Creative work is on the rise. According to recent projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, creative and multimedia design roles are expected to grow by 12% over the next six years—one of the biggest increases ever for those who hold degrees in fine arts.
While not always financially stable, the payout to having a creative job supposedly comes in feelings of fulfillment at a life spent pursuing your passions. But does having a work life that focuses deeply on creative work really make for greater feelings of fulfillment or even happier lives? The answer is complicated.
Creative work is good for our mental health, research suggests. According to one 2016 study, 45 minutes of creating visual art (activities like painting) significantly lowered cortisol levels of the study participants.
Likewise, a 2024 systematic review of previously published literature found that creative expression—whether through art, music, writing, or crafts—had positive impacts on mental health, including emotional regulation, social connectedness, and cognitive flexibility (a person’s “readiness to adapt” to any given situation).
Rachel Lambert, a licensed professional counselor and founder of Braincode Centers, a brain health counseling service, tells Fast Company that many of the mental health benefits from creative work are due to what happens during a creative process.
“During deep creative work, the brain often enters a state psychologists call ‘flow,’” she explains. In that state, self-criticism goes down and attention goes up, and it’s “associated with lower stress, greater engagement, and improved well-being.”
Still, while creativity might be one important aspect of mental health, Lambert says the belief that it can actually make people “happier” is one of the “biggest misconceptions” about it.
“In my experience, creativity is less about producing happiness and more about helping people process their inner world,” she says. “It gives emotions somewhere to go. When thoughts, grief, anxiety, or joy are difficult to express in words, creative work provides another language for the brain.”
Of course, that language can be a deeply important tool for managing mental health. And it may even be more important to those who choose to work in creative fields. That’s because many who choose creative work are more likely to struggle with their mental health to begin with.
One 2018 study conducted by Inspire, a mental health organization, and Ulster University in Northern Ireland found that mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, were three times higher in creative professionals than in the general population. Some 60% of those surveyed even reported experiencing suicidal thoughts.
That’s not because creative work causes depression, however. It’s more about the fact that people who struggle with emotional health seek outlets for their emotions more often.
“People who experience emotions more intensely are often drawn to creative outlets,” Lambert says, noting that artistic expression can help people make sense of their experiences. “Creative work can become a healthy coping strategy, but it doesn’t make someone immune to mental health struggles. In fact, the same sensitivity that fuels imagination can also leave a person more vulnerable to emotional distress.”
While creativity might not be a straight line to greater happiness, some say there is still a clear link between the two.
Caroline Brookfield, an author and keynote speaker who helps teams embrace creativity, tells Fast Company the link is about the problem-solving aspect of creative work.
“We get a hit of dopamine every time we solve a problem, and all creativity is solving a problem,” Brookfield says, adding that one needn’t be in an artistic profession to reap the rewards, as creativity can show up in various professions.
“Creativity is so amazing, and the challenge is to reframe it as not necessarily artistic work. But people who do choose artistic outlets have the same benefit of increasing happiness, even if their work is not brilliant,” she says.
Given that we’re living in an economy where gig work is common, the opportunities to be creative—whether through design, photography, or baking stunning cupcakes with beautiful decorations—are ample. Still, for those who do pursue artistic work, there may be other challenges that can dim happiness, such as financial stress.
Chloë Bean, a licensed marriage and family therapist and somatic trauma therapist in Los Angeles who works with high-achieving creatives, says income can directly impact happiness.
“When income depends on creative work, it can feel like you’re in survival mode,” she says. “Your nervous system is on high alert, which can make it really hard to be creative and inspired, blocking the very thing you need to generate income.”
Bean adds, “When your identity gets connected to what you produce, financial pressure weighs on your system, creating anxiety and certainly depression.”
Financial woes aside, experts do seem to agree that creative work is beneficial to mental health. Lambert says the benefits are real, and, in some cases, essential.
“It helps [my clients] carry difficult emotions without being consumed by them,” she says.
In other words, it may not be exactly the same as “happiness,” but for many, the actual process of creating feels like necessary and therapeutic mental health work.
And that may be a big enough reward no matter what.