At school, there were subjects that got on your nerves immensely. Others you learned with great pleasure. As an adult, you don’t think back on them so often. But usually these activities are the ones that can bring us joy later on. Because apparently there is a predisposition. A predisposition that stimulates the brain to produce happiness hormones while we are engaged in an activity. We should use this instinct to increase resilience in times of Corona and to better survive the crisis.
What is resilience?
Resilience is the ability of human beings to adapt to new situations and to face challenges. The fact that there are huge differences is shown by the fact that some fellow citizens became depressed in the first lockdown after two weeks, while others have shown no signs of problems for a year now. Resilience apparently develops solely in the mind, as long as there are no physical causes behind it. Scientists have developed a number of methods to build mental resilience. One of the most important findings was to engage in creative activities that give you pleasure.
Creative work – more vitality
Being creative is easy. Be creative in what you love to do. Live your life in it. If you like to sew and knit, then do that. Just buy fabric online and get started. If it’s art, get yourself some canvas and paints. You’re sure to find something you enjoyed doing in your childhood or youth. Or maybe you can find something new.
However, we would like to emphasise that there are not only the classic areas in which you can be creative. For example, there are people who can’t switch off anywhere else as well as when gardening. Combine the pleasant with the useful.
Another example: Even a PC game can be creative. Design new methods and strategies to further improve your results in games. The important thing is that the brain thinks up new things, analyses them, etc. This makes the activity particularly intense.
Play chess, learn a language, deal with a new subject – all of this works.
What happens in the brain during creative work?
Normally, thoughts buzz through our heads. They do this all day long, jumping from A to B. But in bad times it can happen that the thoughts only bounce from one frightening situation to the next. You see the world more and more darkly and increasingly perceive it as a place that is threatening. In addition, the perspective narrows and there seems to be no way out.
Creative work is able to break through these thought patterns. The negative thoughts are replaced by a good feeling, which occurs through the increased release of happiness hormones. Therefore: Be creative!