by Jeanni Ritchie
Using creative arts as therapy in treating conditions of mental health is a widely accepted practice. According to the Mayo Clinic, “The idea behind creative arts therapy is that artistic expression can help people to feel better and motivated to recover and address clinical needs such as reducing anxiety.”
You don’t have to be in a formalized treatment program to access the benefits of arts therapy.
As a participant, you can join community theatre productions both on and off-stage. You can take a pottery class. You can pick up a canvas and some paint and create an own masterpiece in your own living room. Activating the right side of your brain, especially when combined with the socialization of group activities, lends to a holistic approach toward wellness.
I loved doing community theater when I was younger. I also loved singing solos in church musicals. These days my performances are limited to private car concerts and joining seven year olds at summer dance camps but it’s still activating the part of my brain that sends endorphins flooding into my system.
Just watching a movie or attending a play helps you feel less isolated. Actor Tom Hanks shares, “Everybody has something that chews them up and, for me, that thing was always loneliness. The cinema has the power to make you not feel lonely, even when you are.”
Same with music. “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours,” explains singer Elton John.
Engaging in the arts can help to boost confidence and make us feel more engaged and resilient. Besides these benefits, art engagement also alleviates anxiety, depression, and stress.
There are no shortage of opportunities to experience the arts in Louisiana in July:
Whether visual or performing arts, crafts, sculptures, digital art, text, dance, film, literature, music, singing, gardening or culinary arts, they all have one thing in common: arts serve to make a brighter world for us all!
