Whether creativity is part of your job or a hobby, we can all get stuck sometimes. When the well of inspiration runs dry, it’s time to take a creative approach to creativity…

1. Seek out the colour blue

According to colour psychology, blue can stimulate creative thinking, encouraging us to try new things, while also having a calming effect. Surround yourself with the colour next time you need a creative boost – head outside and take in the blue sky, visit the seaside to marvel at the ocean, or simply add more blue decor to your environment. You could even try wearing more blue and see how you feel.

2. Read/watch/listen outside of your genre

Do you tend to stick to the same genres when reading books, watching TV, or listening to music and podcasts? Feed your curiosity by exploring genres you would never normally try. Love a romance novel? Why not see what fantasy has to offer? Huge rock music fan? Try dipping your toe into the world of RnB. Want to listen to a podcast unlike anything else? Try ‘Everything is Alive’.

3. Tap into your inner child

Kids are naturally creative, so who better to draw inspiration from? Dust off your bike and go for a ride, find an adult-sized ball pit, get your colouring books out, or build a Lego masterpiece. These all help to stem overthinking, encouraging you to experience the world in a more child-like and curious way.

4. Spend more time with creative people

Who we spend time with can make an impact on our worldview. So, if you want to be more creative, try spending more time with fellow creatives. This could be in-person at events or meet-ups, or online.

5. Take silent breaks

The world can be a noisy place at times, and this can colour our thinking. Try to incorporate some silent breaks in your day where there’s no music, podcasts, TV. Allow yourself to sit in silence and give your own thoughts space.

6. Keep a dream journal

Our dreams are about as weird and wacky as they come, and could be a source of inspiration. Keep a notepad and pen by your bed, and grab it when you wake up to write about your dream. The key here is to be quick; trying to remember a dream is like trying to catch water in a net… tricky! Later you can look back and revel in the absurd.

Apparently, being playful and childish is the key to a long and happy life. We’ll take it!

Do you find yourself fighting ‘silly’, childish urges? Doodling a smiley face on the car window, or racing your (36-year-old) best bud to the top of the hill, cos’ the loser is a rotten egg? Well, don’t fight it! According to experts, engaging in adult play is more than just a giggle – it can cause changes in the brain which help improve our mental, emotional, and even physical health.

So, before you feel guilty about rearranging the fridge magnets to spell ‘bum’, or blowing a raspberry at your little niece or nephew, let’s take a look at the science behind play, and how it can transform how we feel and live.

Why do we lose our playfulness?

It’s no surprise that kids are one-upping us in the happiness department – as they jump around the garden with one finger up their nose and the other hand clutching a stolen tablespoon. So where does it all go wrong?

According to world-renowned therapist and author Marisa Peer, we never truly forget how to play, but society teaches us that it’s inappropriate after a certain age. Though the urges are there, we are accustomed to suppressing it, and acting in a safer, more ‘appropriate’ manner.

“Humans have a compelling need to find connections and avoid rejection, so they won’t do anything that could exclude them for being different,” she says.

“As a child heads towards their teens, they start to play with toys less, as they look to older children to see what is cool. Being accepted by their peers is so important to them that they will relinquish favourite toys simply to fit in.

“This is reinforced by adults telling youngsters to ‘grow up’, ‘stop being silly’, or ‘don’t be childish’ which contributes to our belief that playing and being playful, after a certain age, is inappropriate.”

Marisa strongly believes in overcoming the society’s discouragement from play, and tries to bring lightness and laughter into every day. She adds: “As a therapist, and a trainer of therapists, I find laughter very helpful. Encouraging people to play has its place in contributing to making steps towards positive mental wellbeing.”

The seriousness of play

But it’s not just a laughing matter. Experts say that playing can help people deal with mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety, and can even support those with trauma.

Creative arts therapist Dr Alison McClymont uses play to help treat trauma in adults. She says that feeding the urges to be playful can actually cause the brain to return to a child-like state, which helps us to access and resolve buried issues.

She says: “While, to some, this may sound ‘kooky’ or new age, play therapies for adults are empirically studied, and I have worked with extremely traumatised people whose only route to therapy was through artistic expression or play.

“The importance of play should not be overlooked; I have used it to treat psychosis and extreme forms of trauma. Creative a

Address the stress of the week with these activities that will help you soothe anxiety this weekend

Phew, what a week. To-do lists piling up, hoops to jump through, household chores falling by the wayside, caring responsibilities, appointments, deadlines, and let’s not even go into all the anxiety caused by the general state of the world.

Sometimes, making it to Friday can feel like a real challenge, with anxiety and stress occupying our minds – bringing down our moods and draining our resilience. When we do eventually get to the weekend, it can then be easy to use it as a time to catch up on all the things we were too overwhelmed to do during the week and then, before we know it, it’s Monday and the cycle starts all over again before we’ve had time to catch our breath.

So, if you’ve had a full-on week, your stress levels are peaking, and you’re struggling with anxiety, we've got some suggestions for ways you can make this weekend one dedicated to rest and rejuvenation.

Escape to a different world

When this world gets too much, escape the day-to-day toil with the power of stories. If you’re a reader, this may be the time to curl up with the book that’s been sitting in your to-read pile for a while. Or if films are more your thing, settle down with a warm drink and spend the next couple of hours in a whole new world.

