Since the 90s, art has emerged as an alternative mental health therapy and become part of the social care agenda. Not just making art but also simply looking at it. Visual esthetic experiences can create similar patterns of neuronal activity in the brain as those associated with pleasurable activities such as food and sex.  This kind of brain activity can have a stress-buffering effect and therefore can help stimulate mental resilience.

For managing well-being

The relationship between the arts and mental health is well established in the field of art therapy, which applies arts-based techniques (like painting, dancing and role play) as evidence-based interventions for mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. There is also growing evidence that the arts can be used in non-therapy contexts for promoting mental health, such as using performing arts to learn about the core subject areas in schools or doing visual art with adults who are mentally well, and want to sustain that sense of wellness.

In other words, practising the arts can be used to build capacity for managing one’s mental and emotional well-being.

CHECK THIS OUT: https://whatworkswellbeing.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Full-report-art-mental-health-wellbeing-Jan2018_0146725200.pdf

Making art has been shown to enable people to take greater responsibility for their own health and wellbeing by helping maintain levels of independence and curiosity and improve the quality of life by bringing greater joy.