Mental Health Minute No. 1: Creative Outlets
Launching a new weekly newsletter and discussion
As I continue to grow and expand my writing here at West of 98, I am proud to launch a new short weekly newsletter. Earlier this week, I wrote a lengthy essay about mental health and community. This essay sparked a wide series of conversations with friends local and remote. It confirmed a nagging feeling, one which I have been unable to shake, that activism and advocacy for mental health is essential to my work of improving my community of Stamford and the influence we might have on other rural communities.
The weekly “Mental Health Minute will run on Fridays as a tool to help grow our mental health conversation, spotlight ideas that we can each use to boost community and individual mental wellness, and perhaps give my readers a pick-me-up after a long week. I have launched a new “Mental Health” section of West of 98 that will host these conversations. All existing readers are auto-subscribed to this section. If you prefer to opt out of the rural mental health emails, no hard feelings! You can remove that newsletter from your settings and continue subscribing to the rest of my emails. You can also email me with that request.
The first tip is fundamentally important to me. A new Stamford neighbor Andy Rice brought it up in conversation on Facebook yesterday. Andy observed that a creative outlet is a healthy way to temporarily remove yourself from a problem and relieve stress, depression, or anxiety. I fully agree! Work, family, or community duties can make it easy to set aside these creative pursuits, but that outlet helps us accomplish our duties better and with a healthier brain and happier heart.
Your creative outlet doesn’t have to fit your “type” either. The only right outlet is the one that suits you and the possibilities are infinite! Pick up a guitar. Grab a paintbrush. Start writing creative fiction. Work on becoming a skilled makeup artist. Write a play. Decorate cakes. Dye your hair. Start making silly TikTok videos.
If it engages your creative brain in a healthy way, then I’m telling you to give it a try no matter what the rest of the world might think! Creativity and art are special pursuits. They come from a unique place in our brain that only we can understand. I know people who do all those things that I named and it has helped their lives immensely. It’s never too late and you are never too old to start something new!
Happy Friday, friends! Be well!
James Decker is the Mayor of Stamford, Texas and the creator of the West of 98 website and the “Rural Church and State” and “West of 98” podcasts. Contact James and subscribe to these essays at westof98.substack.com and subscribe to him wherever podcasts are found. Check out the West of 98 Bookstore with book lists for essential reads here.