Creativity has been a large part of my life as long as I can remember. As a kid I loved colouring, completing puzzles and drawing. Even in high school I studied art throughout, though I briefly drifted into music picking up a few drum beats, it was the artistic expression rather than the performing that I was drawn to. I particularly enjoyed working with chalk and charcoal, Super Sarah will inform you all that this is because these are the messiest artistic materials however I will assure you I can make a mess with any material!

As an adult with Multiple Sclerosis, I have leaned on art in different ways. As I lost the ability to use my dominant hand, the challenge of learning to use my non-dominant hand was for practical reasons like feeding however I pushed further and learned to write. Then one day I tried to sketch. My drawing process is step by step, I focus on the line or stroke at hand then move onto the next one and it’s only when I sit up and look at the piece I have been working on that I realise whether it’s been successful or not. So there I was pencil in hand drawing line after line until I had finished. I was as surprised as anyone to look at the page and to see a pretty decent attempt at a walrus. After that I was hooked, my drawings became a bit more challenging and slowly but surely I started to complete artwork that I was really proud of!

As you will have seen from my previous posts, I battle anxiety and depression, and I have found art to be completely absorbing. I can be having a dark day and if I pick up a pen or pencil and follow my usual drawing process, I often find that by the time I have finished, I am in a better place mentally. I have removed myself from my head and creativity has improved my mood. Drawing on psychology, being creative can help regulate mood, there are even artistic therapies including classes. Being around other people with similar interests can offer a sense of community.

I have grown comfortable drawing with pencil and even fine liners, these items can produce an incredible amount of detail. However I find it difficult to use coloured pencils to colour in due to weakness in my hand. I have a fondness for brush pens, if you have a colouring in book they cover a large area in a short space of time and is really satisfying! This inspired me to take up painting again but not in the traditional sense. Paint brushes are difficult for me, I can’t explain it but I have always had difficulty holding a paintbrush. Then I discovered paint pens!

At first it was just acrylic paint pens, they are a good combination with fine liners and add beautiful colour to an otherwise ordinary sketch. This new challenge give me confidence and acrylic paint pens became my new art tool of choice. They are incredible and just like how I imagine it is using a paint brush, you apply pressure for a darker, thicker stroke and you apply less pressure for a finder shape.

I had so much fun with these paint pens that I decided to ask for water colour paint pens for Christmas, even though I was terrified of watercolours. It would have been the absolute last option I would choose for any art project. However the water colour paint pens have been an absolute revelation! I started simple, drawing plants with a delicate stem then before I knew it I had moved on to an incredibly detailed blue tit painting. The extra good thing about water colour paint pens is that even if I’m having a bad hand day, I can use the pens as the brush is so delicate that they glide across the page. This has helped by mental health in so many ways, from boosting my confidence in achieving something with water colours but also creating something beautiful and being completely immersed in the process.

Creativity, in whatever form you choose, may help boost your mental health even temporarily. If you are not artistic, there are different ways to be creative like diamond painting or dot to dots. Alternatively, there are colouring apps available and if you are tempted by something really messy modelling clay is good fun! However you express your creative side, immerse yourself in this therapy and let it whisk you away.