Art and Wellbeing in Rural OZ: March 2010

The arts are good for your mental health.

According to the World Health Organisation, “mental health is … a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”. But, not everyone is mentally healthy all of the time and according to the WA Department of Health, mental ill-health is the third leading cause of disease burden in Western Australia.

Mental health is a resource of intrinsic value, and as such, the benefits in terms of wellbeing, quality of life, satisfaction, social capital and creativity are in-tangible, and thus is not seen or measured as easily as physical health. Yet, being mentally healthy enables us to experience life as meaningful and to be creative and productive members of society. Furthermore, people who are mentally healthy are happier and generally enjoy better health, better relationships, and are more likely to live longer.

So how do you maintain good mental health? Well, the best answer is that it is a complex task and requires work across individual, community, organisational and societal levels. This is why there is an increasing interest in community, cultural, and yes, you guessed it, arts participation on mental health and wellbeing.

It is well known that community participation is a key element in individual wellbeing and community health. Participation in sport and recreation provides opportunities for socialising, building friendship networks, reducing social isolation and enhancing community wellbeing through the development of relationships, networks and norms that support collective action …and the arts?

Well, Matarasso suggests that the arts stand out from other forms of engagement in terms of who engages in the arts and the quality of that engagement. The arts are thought to be different because they deal with meaning, provide opportunities for self-expression, and offer a way of viewing the world from a different perspective.

Evidence on the specifics of the contribution of arts engagement for mental health and wellbeing is still light on the ground. However, it is widely recognised that mental health and mental illness result from complex combinations of events and conditions that occur in everyday life across all of life’s domains – biological, individual-psychological, social-psychological and structural. People are not just exposed to risk factors, they also get exposed to protective factors, which are just as important in the maintainance of good mental health. Protective factors include social relationships and networks, as well as individual skills and abilities for resisting stress.

My research so far is suggesting that people engage in the arts for entertainment and light relief - time out from a stressful week, perhaps? That it provides opportunities for self-reflection and a means for expressing yourself - skills and abilities for resisting stress? And that its a great opportunity for socialising and networking - strengthening those protective factors even further!

We understand physical health quite easily. If you are physically unfit... give up smoking, don't drink so much, and go do some exercise! But, if mental health is in-tangible and of intrinsic value, then realising your potential and being able to make a contribution is going to take more than going for a walk (though this does help, so it's a great start!). No amount of prescribed drugs is going to permanently change your outlook on life, and you also don't need to be considered 'mentally ill' to not be enjoying life as much as you could.

It is important that promotion, prevention, and early intervention for mental health takes place beyond the traditional mental health, or even health, sectors. In fact, in all the sectors that are a part of, and impact on, people’s daily lives. So next time you write down your thoughts in verse, watch (or play) some live music, visit a gallery, or join a theatre group, good on you for keeping yourself mentally healthy :)