Bleativity / Why creativity is the missing piece in the wellness puzzle

Way back when quinoa was something that no-one could pronounce – creatives knew the inherent benefit in making art. The anecdotal evidence was clear to see. Creative-types who weren’t functioning artists tended to go down the addiction route. But, if they could make art, they could heal. And people have long credited creativity with preventing them from pushing the self-destruct button at all.

Then the wellness movement came along in all its might. Talking therapies became more mainstream, and the value of diet, exercise and alternative remedies were finally acknowledged. Yoga, mindfulness and meditation are now no-brainers, and everyone everywhere seems to know who Deliciously Ella and The Body Coach are. I am fully on the wellness wagon too, and have been ever since I started writing about alternative health, as a journalist for British magazines (and later, newspapers) from 2000.

Today, a host of products and services have arisen to make wellness a $3.4 trillion global industry (according to a Global Wellness Institute study). That includes healthy eating, nutrition and weight loss, preventative and personalised health, complementary and alternative medicine, and beauty and anti-aging products and services.

Wellness tourism is booming, and in our busy world – it’s becoming increasingly common to check your phone at the spa door, get pampered and preened and return to an even busier life.

Unfortunately, the busyness of modern life is stripping our brains of their creativity. Research by the Bar-IIlan University in Israel has shown that we need to be bored and idle, in order to stimulate our creativity. That we need to be able to switch between focus and daydreaming. Many people simply have no downtime. They’re on all day, before crashing into bed. It’s a rinse-and-repeat cycle that’s damaging mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. If you live like this for too long, your emotional experiences flatten out. If you get too numb, you feel nothing, and life becomes devoid of passion, purpose and power.

The problem is that emotions are never benign, and whether you feel them, or not, they are still there. Emotions are living, breathing entities that cause changes in blood chemistry – literally affecting our physical health. And finally, both Western and Eastern doctors are beginning to agree on this. One thing is for sure, stress is responsible for dis-ease. The American Institute of Stress estimate that between 75%-90% of all doctor visits are for stress-related problems. While another study, published by the American Psychological Society found that 90% of adults believe that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses. We feel it, we see it, we know it. But what people don’t often know is that creativity is a remedy – a tonic that can help bring about real change.