I was a very dreamy kind of kid, the type who was always drawing. I created a family newspaper at a young age and, with an equally artsy pal down the block, I’d make up stories and write plays and songs to perform for the neighborhood parents.
Even today I’d say the number one word I’d use to describe myself as an adult is “creative.” Writing is my profession, and outside work I still enjoy drawing, painting and coming up with creative approaches to solving problems. Not surprisingly, I was always interested in helping my own kids find their creative selves too, and I’m pretty sure it worked: One became an actor, and the other developed a passion for rock climbing, the ultimate problem-solving athletic pursuit.
But I had to wonder: Was creativity something I passed down to them, or did they grow to be creative people because we valued creativity as a family?
“The reality is that creativity is fostered over time,” says Andres S. Bustamante, Ph.D., an assistant professor of human development in context at the School of Education of the University of California, Irvine. Experts agree that creativity can be taught or developed and that anyone can learn to be creative, whatever their age or personality. Yet popular misconceptions about creativity abound, chief among them the idea that creativity is a fixed skill and some people have it and others don’t.
“Creativity is the ability to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives or possibilities for solving problems, communicating or entertaining,” says Ben Michaelis, Ph.D., a New York City–based clinical psychologist and executive coach who helps patients achieve mental health and well-being through creativity.
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Esta historia es de la edición June 2023 de Good House Keeping - US.
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The Mental Health Benefits of Cats - How our feline friends keep our minds purring
A recent survey on pets and mental health by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association found that 84% of pet owners reported that their pets had a positive impact on their mental health. For twothirds of survey participants, the companionship pets offered was key to a positive mindset. Howard Liu, M.D., M.B.A., chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Communications, an adult and child psychiatrist and chair of the UNMC Department of Psychiatry, says feline companionship may be especially beneficial and meaningful for people struggling with anxiety, depression and autism spectrum disorder as well as people who have a history of trauma. Of course, cats aren't a magic pill, Dr. Liu says: "Every person and every cat is unique, so owning a pet is not a guarantee of better mental health." However, people who live with chronic mental health conditions often list spending time with their cats as a coping strategy for when they are sad, anxious or frightened.
Can Anything Really Firm Your Face? - Countless complexion brands tout skin-tightening solutions like firming skincare products, at-home devices and professional treatments
Countless complexion brands tout skin-tightening solutions like firming skincare products, at-home devices and professional treatments. Here, our experts get real about whether these techniques can actually help skin bounce back once it starts to go lax. Sagging skin is caused primarily by the loss of collagen and elastin (proteins that give skin structural support and elasticity) with age, says Mamina Turegano, M.D., a dermatologist at Sanova Dermatology in New Orleans. And there's no shortage of potions proclaiming to counteract it with firming and lifting effects. Most commonly in serum and moisturizer form, these products contain ingredients like peptides, retinol, vitamin C, growth factors and niacinamide that purport to stimulate collagen production or ones that plump skin, such as hyaluronic acid.
The Stress-Busting Hack That's Right Under Your Nose- Breathwork is more than the wellness trend du jour- it's a science-backed route to relief from multiple modern ailments.
“OK, OK, just take a breath.” If that’s what a friend advises after you panic-share about a major-anxiety-inducing situation — your teen taking his maiden solo voyage behind the wheel, work instability, another high-stakes world crisis dinging your phone every few minutes — it’s probably because they hate seeing you so on edge. But also, your friend is offering an effective means of slowing your spin. “The way you breathe affects anxiety, and anxiety affects how you breathe,” says James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. “It’s a two-way street, and while anxiety isn’t a conscious choice, our breathing is.”
Do Men Really Not See The Mess? - The answer might surprise you. Journalist and author Gemma Hartley pulls back the curtain to reveal the invisible forces that drive this all-too-common cause of marital strife.
There was a time, earlier in my marriage, when every morning as I walked into the kitchen I braced myself for the rage and resentment that would well up in me.Cupboards left open. Dirty dishes in the sink. Coffee cups strewn around the house. And usually a pair of slippers or shoes, with inside-out socks, on the floor somewhere nearby. Even when I had left the house spotless the night before, I’d wake to a scene of disarray — the mess my husband had left behind on his way out the door for work.I didn’t know which scenario seemed worse, my husband’s consciously expecting me to clean up these messes or his truly not noticing them at all. I found myself silently tallying these small resentments, furious and flummoxed in turn that he seemed oblivious to things that needed to be tidied up around the house. It seemed as if he was always waiting for me to tell him what had to be done, as if he was incapable of noticing the mess himself even when he was creating it.
BLISTERED BITES
Shishitos are delicious all yearand creepy on Halloween!
DRINK if you DARE
Welcome, vampires, skeletons and zombies: This spiritforward duo may be strong enough to wake the dead.
Have a scary-good HALLOWEN
The spookiest day of the year calls for tricks and treats!
More Than a Walk in the Park
Agility training can be a fun and engaging way to get moving and bond with your pet.
Get More From Your Garage
Expert advice on three common conversions
At-Home Devices
In this burgeoning category of DIY skin tools, technologies like microcurrent (low-level electrical current), radiofrequency (lowfrequency electromagnetic waves), lasers (pulsating light) and LED light aim to stimulate muscles or collagen production to firm and tighten.
