This “Mental Health Series” is going to highlight how I have worked to improve my mental health (especially as it pertains to struggles with my physical health). Strength and conditioning coaches love to talk about “work/life balance” and “taking care of our mental health”. But I’ve never actually heard anyone share information on how to improve these aspects of health other than “get a therapist” or “go and train”. Again, this is the purpose of this “Mental Health Series” – to show others ways how I have addressed my mental health (with strategies other than just physically exhausting myself). I am NOT a therapist and am not qualified to actually help you – I am simply using this space to share some strategies that have helped me (none of which may help you or all of which may help you). In this Series, the four strategies I will touch on are: Physical Exercise, Having Creative Outlets, Breathing Techniques and Meditation, and Talking with Others.

Part 1 of this series addressed Physical Exercise (Read Here!). If you have not read that one it is a good place to start. Part 2 will now focus on: Having Creative Outlets.

This is one I actually struggled with quite a bit early on. I am a very mathematical mind. My thinking is much more analytical and structured versus “free-flowing”. I had tried to find some “creative outlets” (teaching myself a new language and how to play an instrument), but even then I felt like I was trying to solve problems with math equations over letting my mind be free to explore. I have always loved music and can truly appreciate a good artist’s creativity (I’m not sure how Spotify makes music recommendations for me – my taste is all over). The problem for me was once I started trying to play music it was costing me even more mental energy because I couldn’t “solve the problem”. Instead of allowing myself to enjoy the process and be non-judgmental, I was hard on myself and extremely rigid with my practice. This can be valuable at times, but in this instance it was hurting my mental health more than helping it. I didn’t find out the true value of having creative outlets until I was admitted into McLean Psychiatric Hospital.

While at McLean I did a number of “creative activities” that I would never have given the time of day prior to my stay there. I did puzzles, I colored pictures, I did word searches and crossword puzzles and Sudokus. One day I made a flower bouquet for my wife. At first I was incredibly judgmental; I thought everything was childish and honestly beneath me. I thought I would never enjoy these activities and wrote them off. (My mindset was “meatheads don’t color”.) However, I am incredibly grateful that I put my ego aside and gave them all a chance. The fact of the matter is that all of these activities ARE a bit childish – it’s essentially the point. Allowing myself time to be creative and let my “inner child” out was incredibly rewarding. I felt so relaxed. There was no judgment. No right or wrong. Just some time to allow myself to be creative.

(In fact, this was so powerful for me that my wife and I created a “Creativity Counter” in our apartment. The counter has a puzzle board, a painting area, and word search books on it.)

I believe there are two ways that having creative outlets have positively influenced my mental health. The first is practicing the skill of focus (especially on the present moment). Activities such as learning a new language, learning an instrument, and doing various forms of puzzles force you to put extra attention on being focused in the present moment (this, subsequently, is what makes mindfulness so powerful as well). Focus is a skill that can be improved and these activities create an opportunity to improve upon it. The other way that having creative outlets positively influenced my mental health is the exact opposite of intense focus: it allowed my mind to be free to wander. Activities like doodling, coloring, painting and free flow writing allow you to think freely and express yourself without judgment (this can apply to activities such as playing the guitar, ice skating, and skateboarding as well – think about anything that allows you to “riff” or flow freely for a period of time).

The key in all of this is knowing when to use which strategy. In order to maximize the benefits of what you are doing you have to be “all-in” on the activity. Therefore, for me, when I am feeling motivated, I will do activities that require extra focus (learning Spanish, practicing the ukulele, doing puzzles, writing training templates or blog articles). Conversely, when my mind is “cluttered” or “busy” I will do something a little less serious to help me relax (doodling in my notebook, dancing in my living room, etc.). I typically try to do between 10-60 minutes of “creative time” twice a day (once in the morning before lunch and once in the evening after lunch). For example I may do 15 minutes of Spanish practice in the morning and 30 minutes of blog writing in the afternoon. Or 10 minutes of puzzles in the morning and 20 minutes of doodling in the evening before bed.

Although I have certainly had my fair share of rough moments throughout my mental and physical health struggles (and certainly there will be more), I am grateful for the new things I have learned (and will continue to learn). This process has taught me that it is okay to not take myself so seriously sometimes, and that I can take time to be creative, not be so judgmental of myself, and really experience and enjoy life. I believe finding new creative outlets has played a major role in this process for me.

I try to end these articles with some brief bullet points. That way, even if you are to take nothing else away from this article, you can at least have a few highlights. Below are my key takeaways for you from this article:

-Finding creative outlets improved my mental health by both increasing my ability to focus on the present moment and to allow my mind to wander freely

-Putting aside your ego and harsh self-judgments may open you up to new (and fun) ways of being creative and expressing yourself

-Knowing what state of mind you are in can help you to maximize the benefits of your chosen creative outlet