More than anything else, the one thing that helped me come out of my dark place was getting my mind engaged in projects to take my mind-space away from anxiety and worried ruminations. I volunteered, re-did furniture, made gifts for people, cooked exotic food, designed jewelry, gardened, learned new things, took classes, read loads of books, organized closets, planned parties, started a business, and much more. "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." English proverb. And an idle mind is Anxiety's playground. That is why people often get so nervous in the late evening, (especially children). When they are alone in their beds, there is nothing to think about so often worries and scary thoughts and images infiltrate that blank space. There is a holistic cure for an idle mind that is accessible to any of us: Getting involved in something creative. Anxiety doesn't want you to do this. It tells you to stop doing anything "until you get over Anxiety." Yes, there are some things that are stressful and that would benefit you to change in your life. Take a break and change those. But when you withdraw from what can make you happy, this usually worsens the problem. Four ways that creativity helps the brain There are four ways that creativity helps the brain and I encourage everybody to take on something creative in their life. 1. Physically Pain starts in the brain rather than the joints or muscles. When people are engaging in a creative activity or social activity, they experience less pain. It also stimulates those parts of the brain that we need stimulating to help us recover from our past. 2. Mentally Doing something takes up that mental space from other stressful things that are often going through our minds. 3. Emotionally When we do something creative, we see the product of our labors and can fell good about it. This helps us trust ourselves and raises our self-esteem. 4. Spiritually Engaging in something creative helps us live out our life purpose. It helps us realize the gifts that we have and share them with the world. We become more connected and more purposeful in our life and this helps us mind, body and soul. This changes the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves. There are so many creative ways to heal your brain physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Try coloring today. Me? I color, garden, write, schedule my family's social activities, keep my house organized, and make herbal remedies, and shoot and edit videos. What creative projects are you involved in?