Hello my BASK friends!
One very important part of self-care is getting to express yourself through being creative. Ever since I was a little girl, I have enjoyed making things whether it is through cooking, playing music, dancing, or my favorite, doing arts and crafts.
Looking back, my creativity likely has a lot to do with my awesome mom who loves to knit for nearly every human I know 😜 and because I am a Montessori kid. Hands on learning is my jam. I remember doing latch hook, making embroidery friendship bracelets (which I can still crush today), creating book marks and beaded jewelry, learning how to knit, and so much more. After college, I taught outdoor education classes (e.g. dream catchers, paper marbling, ice cream and more) to school-age kids and love getting my hands on all of the art kits in our house. One of the things that my husband says that he remembers when he first met me and loves about me is my creativity. With the busy day-to-day, we can lose touch with our creative side and forget to make time for things that we enjoy.
No matter my feelings or mood, I am making it more of a habit to go and do the things that are fun and let my creativity out. There is something really satisfying about picking up an old skill or learning a new one and making something beautiful.
I love coloring and so do many people. One of my clients who had panic attacks found great relief in being able to color when she felt an attack coming on. This was many years before the adult coloring book craze. Who knew? Well, apparently, she did. Interestingly, Jung was one of the first psychologists to use coloring, and did so with mandalas, as a way to induce relaxation (Santos, 2014).
My daughter colored this mandala and the design is from the sticker mandala book below.
This book by Giftcraft Inc. has tons of stickers that you can color. Not only is it soothing to color, but then you can decorate with it by putting it on something you like (a wall, a gift bag, stationery, a folder, a journal, a water bottle, etc.). I don't see where you can buy it, but I added one below in the resources links that I think is similar.
Colorfy is such a fun coloring application that you can install on your tablet or phone. There are both free and paid versions. When I need to calm down or chill out and I am not near my physical coloring materials, I just grab my phone, start coloring, and voila:
Here is my crew reaping the psychological benefits of art and coloring when we went to an art museum and took a break and colored some cool printouts. Check out that beautiful nature scene outside the glass atrium! (That alone was calming.)
Here is another example of family art time when we were at a national park's visitor center. We all were calmer and felt soothed during these moments.
Coloring and any kind of creativity calms us as it recenters and focuses us. According to Landa (2014), research has shown that drawing releases dopamine, which leads to feelings of pleasure. The relaxation from coloring decreases the activity of the amygdala, our emotion and stress processing center of our brain. When a person is being creative, they are imagining possibilities. One expert, Kaimal (as cited in Gharib, 2020) says that the act of imagination is actually about survival. I never have thought of it that way. Art helps people feel hopeful by imagining possibilities about how we can overcome and survive them. Art lowers stress and helps us process our emotions. Can't we all agree that this is pretty needed right now for all of us?
What kind of creative activities do you enjoy? How do you feel when you’re doing them?
With a Grateful Heart,
Kerry
Resources and Some Favorite Links
( I am not sponsored.)
* I haven't used this, but this looks a lot like the one I shared above.
https://www.amazon.com/Color-Your-Own-Stickers-Mandalas/dp/1497200504
1) Colorfy: https://www.colorfy.net/
2) Gharib, M. (2020, January 11). Feeling Artsy? Here's How Making Art Helps Your Brain. National
Public Radio: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/01/11/795010044/feeling-artsy-heres-how-making-art-
3) Landa, R. (2014). Print. Draw yourself happy: Drawing, creativity, and your brain.
http://www.printmag.com/featured/draw-yourself-happy-drawing-creativity-your-brain/
4) Santos, E. (2014). The Huffington Post. Coloring isn't just for kids. It can actually help adults combat stress. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coloring-for-stress_n_5975832
5) Ziegler, A. (2020, January 1). How crafting affects the brain, According to experts.
https://www.romper.com/p/how-crafting-affects-the-brain-according-to-experts-19639705
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