Can Art Improve Your Life?

‘The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.’

                                                       Pablo Picasso Artist

Do you enjoy going to art exhibitions, to the theatre and concerts, or simply reading a really well written book; or do you have a hobby like photography, painting, literature, playing an instrument, pottery or sewing. Or do you think that you to not have a creative streak and that the arts and crafts have nothing to offer? Whatever your situation, you may be surprised by some of the revelations in today’s post.

Why art contributes to our well-being

We humans appear to have an essential need for exploration and for following our personal creative impulses.^1,2 There is evidence that the early humans (Homo errectus) have already engaged in creative activities at least 200,000 years ago, well before modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved.²

There is also growing evidence that the arts and creative activities have a very positive influence on our mental well-being and physical health.^3,4 This beneficial effect has been demonstrated for visual arts, music, literature, poetry, performing arts, as well as crafts and design, and includes the ‘passive’ appreciation of art as well as the active participation in a creative process.

There are many reasons why art has such a positive effect on us, including:^2-6

• Engaging in arts evokes positive emotions due to experiencing awe and appreciation of beauty, as well as evoking interest, fascination and curiosity, and sometimes even amusement and humour. We may also experience flow, a highly pleasurable feeling, which occurs when we are so deeply absorbed in an activity that we lose the sense of time and self-consciousness. There is strong evidence that experiencing the various forms of art (be it passively or actively) can reduce stress and physical pain.  
• Engaging in art can also be intellectually challenging, and helps us seeing new perspectives. Learning new skills, leaning or creating something, which is meaningful to us also gives us an opportunity for goal pursuit, to feel pride (for positive achievement), and it can give us a sense of increased self-esteem, quality of life and empowerment/sense of control. It can also give us a sense of expansion and growth, which makes us feel good (as we learnt in the last post).
• Art stimulates our imagination and reflection; it can encourage us to enter an inner dialog with ourselves and express emotions, which we find otherwise difficult to express. Deep and nuanced feelings may be communicated through metaphors and imagery rather than explicit words. Similarly, we may find it easier to access painful memories through art. In this way, art can help us to build an identity and can be a safe and healthy vehicle of expression and cathartic release. 
• Art is in itself a way of communication, but the connective potential goes even further: Through art we can connect to likeminded people, exchange views and enjoy experiences together, so that it helps to decrease feelings of social isolation, increase social cohesion and dialog. In a larger social context, art can give us a sense of (cultural) belonging.
• Engaging in arts keeps us active; some forms, such as dancing, can even be physically challenging and keep us fit.

So in summary, arts and creative crafts can improve our well-being by giving physical, psychological, spiritual and social support.

Individual differences

Although the evidence suggests that there are general benefits of artistic engagement as mentioned above, there are some individual differences. It has been shown that the personality trait of ‘Openness’ is strongly associated with engagement in artistic and cultural activities.^7,8 Openness can be broadly described as the ability to form creative mental associations. However, Openness can be further divided into ‘Openness for new experiences‘ (= increased perception, fantasy, appreciation of aesthetics and emotions) and ‘Intellect’ (= the ability for abstract and divergent thinking). It has been shown that it is predominantly the trait of Openness for new experiences which predicts successful engagement in artistic creative activities while Intellect has been shown to be associated with creative scientific achievement.⁸

It has also been shown that for people who score higher on Openness to experience (rather than Intellect), the sensation of novelty is particularly stimulating and leads to a sense of pleasure and interest.⁶

However, although these individual differences may cause a stronger or weaker intrinsic interest for creative activities, the benefits of arts and crafts can be enjoyed by anybody.

When and how can we use art to increase our well-being

Arts and creative crafts in the widest sense can be helpful in pretty much any situation.

When we are healthy, art can help us by simply increasing well-being, decreasing stress and preventing disease,^2-3 but the important role of art as a form of therapy has also been increasingly recognized.^2-5 The arts have been shown to be helpful in a variety of mental diseases from anxiety disorders and depression over post traumatic stress disorder to dementia. But there is also evidence that they can aid recovery from physical illness. For example, hospital discharge times and physical pain can both be reduced by music and visual arts, and singing can help with the management of chronic respiratory conditions. It has also been shown that art can be very valuable to people with terminal illness as it can also be a vehicle of spiritual legacy: Creating artwork is a way of communicating with others and sharing ideas even beyond the point of our death.

