How Art Makes You Happier and Healthier

We all express our creativity in the form of art. This art can have many forms. No matter what the form for this creative expression is, art makes you feel good. But art does more than just that – it is proved that art makes you happy and healthy too. Read more about how you benefit from art and what you can do to bring art into your life. ~ Ed.

How do you feel when you sing a song, read a novel, listen to music or play a musical instrument?

Do you feel relaxed or happy?

While dancing, does it feel like you are also working out your mind and not only your body? Does it make you happy to attend a concert, a play or an exhibition?

I am sure that your answer to all these questions is positive. As you can see, there is definitely a connection between art and happiness. Let’s take a closer look at that connection and find out how exactly art makes us happier and healthier.

How Art Makes You Happier

Art in any form helps to reduce the stress hormone cortisol. Whether from painting to playing music and no matter if you are creating it or simply observing it, art can make you feel good.

Watching a movie, attending a play, listening to music, or even just doodling in a notebook releases the feel-good hormones endorphins and dopamine. Endorphin helps to fight stress and pain, while dopamine leads to experiencing positive sensations.

By creating or simply appreciating art in any form, you are slowly transforming into a more positive and well-rounded individual.

Does Art Makes You Healthier

It’s scientifically proven that art improves memory and promotes self-monitoring, introspection and out-of-the-box thinking.

Since in art there is no such thing as only one solution, it maximizes our ability to focus and enhances our problem-solving skills. It improves the health of your mind and body in multiple ways.

By improving your physical and mental well-being, you also delay aging.

Who Should Create Art

It’s a big mistake to think that art should be created only by talented individuals. Everyone can enjoy art, so why everyone shouldn’t create it?

Human beings are inherently creative beings, and as such, they require creative (and self) expression. If you haven’t created any form of art before, that doesn’t mean you aren’t creative or artistically inclined; it only means you haven’t tried doing it.

However, that leaves us with a question – if anyone can create art, why can’t everyone be an artist?

It is very important to know that artists are not the people who were just lucky enough to be born with the ability to paint, play an instrument, write or similar.

Art has nothing to do with luck. It’s all about hard work.

The best artists are not the ones who were the most creative, but those who put hundreds and hundreds of hours into their art. The greatest artists had to be hard-wired for creativity and honed to their craft in order to succeed.

You can also create a beautiful piece of art; you just have to give it a try.

Creating art will give you an absolutely rewarding and an amazing feeling. Just imagine giving life to something that comes deeply from within yourself. It can be something from your imagination or simply your current feelings.

If you honestly try to transfer your emotions to an artistic media, you will definitely create something original and beautiful. You will make alive a piece of yourself, and that has a pure intrinsic value.

Misconceptions about Art

Art is often associated with many misconceptions. For example, some people think that in order to be considered a real artist; you have to create paintings, sculptures or architecture.

There are also a lot of people who believe art is a talent and that you can either be born with or without it. A few more think you cannot benefit from art if you are not good at it. Lastly, a lot of people believe you cannot enjoy the therapeutic benefits of art without the help of a licensed art therapist.

It’s very important to know that art can be anything. It can be cooking, writing, photography, gardening and much more. Art is what you make of it! Art doesn’t have any constraints and a specific form.

You could pursue any kind of art you want. It is best to choose something that comes naturally to you and vibes with your personality.

We already discussed that art is not only about talent but rather about hard work. When it comes to the therapeutic benefits of art, you can definitely enjoy them without the help of an art therapist.

Creating a piece of art on your own or merely observing art at an exhibition has many benefits for your mental health and well-being. Many art galleries, museum experts and art dealers in Jupiter, FL are aware of these benefits and therefore actively promote art therapy activities in galleries and museums.

Art and Madness

Many people believe high levels of creativity are liked to madness. We also tend to think that all artists are eccentric, more prone to unusual, odd behavior and similar.

Unfortunately, many famous artists such as Van Gogh, Beethoven, and David Foster Wallace have experienced difficulties in their lives that lead to mental and emotional instability, and that has further cemented our belief that all great artists were mad or mentally ill.

However, scientists never established a clear connection between creativity and madness. We are not sure if mental illness contributes to art, but we definitely know that art contributes to mental health.

It’s most likely that many famous artists who suffered from certain mental issues found great relief in artistic expression.

More Ways Art benefits You

There is more that art can do to you besides making you happy and healthy. It can change the way you look at life and how you deal with life. It can make you a different and better person.

Art Encourages Personal Development

When you spend hours alone, fully engaged in your creative task, you will find your mindset and thoughts in a state of complete freedom. You will be far away from anxiety, stress and any negative feelings.

You will experience a creative flow that cannot be explained with words. Once you feel the “flow”, you will just keep going.

Exploring your inner self and your feelings encourage personal development. Being deeply engaged in art, no matter whether you are creating it or observing it will help you come up with new ideas, develop new thought patterns and imagery.

No vitamin or supplement can aid your mental health as art can. Creating and appreciating art is the most significant mental boost you can experience in life.

Art and Happiness

Here a little story. A musician once wondered “if art is so good for my mental health and well-being, why is my life still so messed up?”

Since he didn’t see meaning in his music anymore, he decided to remove it from his life. When he did that, he found out that his life is even more messed up without music. He missed that one thing that has brought so much happiness into his life.

The satisfaction that art brings into our life doesn’t necessarily have to be the greatest. However, we cannot ignore the fact that art, for many people, is a tremendous source of happiness and part of their daily lives.

Pursuing art and expressing yourself creatively can give incredible meaning to your life. If can help you combat your internal negativity, boosts your self-esteem and confidence, and lead to personal growth.

How You Can – Bring More Art into Your Life!

Although the physical and mental benefits creating and appreciating art are obvious as so easy to enjoy, we still spend most of our time watching television and scrolling through social media.

Instead of spending the entire day consuming useless information, we can take some time to create art and create our own outgoing signal. Be active and produce something! Find a way to express yourself! Don’t just consume, but contribute in any possible way you can. 🙂

This doesn’t mean creating art should be your priority and something very time-consuming. It also doesn’t mean you have to become an artist that lives out of art.

Instead, your only focus should be on expressing yourself and exploring new ideas. Whether you decide to paint, sing, dance or write, engage fully in this activity until you bring yourself into the present moment.

Use your instincts and creativity to turn ideas into gifts. Create quality personalized gifts that may mean something for the one you’re gifting to. Your art would be considered as your thoughtfulness that makes your gift and you stand out.

Try to figure out different ways to solve a problem. Think “out of the box”. Stop following the same rules you follow every day. Create your own style as you see fit.

It’s not about choosing colors and lines, it’s all about expressing your feelings in a unique way, and most importantly in a way that touches others. Keep in mind the words of Thomas Robbins who said that “in the haunted house of life, art is the only star that doesn’t creak.”

Final Word

As mentioned in the beginning, people are inherently creative beings born with an innate desire to express themselves. Art is only one medium for such expression and offers a range of creative activities that are only limited by your imagination.

Artistic expression significantly benefits our physical, mental and emotional health, and simply put, makes us happier and healthier as individuals.

By expressing ourselves and creating a piece of art, we are not the only ones who enjoy the benefits. If we decide to share that piece of art with the rest of the world, others can enjoy it too. With only one click of a mouse, we can share our artwork with not just thousands, but millions of people across the world.

Over to you –

Do you pursue any form of art? Does art make you happy or benefits you in anyway? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.