How Art can Help with Stress

This is a very stressful time for everyone.  Just having your routine upended can be upsetting but then having the fear of getting sick and possibly the loss of work and you are on stress overload.  But art (in any and all forms) can help.

Working on something, anything that you enjoy is a distraction from the stressful news on television or social media.  It gets you thinking about something else and in times like this, that is the best thing you can do.   It helps your mood and relaxes you.  That in the long run helps your health.

Doing anything that will help you laugh improves your health.  Laughter helps release hormones that dissipates stress and improves the immune system.  So do that thing that gives you the most joy.

If you are social distancing, creating art and posting it on Social media or through emails, can help you connect with other people even if you can’t physically be with them.  And creating art helps your surroundings look a little different.  Staying at home and not going to other places can become boring very fast. 

And creating something also helps make the time go by fast.  I was working on a project the other day and before I knew it 3 hours had past.  I was concentrating so hard I wasn’t even aware of the time.

This is the time to start a new project.  Or maybe finished one you started a long time ago.  If nothing else, this may be the time to clean up your art/craft area.  Take an inventory of what you have and what you might need and when the retail shops are up and running, you can help them by shopping for new supplies.

I told a quilting friend of mine that after this break from our Guild meetings, we were going to have one great Show and Tell session.  Maybe on a smaller scale, you could plan a show and tell party with your friends when we don’t have to social distance ourselves anymore.  Show ff what you created and oooh and ahhh what they created.

What ever it is that you enjoy doing, make sure you do it now.  It will help with your stress, with your health, and create a lot of fun in this uncertain time.  Happy Creating.

©2020 Cheryl Fillion