxiety, depression, and insomnia in people dealing with Dementia and other brain disorders.

Art and creativity are powerful avenues to solidifying our self-identity and healing processes. The more we acknowledge the connection between creativity and healing, the more we will notice the impacts art can have on our minds. As we say here at mindmilk, art is therapy!

Art Therapy Is For Everybody

It doesn’t matter what your skill level is. Art is for you, too! Art is a stress reliever that encourages creative thinking, increases brain plasticity, and offers mental health support. And the best part is that anyone (even you!) can create art and benefit from art therapy.

Art can make us feel better and art helps mental health. This idea extends to all types of art and creativity, ranging from: drawing, painting, collaging and sculpting clay to writing poetry, cake decorating, knitting or scrapbooking. The sky's the limit!

Art Therapy Jobs

Found this blog helpful? Feeling inspired by the benefits of art therapy? Maybe an art therapy job would be right for you. Art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities. Art therapy uses active art-making, creative processes, psychological theory, and human experience to create a psychotherapeutic relationship. 

Art therapy jobs are great opportunities to care for personal, relational and community goals. And art therapy jobs are centered around the power of art! According to Psychology Today, art therapy helps people explore their emotions, improve self-esteem, manage addictions, relieve stress, improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, and cope with a physical illness or disability. Pretty much everything we’ve covered above.

If you love art and caring for your mind, art therapy jobs could be your dream career! We hope this blog encourages you to get creative, no matter what type of art you enjoy most. Art is an amazing exercise to be vulnerable and express yourself freely. 

At mindmilk, we’re firm believers that all types of art can be beautiful. Our collages and creations may not look like the art people are used to seeing. And that’s okay! All art is uniquely beautiful. That’s what makes it art.

Keep dreaming, friends.

Love,

mindmilk