Can Creativity Help Depression? A Look at the Science

When you’re in the midst of depression, you know how hard it can be to get things done. Just thinking about getting out of bed can be exhausting. Nothing seems exciting or worth doing.

The get-up-and-go feeling that usually motivates you just isn’t there. So what happened? Research about motivation and depression sheds some light on where your motivation goes and how creativity can bring it back, even in your most difficult moments.

Why Does Motivation Dip When You’re Depressed?

You may have noticed that when you are motivated, you are full of positive emotions. You may be excited about a new project, or derive a high level of satisfaction from your tasks.

When you are depressed, you likely feel the exact opposite. That’s because depression alters brain function.

Normally, the brain produces a flurry of neural activity to quickly assess the effort/reward potential of completing an action. During this process, the brain filters through countless bits of data to decide if a behavior will lead to an enjoyable outcome.

The better the reward, the greater the chance that you will go through with the action. This is why when you’re feeling your best, you can probably choose to spend time with a friend or take part in your hobbies without hesitation.

However, when its function is impaired, the brain does not interpret data in the same way. Just like a funhouse mirror distorts images, the depressed brain exaggerates how much effort an action will take. At the same time, it minimizes the potential reward.

As a result, motivation tanks, and nothing seems worth doing. This can lead to a bad cycle of inactivity. You don’t feel good enough to do something, and you don’t do enough to feel good.

This two-way relationship between motivation, emotion, and mood is the basis of behavioral activation, a type of therapeutic strategy. In a nutshell, behavioral activation pulls you out of the inaction cycle by challenging you to purposefully schedule activities that reflect your interests and values.

If you can get yourself to do engaging activities, even if you don’t feel like doing them, the action itself can boost your mood and increase your motivation. Creative activities are amongst the most rewarding types of actions and require little preparation or planning.

How Creativity Counters Low Motivation

While creativity is often associated with the arts or music, any activity that is open-ended, self-directed, and autonomous can be considered creative. Reorganizing your furniture takes just as much creativity as writing a story or drawing a picture.

The more autonomy we have while completing a task, the more we will find it intrinsically motivating. This means the brain is better able to perceive the rewards and justify any required effort.

Not only are creative activities satisfying and motivating but they also provide several other benefits:

1.Emotional outlet

Depression can interfere with functioning in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain region that processes emotions. Creative activities can boost activity in that area. A more active PFC is associated with improved emotional regulation and low stress levels.

2. Source of self-efficacy and self-esteem

Feeling confident in your skills and ability to complete tasks, also known as self-efficacy, is an essential aspect of well-being. People often feel an increased sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy after performing a creative mastery task, like sewing or playing an instrument.

As artist Henri Matisse so elegantly stated, “Creativity takes courage.” And with courage, comes confidence.

A study of 39 women who used needlepoint to manage their depression found a link between creativity and increased self-esteem. When the women noticed their progress in their work and received positive feedback about their art from their loved ones, they felt immense pride. Most of the women also became deeply absorbed in their work. When they focused on their intricate needlework, they felt relief from their anxious and depressive thoughts.

3. Flow state

If you are doing a creative task you love and are good at, it can feel as if hours go by in an instant. This phenomenon is known as the flow state and is linked with improved mood and fulfillment.

Deepak Chopra, writer and wellness advocate, describes it like this, “When you are in the field of creativity, you lose track of time. Only the flow exists.”

While everyone can experience flow, it comes more easily for some people than others. However, very early research indicates that tDCS can help induce the flow state.

3 Practical Ways to Use Creativity as an Antidepressant

Here are a few evidence-based exercises you can use when depression makes you feel down and unmotivated:

Journal prompts: If you like to express yourself through writing, journal prompts are a great way to ignite your creativity. You can find prompts on any topic. Here are a few you can use:

• Write an episode/alternative ending for your favorite TV show or movie.
• Imagine you were a friend’s/partner’s/celebrity’s shadow for a day. What would it be like?
• Write about your favorite song. What is it about? Where were you when you first heard it? How did you feel?

Start by writing whatever comes to mind for five to ten minutes. If you’re still inspired when the time’s up, continue.

Explore your options: Creativity also means thinking outside the box and considering alternative pathways. If you’ve been facing a challenge, or having a difficult time making a decision, try to come up with at least three other options you could choose.

You could create a mind map, describe the absolute best and worst-case scenarios, or use another brainstorming technique. Even if this exercise doesn’t change your course of action, it can remind you that there is always more than one way to approach a problem.

Give yourself a challenge: Take a health or wellness goal and transform it into an open-ended creative challenge. For example, if you want to improve your nutrition, you can try a rainbow food challenge and see how many different colorful fruits and vegetables you can incorporate into your meals.

The Get Outside challenge encourages participants to spend more time outdoors. The only criterion is leaving your house at least once a day - how you do that is completely up to you. Here are some ideas to start you off:

• Try a new outdoor game or activity
• Make a list of local plants/animals and do a photo scavenger hunt
• Have a picnic
• Find a new way home from a place you go to often (the supermarket, school, etc)

Anyone can benefit from incorporating creative activities into their schedule. The key is to choose tasks and projects that align with your interests, skills, and energy level. It’s also important not to place any pressure on yourself. When using creativity therapeutically, the process is far more important than the outcome. As long as the activity is enjoyable and engaging, keep at it!

For more mood-boosting activities: 12 natural treatments for depression

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