• 10 feel-good films
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• 5 films about mental health that are actually worth watching
• 20 greatest mental health books
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• 7 books you never knew were about mental health

We’ve got plenty of recommendations for films and books, but if you’re using this as a stress and anxiety-busting exercise, it might be worth considering exactly what you need from this activity. Are you looking for a good laugh? An inspirational message? A drop of nostalgia? Or total escapism into a fantasy world?

Whatever you go for, it’s also worth bringing some mindfulness into this activity. If you notice that your mind is starting to wander, prompting that anxiety to creep back in, try to recognise those thoughts, let them go, and bring your attention back to what you’re focusing on.

Go somewhere new

You won’t need your passport for this one, because even a trip half an hour down the road will do. Stuck in our routines, we can end up going between the same places again and again. The Victorians often persuaded a ‘change of air’, something physicians would recommend when their patients had ‘nervous ailments’ or melancholy. Going off and discovering somewhere new breaks those daily patterns that can, sometimes, bring us so much anxiety.

What’s more, we also get that sense of adventure and discovery, something that we adults tend to do less of

A recent study revealed that living in a cold home can increase the risk of poor mental health. We take a look at why this is and share some tips for staying warm for less this winter

Energy prices have caused a stir for years but none more so than during the current cost of living crisis. We know that living in colder temperatures can affect our physical health as it lowers our immune response, but new research from The Conversation suggests it poses a significant risk to our mental health, too.

As Britain sits in the temperature climate zone, we don’t typically experience extreme changes in the weather and our temperatures remain fairly mild throughout the year. Despite this, the UK has higher deaths associated with colder weather than many other colder countries which is thought to be the result of poor quality housing, poverty, and the increasing costs of heating our homes.

How does the cold affect our mental health?

In recent months, we’ve seen the impact that the cost of living crisis is having on our energy bills. As we head towards winter, our heating bills will likely exacerbate feelings of stress and financial worries. In 2018, the average cost of heating a UK home was £453.24 which has since risen significantly.

Not only can this financial uncertainty create anxiety, but also feelings of being out of control of our own environment. People might avoid socialising to climb into bed early to keep warm or may simply be exhausted from draining their body’s energy for warmth. This can contribute to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Sadly, for those who may already be experiencing poor mental health, the risks are often more severe and this does not consider the impact across the wider population - those who are unemployed or on lower incomes are more likely to live in a colder home, as well as single parents and those who rent.

For those currently working from home, the choice between heading back into the office or staying put offers little comfort as commuting also comes with its fair share of costs.

How can we heat our homes for less?

In light of the current energy crisis, here are some tips for keeping warm for little to no cost.

1. Make use of curtains

During the day, make sure you open curtains or blinds to let as much natural sunlight into your home as possible. This is a great way to heat your home for free. When it starts to get dark, draw your curtains and this will trap the heat as well as provide an extra layer of insulation.

2. Rejig your furniture

Take a look around your home and note any furniture that could be blocking radiators. If possible, try moving your furniture away from the heat source to allow the warm air to flow more freely around your room.

3. Locate and block out draughts

If you’ve noticed a chill from your front door, around your windows, or coming from a crack in the floor, now is the best time to draught-proof your home before winter firmly sets in. You can Read more

Our hormones are responsible for a whole range of body functions – from your heart rate to the quality of your sleep. But did you know they can also impact your skin? Jenna Farmer chats to the experts to uncover the connection…

While the hormones whizzing around our bodies can have some pretty powerful effects (whether that’s progesterone keeping your menstrual cycle in check, or adrenaline giving you a surge of energy in a ‘fight-or-flight’ situation), they don’t just impact what’s happening on the inside. Our skin, the body’s largest organ, can be affected too. Whether that’s due to stress making your skin look dull, or being more prone to blemishes at certain points in your cycle. Let’s take a look at some of the most common hormones that could impact your skin health.

Stress hormones

These can be particularly detrimental to our skin health, with studies showing more than 10 different kinds of conditions (such as acne or psoriasis) are closely linked to psychological problems. But why is this? Well, part of it is down to how we manage our stress.

Consultant dermatologist and founder of klira.skin, Dr Emma Craythorne explains: “Poor stress management can have a poor impact on the skin, because sometimes patients might scratch or pick at their skin or pull their hair out. They might over-focus on acne lesions and picking them can lead to scars or worsening of acne.”

Other conditions are more directly linked to stress hormones – when we release large amounts of cortisol (due to being super stressed for a long time), our skin can sometimes become much more oily than usual, which can trigger an eczema outbreak.

“Stress has multiple and wide-ranging physiological and clinical impacts on skin disease. There are skin conditions that are known to flare due to stress, such as eczema and psoriasis, and in these situations increased stress levels can make the disease much more severe,” adds Emma.

Menstrual cycle hormones

As well as stress hormones, the hormones responsible for your menstrual cycle – such as oestrogen and progesterone – can also impact your skin. However, it’s not all bad news. Nutritional therapist Aneequa Godart, explains: “Oestrogen, which is more prominent in the first half of your cycle, helps to stimulate collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid production in the skin, so you may notice that it is looking plump, hydrated, and clearer during the first 10–16 days.”

However, once we’ve ovulated, we may start to notice more skin issues. “Our levels of progesterone start to increase in the second half of our cycle, which can become more problematic for the skin as sebum production is stimulated so it becomes oilier, which can lead to blocked pores and breakouts,” adds Aneequa.

What’s more, when our female hormones are a bit off kilter (which may be a temporary blip or due to conditions such as PCOS; a common gynaecological condition that causes irregular periods) it can result in more long-term skin problems. For example, just under half of women wi