The Window of Tolerance and How Creativity affects the brain.
What I have learned, is that we can literally ‘think’ ourselves out of negative emotions, by being curious about the environment. In standardised therapy, and psychology we know that our resilience is the width of our window of tolerance, so as we grow up, the width of this window can become smaller with all the external pressures around us. We are raised in a society where we are told how to do everything, we don’t trust our own instincts because we’ve been told not to, and we forget how to learn. Which is the direct result of having our curiosity educated our of us.
The Dopamine Loop - it sounds like a fun a ride a fun fair, and to be completely fair, thats kind of what it is, that feeling of high, your brain triggers a reward feeling, so you get a buzz and you want it again, so, like the feeling of joy I spoke about earlier -its the same thing, our brains are rewarding us with that feeling and say go get it again. We often, in all our mental health crisis turn to the least healthy rewards to get this feeling, and thats how society comes in to this, and prevents our curiosity which keeps us unable to focus. Curiosity isnt a personality trait, its our birthright. When you feel curious about anything, art, music, a new skill, your brain triggers a dopamine loop that actually makes you smarter and more resilient. It’s called neuroplasticity, basically, every time you get curious and start creating, you’re physically re-wiring your brain to handle stress better. Research suggests that just 45 minutes (I say ten personally) but we’ll go with the research) of creative play - doesn’t matter if you’re good at it’ - massively drops your cortisol levels. Its literally self healing for your nervous system. And here’s whats most fascinating, the most beautiful part, when you look at my art, and if you feel that ‘spark’ - thats our brains synchronizing. Its called Neural mirroring. We are connecting on a frequency that the modern world usually tried to dim down with negativity and noise.
Stress Reduction - well, the dopamine loop explains this perfectly, it is almost the symptom of the dopamine receptors being stimulated, and this reduces cortisol which is the stress hormone. Studies have proven that the act of creativity rewires the brain, the neuroplasticity of the brains design means we can literally relearn how we think. Its always been considered that we are thinking beings with feelings - when actually, the research and studies suggest that we are actually, feeling beings who can think. When we look at ourselves in that way, and apply this knowledge to the development in children, we can really start to understand how our emotions and feelings are impacted by our environment. I will talk more about ‘grey aesthetics’ and how the systems we are raised in have been designed to keep this natural instinct at bay - which perpetuates the stress on us all as a society.
The hand-brain-emotion axis is where the past comes to the future, because modern research, as recent as this year, proposes that this process, of making, creating, or simply being curious, activates specific neural circuits - which are imperative to regulating the amygdala. This is ground breaking research; across society, in many cultures, we are almost silenced for being over passionate, our skills and knowledge and dedication to our craft is seen as a silly hobby and as communities we shy away from anything which isn’t the norm - this makes us dependant on the systems that guide us, to which we become disinterested in our curiosity.
Its been known for decades, centuries even, that when we stop moving we seize up, when we stop creating we have artists block, when we stop filling our cup - we become sluggish and ‘depressed’ - when the sun goes in, we lose our light. Well, this is human nature, this is our biology - as humans we are the greatest technology. When we cancel out the noise, when we stop listening to the systems surrounding us, when we truly connect with our internal being we realise that everything we have, everything we can offer actually comes from within - everything we see, smell, touch, and hear sets of different circuits in the brain, each ones having a different affect on the neural pathways, and each sense affecting our nervous system in very different ways. Some people find certain smells delightful where as others may find that same smell disgusting - inside each person there are different neural pathways being created, the ones who dislike the smell will have a negative sensation from when the smell triggers those senses, the ones who enjoy the smell will have positive stimulants, dopamine, triggered which allows them to appreciate the smell more; exploring this further, we know that if one of your senses receives something positively the other sense will see, feel and hear it positively too, and this is also imprinted that ‘happy’ emotion in to your brain. When the smell is disliked, this will affect the other senses negatively also, and the neural pathways will produce cortisol, which will give the person negative emotions.
If we don’t use it we lose it
10 minutes of creativity, doodling, scribbling or creating movements with our bodies, or humming, can positively impact your mental state - if its as simple as that, then literally looking at an art piece can increase those feelings, and give you a connection to those feelings the artist felt when creating the piece.
Studies have long suggested that visual culture, what we absorb in to our minds effect our cognitive function, not just how we see the world, but our motivation, our ability to reason, and make decisions, and healthy choices.
Check out my murals, they are asking you to stop, reflect and slow down, and when you find that clarity, your breathing slows down, your dopamine increases and your nervous system relaxes - you will naturally want to explore further, look deeper, learn more.
Because life isn't about rules and restrictions, we don't need to be told how to be, what to eat, or scared in to conforming.
Simply be - be curious enough to explore what you can create.