Creative Health & Wellbeing

How can we look after ourselves by using creativity and the arts?

Using creativity and the arts can be a gentle, enjoyable way to take care of our wellbeing.
We have gathered a range of creative resources that may support anyone caring for their own emotional wellbeing or seeking support through community activities, for both adults and children. These suggestions are not a substitute for our usual psychological therapy services, but they can play an important role in treatment and help us look after our wellbeing during challenging times.

For general information on managing mental health then please follow the links to Mind& SAMH

Musical Expression

Play, experiment and discover sound in one of these computer and phone apps:

BandLab free easy-to-use, all-in-one, social music creation platform for smart phones
Nodebeat Music app for iphone and android, intuitive and fun visual music app for all ages (paid)
SoundForest Free app for iphone, a mini music maker that allows you to instantly compose a song using a collection of musical creatures
Blocs Wave Free app that will have you making music in minutes. Slice and chop up exclusive Ampify sounds or easily import your own.
Bloom developed by ambient pioneer Brian Eno and software designer Peter Chilvers. Part instrument, part composition and part artwork, Bloom allows anyone to create elaborate patterns and unique melodies by simply tapping the screen

Music for memory

BBC Music Memories free BBC website designed to use music to help people with dementia reconnect with their most powerful memories. Patients, families or carers can create a personalised playlist for the person with dementia by identifying their Memory Bump and then sampling snippets of music to see if they receive a positive reaction and adding them to the playlist.
100 Years Playlist for Life lists the title and artist of the 100 most popular songs for every year 1915 to 2015 over 230 pages. Each decade is free to download.

Listen to Music Playlists

Making a Playlist Guidance on how to make your own playlist on Spotify
Music for WellbeingA page for musical self-care. Here you can stay relaxed, help modestly support your immune system (Professor Dave Lee’s lists), simply feel better, feel less lonely and more “connected”, increase your motivation or seek comfort or solace.
The Mindful Mix online radio mixes of meditative classical music for calming moments put together by BBC Sounds
Bella Caledonia : The Howff Bella Caledonia have created this online space to promote artists and musicians who were unable to perform live due to coronavirus. Each night features different artists, including opportunities to support them through buying their work online

Join an Online Choir

The Sofa Singersweekly online singing events that brings hundreds of people together from around the world to spark joy and human connection – requires registration and monthly fee.

Make Art + Creative Activities

Lose and find yourself with art materials and art making to broaden your indoor horizons. 

Craft Projects – Spruce Arts a website full of craft making projects for all ages from needlecraft to origami
Make a Memory Box A memory box can be a great place to keep letters, photos, and other meaningful items. Every memory box is different. Some are colourfully decorated and highly personalized, while others are simple and discreet.
Create a Hope Box A hope box is something you can create for when you need a reminder of why your life is so precious. It is simply a collection of various items that can show you that your life is meaningful and worth living.
Giant list of ideas for being home with kids activities for young people or the young at heart during this time of being at home and physical distancing
Artist Activity Pack assembled by famous artists from Grayson Perry to Antony Gormley, ideas about how to get creative at home. Anyone can have a go – there are no specialist materials required, plus it’s completely free to download.
Hospital Rooms Arts Activity Videos Hospital Rooms provides free Digital Art School workshop creative sessions to support mental health, led by world-class artists.
How finding time for Creativity can give respite from worries Drawing, singing, writing, knitting… lose yourself in something creative to find inner calm. You might also come up with solutions to problems.
Luminate Luminate, Scotland’s creative ageing organisation, have developed a new programme of online creative activities that you can do wherever you are.

Look at Art – Online Art Galleries

Looking at art can change how we feel about our situation. 
Here are gallery tours, videos and online collections from great galleries around the world available for free.

The National Galleries of Scotland
British Museum, London follow a virtual tour of the museum
The Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition of visual art from across Scotland is now online
The National Gallery in London
The Tate London contemporary and modern art collection
The Louvre in Paris
The Rijks Museum in Amsterdam (Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc)
Google Arts & Culture get inside everywhere from MoMA in New York to the Munch Museum in Oslo, from the British Museum to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to the Today Art Museum in Beijing
Van Gogh  These close-up looks at famous paintings are so intense. Few paintings are suited to such a treatment than the bold, textured lines of The Starry Night. 

Movement and Breath sessions for physical and mental health Designed specifically for NHS and Social Care Teams by Scottish Ballet but accessible to everyone, these 10 minute sessions address physical and mental health concerns in difficult times.
Edinburgh Community Yoga have free breathing, audio guided meditation and chair yoga exercises
Edinburgh Community Yoga YouTube channel has videos on self regulation and seated yoga

LifeLink Self-Care Tools exercises to use in your own time and space to help you improve your own mental wellbeing
How to Stay Calm in a Pandemic Free e-book with illustrations and helpful advice on managing this time
Mindfulness Exercises a simple factsheet on mindfulness exercises created by Therapist Aid
Headspace online mindfulness and sleep exercises

Poetry Unbound features an immersive exploration of a single poem, guided by Pádraig Ó Tuama. Short and unhurried; contemplative and energizing. 
Short Stories for Stressed Grown-upsall you have do is find somewhere quiet, where you won‘t be disturbed, and listen to an original short story that will transport you from the troubles of your day. 
KEEP CAMHS AND CARRY ON. Podcast created by NHS Grampian for under 18 year olds. This podcast series is a psychoeducation ‘top tips’ collection, recorded by our very own staff, to make managing stress in tough times just that little bit easier.
31 Day Literary Diet A complete 31 days of immersion in videos and audio relating to literature
The Book of Hopes Words and Pictures to Comfort, Inspire and Entertain Children in Lockdown – a completely free online book to look at and read with children