“We all need connection,” Trujillo tells SELF. “The arts and expression are things that can help people of any age, like outdoor spaces and physical exercise.”
There’s usually something for everyone.Some people prefer to enjoy the arts solo—say by wandering in the museum alone—while others want to take part with a pal or connect with new people, says Golden, who notes that arts on prescription programs often provide tickets for friends or family members to go with you. “Sometimes loneliness can be a matter of not feeling like you’re part of a larger thing, and being able to participate in a larger thing—even if you don’t go and chat with somebody while you’re there—is part of what makes you feel like you’re connected and belong,” she says. For folks who are looking for more direct conversations or connections, an ongoing art class might be the best fit, she says.
This isn’t about forcing yourself to go to the opera when an aria only gives you a headache (or puts you to sleep). To get the most benefit from your experiences, it’s important to choose something that speaks to you personally, Golden says. (Although some arts on prescription programs have more options than others, she says.) That could be listening to a band, going to the theater, or playing an instrument.
“It’s kind of like how people say the best workout is the one that you’ll do,” she says. “Singing in a choir, joining a music class, taking some lessons—whatever it might be.”
Eugénie Fontugne, a student at Stanford Graduate School of Business, picked activities like dance performances and concerts from her university’s arts prescribing program. “It’s definitely a good tool to unplug and just to take your mind off your day-to-day, homework assignments, finding a job—all these types of things,” she tells SELF.
However, if you’re having a hard time finding the energy to do anything at all, it’s okay to start slow. “When people are depressed, quite often you don’t know what you want to do—nothing’s really very interesting,” Golden says. She recommends taking the tiniest of steps if that’s all you can do. “I can turn on some music and see what it feels like. I can stand up and move my body as if I’m dancing and see if I feel just a little bit better,” she says.
You don’t have to spend a ton of money to reap the benefits.If you don’t have access to an arts on prescription program—there are only a handful across the country like the one at Stanford University and a program run by the Mass Cultural Council—there are other ways to get the health benefits that don’t require a ton of money.
“The program at Stanford is amazing, but a lot of other places are also trying to democratize art,” Fontugne says. “Most museums are free at least one day per month, so that also creates more willingness to go.”
You also don’t have to live in a big city to find ways to engage. “If you’re living in an urban area that has symphonies and operas and concert halls, that’s amazing,” Hundley says. “But in [other] areas, non-traditional art spaces, libraries, and community centers are great. Most communities around the country have something going on, even if they’re not in downtown San Francisco where [people] can walk into the modern art museum.”
Source : Self.com