There is a huge diversity in the types of creative activities including literature/poetry and creative writing, theatre and drama, dance, music, visual arts and crafts, new media, architecture, design, film and combined arts; even gardening and creative cooking are by some considered to belong into the arts in the widest sense.²

Within each group there is again a huge choice. For example, music may be enjoyed in a concert or by listening to CDs or the radio, or we may sing (alone or in a choir) or play an instrument (again either alone or in a band or an orchestra). Visual arts may be enjoyed in galleries or museums, at our place of work or in our homes, or we may paint, draw, or sculpture. We can also take up courses such as textile arts, pottery/ceramics, painting, sculpturing, expressive dance, photography and filming or creative writing. 

How to release your inner artist

One of the big problems when we start getting involved in creative activity is excessive self-criticism and being overly focused on the outcome. So here are some tips on how to make your engagement in art an enjoyable activity so that you can ‘wash the dust off your soul’:

• Do not just assume that you have no talent. There is such a huge variety in the arts that there truly is a niche for everybody. Like with everything else in life, you will improve with time and practice.
• Whatever activity you choose, try to have an open mind and focus on the process, rather than the result. Don’t overthink your results and allow self-censoring particularly in the early stages. Experiment, explore and have fun. Go out to museums, galleries, the theatre, concerts, nature and meet people to find inspiration.
• Do not compare yourself with others- this is about you having a good time with your hobby, not a competition.
• Also, although other people are mostly very supportive of the artistic aspirations of others, you may encounter some fun-spoilers from time to time. Try not to listen to unconstructive external criticism. In a way, the nice thing about art that everybody can have their own opinion and beauty truly lies in the eye of the beholder. If you enjoy it, then it is good enough!
• If you are a complete novice, it can certainly help to take up a course. I have found that learning a new skill is often more about having a good teacher rather than about talent. Also, the creative process can be more dynamic in a group, as you can learn from each other and bounce ideas around.

The creative process is complex and of course it depends to a degree on the type of activity. Despite the vital role that creativity has played throughout human history (from scientific inventions through to artistic creation) there is still a lack of knowledge about how exactly creative thinking occurs.⁹

As mentioned in the previous post, creativity is associated with the cooperation and integration/effective communication of both hemispheres of the brain.^1,2 More specific brain-related factors, which have been suggested to contribute to creativity are variations in the composition of tissue in different brain areas (e.g. greater amount of grey matter in the prefrontal cortex), greater functional contribution of the right hemisphere (which is more closely associated with the processing of emotions, images and metaphors, and non-linear/divergent thinking), and alpha brain wave activity to name just a few.²

No matter what exactly happens in our brains, there are a few things, which have been shown to increase our creative potential, including: positive emotions, having unfocused thinking time and giving yourself room to play, diversifying and exposing ourselves to new experiences as well as mindfulness practices.^10-12  

Further information on the web

Here are a few further resources on the topic of art and creative thinking:

• The BBC website has a great webpage, supporting the notion that art is a journey that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age, gender or ability: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z842xnb#zwkxtfr
• In his highly entertaining TED lecture, organizational psychologist Adam Grant examines the question what we can learn from creative and original thinkers. His research on the topic has shown some very interesting and amusing points about the creative process. https://www.ted.com/talks/adam_grant_the_surprising_habits_of_original_thinkers
• Brene Brown is best known for the TED talk about vulnerability, which has featured in this blog earlier in the year, but she has also given an interesting lecture about creativity and how to deal with critics, including the one inside yourself: http://99u.com/videos/20052/brene-brown-stop-focusing-on-your-critics

Preview:  I hope that this post has helped to demonstrate the importance of art in our lives, and that it may have inspired you to take up a new hobby. Next week we are going to discuss the very important but often overlooked skill of seeing the funny side of things- whether it is when we are learning a new skill or something goes wrong in our daily lives.

References and further reading:

1. Siegel D. Mindsight: Transform Your Brain with the New Science of Kindness. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, UK. 2011.

2. All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report (2017). Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing. Retrieved from: http://www.artshealthandwellbeing.org.uk/appg-inquiry/

3. Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project (2008). Final Project report. The Government Office for Science, London. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/292450/mental-capital-wellbeing-report.pdf

4. Robotham D, Morgan K, James K. Learning for Life: Adult learning, mental health and wellbeing. Mental Health Foundation. London. 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/learning-life-adult-learning-mental-health-and-wellbeing

5. Secker J, Spandler H, Hacking S, Kent L, Shenton J. Art for mental health’s sake. Mental Health Today. 2007;July/August:34-36.

6. Fayn K, MacCann C, Tillopoulos N, Silvia PJ. Aesthetic emotions and aesthetic people: Openness predicts sensitivity to novelty in the experiences of interest and pleasure. Frontiers in Psychology. 2015;6:1877.

