Did you know: Crafting is good for your mental health?

Options like knitting and drawing require very few tools and can be fun and creative activities, as well as being good for mental health - Photo: GETTY

Dr Helen Keyes, cognitive psychologist and head of psychology and sport science at Anglia Ruskin University, said taking part in arts and crafts activities was accessible and low-cost.

Options like knitting and drawing require very few tools and can be fun and creative activities that are also beneficial for mental health.

Crafts and their mental health benefits

According to CNN, a new study by Keyes and colleagues found that engaging in creative activities can significantly improve mental health by providing meaningful spaces for expression and achievement.

Although previous studies have shown that creating arts and crafts is therapeutic for people with mental health problems, research in the general population is lacking.

That's why Keyes and colleagues sampled the general population without any diagnosed medical conditions, to see how arts and crafts might contribute to improved mental health and might reduce loneliness in everyday life.

The team used data from a large national survey in the UK in 2019-2020 to investigate how creative activities might influence life satisfaction, controlling for variables known to influence mental health such as gender, age group, health status, employment status and poverty levels.

Researchers analyzed a sample of 7,182 participants living in the UK (over 16 years old) from the annual Taking Part survey conducted by the UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to explore how the public engages in these activities.

“We kept our analysis at a general level of arts and crafts, rather than focusing on specific interests, because we know that people's interests are very different and they will find the creative activity that best suits them,” says Keyes.

More than 37% of survey respondents confirmed that they had participated in at least one craft activity in the past year. They were also asked about their employment status, health status, sense of meaning in life, frequency of feeling lonely, and levels of happiness, anxiety, and life satisfaction.

Participants' reported levels of happiness, life satisfaction, and sense of meaningful life were positively associated with arts and crafts participation, but arts and crafts were not associated with reduced anxiety or loneliness, which requires further research.

Arts and crafts help improve public health

“All forms of art can be beneficial in improving mental health. Benefits include increased self-esteem, reduced anxiety and stress, improved communication, and increased creativity,” said Dr. Frank Clark, a psychiatrist at the nonprofit health care system. Clark was not involved in the study.

The researchers also suggest that arts and crafts could improve public health. “Governments and national health services could consider funding and encouraging craft activities, or even prescribing them for at-risk populations, as part of a promotion and prevention approach to mental health,” says Keyes.

“Participating in craft activities is something that is fairly easy to incorporate into your life.”

“A sense of mastery is so important for mental health and there is a natural sense of mastery associated with crafting and creating art, where people can see their progress and take pride in what they are creating,” Keyes added.

How to get started in creative activities?

If you don’t think of yourself as artistic or creative, Clark has four suggestions for rekindling your creativity. Change your mindset to be more optimistic about your creative potential; don’t be afraid to challenge yourself with a new activity; build relationships with people in creative spaces that interest you; and think about what you did as a child and do it again.

A low-cost way to get creative is to color, even though some people may think of coloring as an activity for kids. “I love adult coloring books and encouraging people to explore their ‘inner child,’” says Clark.

Coloring is an example of a mindfulness practice that has many health benefits, can help promote social connection, improve focus and stimulate creativity.
And when you're creative, anything is possible.

“Creativity has the power to foster resilience, recovery and reconciliation,” he says. “It is an emotional antidote that helps give people a sense of meaning and purpose.”

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/ban-co-biet-lam-do-thu-cong-se-tot-cho-suc-khoe-tam-than-20241001124134316.htm