The Creativity Cure

It’s called a In Do-It-Yourself Prescription for Happiness.  Husband-and-wife physicians Carrie and Alton Barron draw upon a body of psychological research, and the experience from years of medical practice to bolster their belief that creative action is integral to easing depression and anxiety and to fueling long-term happiness and wellbeing.

In The Creativity Cure, they detail five steps:

First is Insight – getting to know yourself better, what is natural to you, what your passions are.

Then there is movement – moving your body – we’ve talked a lot about how exercise elevates mood.

There’s  Mind Rest,  – letting your mind float or wander – giving it some downtime from all the business – there’s research that shows this is the best way to come up with creative ideas.

Step four is Using Your Own Two Hands, and this is the key. They see the hands as the window to the mind and using them is critical for changing mindset.  It can be almost anything: woodworking , gardening, or making a home-cooked meal.

The process of using your hands is critical,  and the doctors say all these steps together lead to Mind Shift –  which the Barrons say is proof that happiness is literally at our fingertips.