Art can help your mental health

It doesn't take much skill to incorporate drawing, music or writing into your life and enjoy their benefits on your mood.

When Frank Clark was studying psychiatry in medical school, he decided to write his first poem.

“All that chatter that was in my head, everything I had been feeling, I just had to put it on paper and my pen would speak for me,” he said, recalling his thoughts from that time.

At the time, he was struggling with depression and had turned to several things to keep it at bay, including running, going to therapy, taking medication, and leaning on his faith.

“I had to find something else to fill the void,” he said. It turned out that poetry was the missing piece of his “well-being puzzle.”

“I saw an improvement in my mood,” said Clark, who now has a practice in Greer, South Carolina. “It gave me another way out.”
The idea that art can improve mental well-being is something many people intuitively understand but can lose sight of, especially if we've become disconnected from the dancing, creative writing, drawing and singing we used to enjoy as children.

But there is a “pretty strong body of evidence” that suggests that creating art, like activities like attending a concert or visiting a museum, can be good for mental health, said Jill Sonke, research director at the Center for Mental Health. Arts in Medicine from the University of Florida.

Below are some simple ways to improve our mood with the help of art.

Try the three drawings technique
James Gordon, psychiatrist and founder of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, pioneered the “three-picture technique,” which appears in the new book Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.
“In my experience, this type of art goes beyond words, as it helps us understand what happens to us and understand what we should do with it,” Gordon states in the book.

You don't need to be talented at drawing: figures made with simple lines work. Start by drawing a quick drawing of yourself; without thinking too much about it. In the second, draw yourself with your biggest problem and in the third, draw yourself after solving it.

The goal of this exercise is to encourage self-discovery and help people take charge of their healing. It can be done with or without a therapist, explains Susan Magsamen, associate professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-author of the book.

Color something complex
If you're one of the many people who have turned to adult coloring books, you may not be surprised that research suggests this activity can help relieve anxiety.

Coloring within the lines—of a complex pattern, for example—seems to be particularly effective. A study of college students and another of older adults found that spending 20 minutes coloring a mandala (a complex geometric design) did more to reduce anxiety than free-form coloring for the same amount of time.

Susan Albers, a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic and author of 50 Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food, described the act of coloring as a “mini mental vacation.” When we focus on the texture of the paper and choose colors we like, it's easier to tune out distractions and stay in the present moment, she says.

“It's a great form of meditation for people who hate meditating,” she added.

Enjoy more music
Research shows that listening to music, playing an instrument or singing can be beneficial.

For example, a 2022 study surveyed more than 650 people across four age groups and asked them to rank the arts activities that helped them “feel better” during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. The youngest, ages 18 to 24 years, they rated musical activities as the most effective by far. In all age groups, “singing” was one of the most valued activities.

Other studies have found that singing reduces levels of cortisol, a hormone the body releases when under stress. For example, mothers who had recently given birth and regularly sang to their babies had less anxiety.

Magsamen noted that music can be effective in reducing stress because elements such as rhythm, lyrics and repetitive chords activate multiple regions of the brain.

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