What is Creative Stifling?
Creative stifling is when there is something blocking and/or stopping a creative from creating. This 'something' can be both mental or physical and can range from things such as self-doubt, fear of failure, motivation, time, school, work, parents / guardians, friends, financial stability, inspiration, and many more.
What's the Big Deal?
You may be wondering why this is a large issue...
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Without creativity, the world would be a quieter and smaller place. There'd be no innovation or change, no evolution or complex problem solving. There'd be a lack of colour; no movies or tv shows, no video games, no pictures in book, textbooks for school, or comics / graphic novels. There'd be the same kind of food, a lack of music, or expression.
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If we truly sit down to think about what the world would be like without creative...everything would just be...Grey and Blah.
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Without the freedom of creative expression, one's mental health could decline and loneness can develop. Without the freedom of creative expression, people loose touch with themselves and can start to feel alienated. Without the freedom of creative expression, there becomes a decline in the opportuinites to gain beneficial skills.
The Positives of Creating...
There are many benefits to using one's creativity.
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According to Diversus Health - "Being creative can increase positive emotions, reduce depressive symptoms and anxiety, and improve the function of our immune systems. The Journal of Positive Psychology supports these findings, stating that “spending time on creative goals during the day is associated with higher activated positive affect.” Positive affect refers to positive moods people experience including joy, happiness, and optimism."
Creativity has also been seen to be beneficial for those trying reducing stress, lessen shame and anger, and has even been used as therapy tactics (such as art therapy) to help with a multitude of traumas and mental illnesses (PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, ADHD) .
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Being creative and having creative outlooks has been proven to have a direct connection with an increase in idea generation and an increase in positive children behaviour (especially over Covid).​
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