7. Nettle D. Personality: What makes you the way you are. Oxford University Press; New York. 2007.

8. Kaufman SB, Quilty LC, Grazioplene RG, Hirsh JB, Gray JR, Peterson JB, DeYoung CG. Openness to experience and intellect differentially predict creative achievement in the arts and sciences. Journal of Personality. 2016;84(2):248-258.

9. Abraham A. Promises and perils of the neuroscience of creativity. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2013;7:246.

10. Fredrickson BS, Cohn MA, Coffey KA, Pek J, Finkel SM. Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2008;95(5):1045-1062.

11. Seppälä E. The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success. Piatkus; London, UK. 2016.­­

12. Kabat-Zinn J: Full Catastrophe Living: How To Cope With Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation. Piatkus. 2013.

If you found this information helpful, please consider supporting the campaign under Just Giving. Of course it is also great if you choose to support another charity or do a practical good deed, but it would be nice if you could let me know that you have done this because you felt inspired by this campaign. Please also feel free to share this post and let me know if you have any constructive feedback- good or bad!

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All About Perfectionism: When It Works, When It Hurts, And How To Become A Happy Imperfect Perfectionist

‘If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.’

                                                                           Beyonce Knowles (musician)

The nice thing about writing this blog is that I learn so much. I am a bit of a perfectionist just as - no doubt - many of you are. In many ways, trying to live a Good Life has to do with learning to live with errors, mistakes and imperfections, but I just had no idea how complex the subject of perfectionism was before researching for this post!

Perfectionism is a personality trait, which is particularly common in the veterinary profession and many other occupations with a high proportion of high achievers, including sport professionals. However, being a perfectionist also has its price. So today’s post dedicated to this interesting trait, discussing its impact on well-being and strategies on how to overcome excessive perfectionism. Even if you are lucky enough not to be a perfectionist yourself, you may find this post interesting as it can explain why your work colleague, friend or family member is sometimes behaving the way they are!

Not all perfectionists are the same

Perfectionism is usually defined as the striving to be or appear perfect and without fault, although the definition can vary somewhat across the literature.^1-6 For example, perfectionists have been described as ‘those whose standards are high beyond reach or reason, people who strain compulsively and unremittingly towards impossible goals and who measure their own worth entirely in terms of productivity and accomplishment’, or ‘setting of excessively high standards for performance accompanied by overly critical self-evaluation’.¹ So as perfectionists, we are generally more likely to base our self-worth on achievement and striving, and we are more likely to be self-critical.

However, not all perfectionists are the same and there are some important subgroups:

• Directions of perfectionism: For example, we can have high expectations of ourselves (self-orientated perfectionism), or have high expectations of other people (other-orientated perfectionism).¹
• Motivation for perfectionism:^2,3
• Personal Standard Perfectionists (PSP) set high standards when evaluating their own performance. This means that they strive for perfection because of a strong inner motivation.
• Evaluative Concerns Perfectionists (ECP) are striving for high achievements because they are excessively concerned about making errors and mistakes, particularly out of fear of negative evaluation or reaction by others, or feelings of discrepancy between the own (high) expectation and perceived performance. Errors result in strong negative thoughts and feelings of blame, shame or guilt.
• These traits can either occur in a mixed form (PSP and ECP combined), or as ‘pure’ PSP or ESP perfectionism.

The interesting point is that the various groups of perfectionism have different pros and cons. As mentioned above, perfectionism is not all bad: particularly Personal Standard Perfectionists can excel in their chosen activities, whether it is at work, or when pursuing hobbies or sport activities (adaptive perfectionism).^1-3,5 This type of perfectionism also appears to be (at least to some degree) protective from burnout and exhaustion, as the striving for perfection due to internal motives leads to positive emotional experiences, active coping strategies and increased performance.³ On the other hand, Evaluative Concern Perfectionists are significantly more likely to experience anxiety and a variety of different mental disorders, including depression, burnout and eating disorders.^1-6  

Another important difference between the different types is that people with Evaluative Concerns Perfectionism find it more difficult to constructively learn from their mistakes.² If we are concerned about our evaluation by others, we are more likely to spend a great deal of our time assessing potential threats, more likely to experience anxiety, and to use avoidant coping styles (withdrawing or escaping from perceived threats, rather than actively seeking a solution). We are also more likely to have a rigid self-evaluation, excessive black-and-white thinking, and ruminate about past failures.^1,3 This means that Evaluative Concerns Perfectionists experience a lot of stress when receiving external expectations and criticism, and feel that their self-worth is under constant threat.²

Perfectionism, conscientiousness and obsessive compulsive personality disorder⁴

Perfectionism does not only come in different categories, but also it is also a scale from mild to severe. There is also some overlap with other personality traits. It has even been suggested that perfectionism can in fact be seen as an extreme version of the personality trait of Conscientiousness.

