My teenage son always rolls his eyes when I say that creativity saved my life. But it’s true. From writing short stories to get me through the storms of my childhood to learning how to create a new script to live my life by, creativity is one of my highest values and most treasured of skills and has helped me to heal both physically and mentally from life’s slings and arrows.
But, sometimes, the idea of the healing power of creativity can sound too woo-woo for those who do not believe anything other than what has been backed up by a double-blind placebo trial. That’s why I love Daisy Fancourt’s new book, Arts In Health: Designing And Researching Interventions (Oxford University Press, £34.99), which explores the many and various studies showing that the arts do and can heal. ‘Given that there is so much evidence around the impact of culture and community engagement on psychological, social and behavioural aspects of health, as well as a wealth of data showing the cost-e.ectiveness of creativity in health programmes, it is really important that people get a sense of how this works. The use of the arts in health can sound a bit flu.y, but the reality is that the programmes being developed are much more sophisticated than many appreciate,’ says Fancourt. ‘A lot of people out there use the arts because they find them fun and enjoyable, but I don’t think they realise that, if they’re feeling low or anxious, going to a gallery or a concert, or joining a book club, are all ways in which they can support their own health. If they knew this, they might be able to make more use of the resources that are already available around the UK.’
Here, Fancourt writes about how we can all find our unique creative cure…