The Benefits of Creativity: How Art, Music, and Writing Can Improve Your Mental Health

Creativity has been shown to improve mental health in many different ways. It provides a way to express what can otherwise be internalized, and a creative outlet gives people a place to vent frustrations.


When I was first diagnosed with anxiety and depression, I thought the only thing that could possibly help me was medication. But what I've discovered through research is that the key to happiness isn't found in drugs; it's found in creativity.

This post will explain the relationship between creativity and mental health, how it can be used to improve productivity, and the benefits of making art and music for your own wellbeing.

STEP 1: Define Creative Behavior

To understand the benefits of creativity, we first need to define what creativity actually is. Here's a list of things you could be creative at:

Writing stories

Drawing pictures

Singing songs

Creating paintings

Making jokes

Writing blog posts

Writing code

Painting landscapes

Cooking recipes

Creating animations

Composing music

STEP 2: How Does Creativity Help With Mental Health?

Mental illness is a disorder where an individual can become overly preoccupied with certain thoughts. This preoccupation can cause a person to experience constant thoughts and feelings of sadness, anxiety, or paranoia.

What most people don't realize is that all of us have some form of mental illness. We're just more likely to have a milder form of the disease because society doesn't recognize it as a real issue. And, the longer we ignore our issues, the harder it will be to manage them.

If we allow ourselves to think about our own illnesses, it can become easy to lose hope. We start comparing ourselves to those that are in better states, and it makes us feel even worse. But when we can use creativity to help express our emotions, it allows us to better understand what we're feeling and make a change.

The following article explains how creative outlets can help you express your emotions without resorting to self-harm.

STEP 3: Why Would You Want To Use Creativity For Emotional Expression?

The first reason why you'd want to use your creativity is that it helps you express emotions that you might otherwise be unable to express.

This is a great place to start because it also gives you a chance to examine yourself and decide whether you are at risk of developing depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness.

There are many ways you can express emotions, but most people end up using negative means such as substance abuse or self-injury. While these are often temporary solutions, they can ultimately worsen the problem.

As you can see, there's a strong correlation between creativity and mental health. But, there are many other positive benefits of using creative outlets to express your feelings.

STEP 4: How Can Creativity Improve Productivity?

If you've never written a book or drawn a picture, it might seem like a completely unnecessary task. But, if you spend all your time working towards goals that don't feel meaningful