Discussions about mental health and awareness have become prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only did it yield platforms for all individuals, but talking about it helped break the stigma surrounding the issue.
Not only that, a more significant chunk of these discussions stimulated and pressed corporations to abide by mental-health-friendly policies to improve employees’ productivity at work.
In line with this, a recent American Psychiatric Association (APA) report revealed that doing creative activities for at least a week improves a person’s mental well-being.
Almost half of Americans (46 percent) utilize creative hobbies to reduce stress or anxiety, such as playing the piano, crocheting a blanket, dancing with friends, or solving crossword puzzles, as found in the Healthy Minds Monthly Poll on Creativity and Mental Health conducted in July.
Morning Consult conducted the survey from June 15–18, 2023, and 2,202 adults were included in the final sample, allowing for a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percent.
People in the United States who report a good or exceptional state of mental health are more likely to regularly engage in creative activities than those who report a fair or poor state of mental health.
What does the research say?
More than three in four American people (77 percent) assessed their mental health as good or better, which is an increase from the 63 percent who felt this way at the beginning of the year.
Adults who rate their mental health as very good or exceptional (71 percent) are significantly more likely to participate in creative activities than adults who rate their mental health as good (50 percent) or fair or poor (46 percent).
The majority of people asked in the survey claimed that they engaged in creative activities in their spare time (65 percent), with 46 percent of those people saying that they did so to relieve anxiety and stress. Others performed it because they were bored (37 percent), when they were working (19 percent), or because they were going through a difficult moment (14 percent).
When asked which creative hobbies they utilized to reduce stress and anxiety, respondents reported an array of preferences, including but not limited to the following:
- Listening to music: 77 percent
- Solving puzzles: 39 percent
- Singing or dancing: 25 percent
- Drawing, painting, or sculpting: 24 percent
- Crafting: 19 percent
- Creative writing: 16 percent
The creatives’ condition in PH
In the Philippines, creative content creation rose to fame during the COVID-19 to relieve the stress brought on by the pandemic. However, a report includes “content burnout” and “creative fatigue” as two of the many challenges faced by a creator in the Philippines. This means that despite the refuge it has given to most Filipinos and creatives, getting burnt out from these activities has failed other creators due to the growing number of Filipino creators.
The cost of competition
The number of digital artists in the Philippines has increased by 60 percent over the past three years, making the market extremely competitive.
Digital content creators need to be constantly inventing and working to improve the quality and style of their work to keep up with the newest trends and suit the needs of the market.
Digital artists who want to succeed in a crowded market should focus on establishing their unique selling proposition. As a result of this, some people who work in the field of content creation are becoming exhausted and experiencing burnout.