People who score high on Conscientiousness are highly disciplined, organized and self-controlled; they are able to set internal goals and plans, and stick to them without procrastination. On the other hand, people scoring lower on Conscientiousness are more spontaneous, impulsive and may have a weakness of will.

Of all personality traits, Conscientiousness is the most reliable predictor of professional success, particularly in jobs with a relatively high level of autonomy. On the other side of the medal, conscientiousness can lead to overproductivity, excessive goal chasing and people may turn into very driven workaholics, neglecting social contacts and the need for relaxed downtime. Also, conscientious people do not do well in an unpredictable environment, as they are restricted in spontaneity and flexibility. They find a change of routine very upsetting and difficult to adjust to. On the other hand, low Conscientiousness scorers often cope very well in a chaotic environment.

Perfectionism and Conscientiousness can also be associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), which can be defined as a ‘pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness and efficiency’. OCPD is not to be confused with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is an anxiety disorder associated with frequent intrusive and obsessive thoughts combined with repetitive compulsive behaviour, impulses or urges, whereas people with OCPD are pre-occupied with schedules, lists and tasks and show a very inflexible approach to rules with excessive black-and-white thinking. In the extreme form, OCPD may prevent a person from getting things done, as they are not able to complete any projects due to their extreme striving for perfection.

However, although there are these important associations and overlapping characteristics, perfectionism has been generally regarded as a unique multifaceted personality trait in its own right.³

Three reasons why extreme perfectionism does not make you perfect

So particularly perfectionists who are highly concerned with the evaluation by others can have an unpleasant time when trying to perform well. But ironically, the desire to be flawless can also interfere with our performance:

• Taking longer to perform tasks or not completing tasks: Perfectionists can take longer to do and re-do tasks, or spending more time on it than necessary due to the high standards or the fear of making mistakes, which can result in avoidance, procrastination, repeated checking and excessive thoroughness.⁵ Performance anxiety is a particular feature, and may lead to incompletion of tasks at work or academic projects and exams.¹
• A higher likelihood to make mistakes: As previously mentioned in other posts, strong negative emotions activate the body’s stress response (fight-or-flight reaction), including the release of stress hormones. This stress response (which is easily evoked by harsh self-criticism and the fear of making mistakes) in turn reduces cognitive function, and may decrease our ability to think straight and lead to poor decision-making. Particularly in a complex and high-pressure working environment with high demands, this can additionally reduce our performance and paradoxically increase the likelihood to make mistakes.⁶
• Reduced ability to learn from previous mistakes: The key to improved performance is to learn from errors and sub-optimal outcomes. In order to draw constructive conclusions for better future behaviour, we need to be able to look openly at these events.^2,6 However, this may not be possible if we are overly concerned with the evaluation by others, and we may instead be tempted to go into denial and/or blame others for our failures.

How to become a happy imperfect perfectionist?⁵

So, perfectionism is a mixed bag- it can actually be a very helpful characteristic in many ways but the extreme forms, particularly if combined with an excessive concern about the evaluation by others and harsh self-criticism, can be more inhibitive than helpful.

The good news is that there is a lot of evidence to suggest that we can reduce our striving for perfection.^1,5-7 The secret here is of course to reduce the maladaptive and unhelpful aspects, while preserving or potentially even further increasing our ability to perform well at the times when it really matters. I am not going to pretend that this is easy, but it is certainly possible! Reducing unhelpful perfectionism means particularly addressing the way we handle mistakes and failures, and becoming aware of whether we try to do something well because we genuinely care about the outcome, or because we are predominantly concerned about how our performance is evaluated by others.

