American Journal of Public Health

Are you familiar with the advice to create more than you consume? Sure, it’s easier than ever to consume information all day long, but you might be missing out.

Researchers assessed how creative expression as a healing process has been used in both clinical and informal practice to promote wellness and healing.

What type of art exactly? We’re talking music (playing and listening), movement-based creative expression, visual art and expressive writing (previously covered here).

The results?

Music is the most accessible and most researched medium of art and healing, especially on calming neural activity in the brain. As I’m sure you’ve experienced, music therapy was shown to decrease anxiety, restore emotional balance, and even reduce pain.

Visual arts (painting, drawing, etc) were shown to help people express experiences that are too difficult to put into words, like the Lakers missing the playoffs for the 5th year in a row. Drawing also helped filter intense emotions and express grief.

Movement-based creative expression focuses on nonverbal, primarily physical, forms of expression. Again, this was shown to reduce stress and anxiety. Shake it off.

Takeaway: Health is often the outcome of action. In all four areas of creative artistic expression reviewed here, there are clear indications that artistic engagement has significantly positive effects on reducing stress, anxiety and pain. Go create.