By Judy Moon
We recently participated in the Philadelphia Flower Show Window Display Contest. It’s a fun way to show our support since we are all avid gardeners here. It’s a great way to pull some new, fun energy in to our workspace. It’s also a great way to connect with creativity.
When was the last time you did something creative?
I know, a lot of you are saying – “I’m not creative”, or “I can’t draw”, “I’m not crafty”, etc.
Did you know that creativity has health benefits? Research has shown that doing something creative can-
*Decrease negative feelings
*Increase positive feelings
*Decrease stress and anxiety
*Decrease feelings of depression
There are physical benefits as well. In fact, this study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine used writing as a treatment for HIV patients found that writing resulted in “improvements of CD4+ lymphocyte counts.”
That’s the fancy way of saying: the act of writing actually impacted the cells inside the patient’s body and improved their immune system.
In other words, the process of creating art doesn’t just make you feel better, it also creates real, physical changes inside your body.
So if you feel like you fall in to the “I’m not creative” category there are lots of things you can do to “be creative”. Pick up a coloring book – they are wildly popular now, play around on Pinterest and create some fun boards to look at, add some new pillows or nick nacks to your personal space, try a new recipe with ingredients you’ve never worked with, go a craft store and just look around – I guarantee you will be inspired and leave with something!
Happy creating!