In severe cases it is certainly advisable to seek professional help as cognitive behavioural therapy has been found to be effective in the treatment of perfectionism and its potential wide range of associated issues,^1-5 but there are also many basic self-directed steps we can take:^1,6-8

• Be realistic and adopt a growth mindset: Have you ever really believed that your perfectionism is making you perfect? Of course not. As much as we would love it, perfection just does not exist. Absolutely everybody has some flaws and makes mistakes, and that includes ourselves: to err is human. So instead of trying in vain to become some sort of super-human, it is more helpful to try and adopt a growth mindset: When we believe that we can develop our strengths and see mistakes and errors as an opportunity for growth, we are less likely to lose too much confidence when experiencing failures, as we see our abilities and skills less tightly connected to ourself as a person. As Beyonce Knowles noticed, only imperfection allows for learning and growth.
• What can be really helpful is to learn from other people, who use constructive ways of dealing with mistakes and who are able to say: ‘Yes, I got this wrong but let’s see how I can avoid this happening again.’ I am sure that all of us know a colleague, a friend or family member like this!
• It is particularly important to change unhelpful attitudes and beliefs, and learn to deal with negative emotions associated with perfectionism. This includes reducing or softening negative self-talk by replacing ‘must’, ‘should’ with ‘I would like to’. This converts overly strict rules without options into a goal or desire, which is kinder and less absolute.  
• Deal with your inner critic: As we perfectionists can be very unforgiving self-critics, this one of the most important issue to address. Following from above point, try and learn to treat yourself with some kindness. Self-compassion is a very important skill in this context, which allows us to assess our strength and weaknesses more objectively, and helps us dealing with mistakes and errors that we make more constructively. Find out more about self-criticism and self-compassion in the post Taming Your Inner Critic: About Self-Acceptance and Self-Compassion.
• Try to differentiate: Not all situations are the same and perfectionism is not necessarily required in all contexts. Try and make a habit of assessing situations and only apply high standards in circumstances where it really matters, i.e. when the outcome is truly important. You may find that in many circumstances good is good enough, which will save you time and energy.
• Practice mindfulness: An important aspect of mindfulness is to cultivate the willingness to be with things as they are - which can be understood as the ‘antithesis’ of the striving for perfection out of the sense that we are currently not good enough. Amongst other things, mindfulness allows us to experience moments of non-striving and we learn to cultivate acceptance.

A truly amazing person- What can we learn from…:⁹

Reshma Saujani is somebody who learnt about failure the hard way: she ran for the US congress and spectacularly lost the election. Although she admits that it was a very humiliating experience, it did not take her too long to re-orientate herself and take on another project: During the election campaign, she had visited local schools and noticed a significant gender gap in computing classes. In 2012 she founded the non-profit organization Girls Who Code in order to teach young women computer skills. In her inspiring Ted Lecture Teach Girls Bravery Not Perfection, she discusses why perfectionism can be a particular problem in women.

What we can learn from Reshma Saujani is that it is not only possible to turn a big failure into something of value, but that it may be also time to discuss the issue of perfectionism and the fear of making mistakes on a wider level within society and different professions.

Preview: As striving for personal growth is a more helpful mindset than striving for perfection, we will discuss different ways in which we can expand our personal horizon next week. 

References and further reading:

1. Shafran R, Coughtrey A, Kothari R. New frontiers in the treatment of perfectionism. New Frontiers in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies. 2016;9(2):99-106.

2. Barke A, Bode S, Dechent P, Schmidt-Samoa C, Van Heer C, Stahl J. To err is (perfectly) human: behavioural and neural correlates of error processing and perfectionism. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 2017;12(10):1647-1657.

3. Hill AP, Curran T. Multidimensional perfectionism and burnout: A meta-analysis. Personality and Sorcial Psychology Review. 2015;20(3):269-288.

4. Nettle D. Personality: What makes you the way you are. Oxford University Press; New York. 2007.

5. Kothari R, Egan S, Shafran R. Overcoming perfectionism: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial of an internet-based guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy intervention. JMIR Research Protocols. 2016;5(4):e215.

6. Seppälä E. The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success. Piatkus; London, UK. 2016.­­

7. Pittman CM, Karle EM: Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to use the neuroscience of fear to end anxiety, panic & worry. New Harbinger Publications: Oakland. 2015.

8. Kabat-Zinn J: Full Catastrophe Living: How To Cope With Stress, Pain and Illness Using Mindfulness Meditation. Piatkus. 2013.

9. https://www.ted.com/talks/reshma_saujani_teach_girls_bravery_not_perfection, https://girlswhocode.com/our-team/, https://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-ceo-of-girls-who-code-wants-you-to-know-that-its-ok-to-fail

If you found this information helpful, please consider supporting the campaign under Just Giving. Of course it is also great if you choose to support another charity or do a practical good deed, but it would be nice if you could let me know that you have done this because you felt inspired by this campaign. Please also feel free to share this post and let me know if you have any constructive feedback- good or bad!

View and Save as PDF

Follow the Blog- http://followthegoodlifecampaign.blogspot.co.uk

Donations- https://www.justgiving.com/teams/thegoodlifecampaign

Donations are in aid of the International Rescue Committee and the World Veterinary Service