Every day I witness the power of writing. Finding the words to thoughts and feelings, expressing yourself creatively, provides participants of my workshops not only pleasure and inspiration, but also clarity, new insights and a sense of well-being.
How wonderful to finally read a book that provides scientific evidence that art (the arts) helps us to heal, grow and flourish. Art (in all its forms and at every level) is a powerful, accessible and proven effective tool to improve our mental and physical health. Apparently after 45 minutes the stress hormone cortisol drops and one experience per week extends your life by 10 years! So art is actually essential to our survival!
The book Your Brain on Art – How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross comes up with solid scientific evidence that demonstrates the influence of art and how we could use it (more) in healthcare, education and our society.
Below are some findings from the book:
Art contributes to our well-being, restores mental and physical health, increases our learning abilities, ensures personal growth and development, and strengthens our social foundation.
- By expressing yourself creatively, you feel more connected to yourself and others.
- People who express themselves creatively have fewer mental problems, function better and experience an increase in quality of life.
- Creativity enables us to name our feelings and emotions, to express them and to process them.
- Putting our emotions and feelings into words can help us to better understand difficult events in our lives and to see the connection. Art makes us more resilient.
- By writing, you get to know yourself better. You discover how you think about things and how you feel.
- Writing also helps to gain access to your intuition.
- Creativity helps you to find out what is important to you.
- Art helps teenagers to focus better.
- Art helps you to solve problems and make better decisions.
- Writing helps to develop your brain.
- Creativity increases your curiosity, you are no longer afraid to face the unknown.
- Art creates a sense of connection with something that is bigger than yourself.
- Through art you develop the ability to come up with original ideas and solutions.
Art has the power to transform you from sickness to health, from stress to peace or from sadness to joy, and it enables you to grow and flourish.
