Photography and Mental Health
When it comes to mental health, it can be a difficult subject to approach and speak out about. Often a topic which gets overlooked and avoided, talking about mental health is a unique proposition as each individual case will be different, and therefore it isn’t a ‘one and done’ conversation.
The answer and key to help improve and address any struggles naturally come down to each individual, however in this blog I will be sharing how I personally feel about the connection that can be made between photography and mental health.
I’ll start things off with a little personal background, how mental health has affected me in the past, and then furthermore how photography can be beneficial to all.
I feel being in your 20s is the hardest point in your life, some people have their life together, and others for some reason or another feel as though they don’t. I can thankfully say my life and my mental health is now the best it has ever been, but for a period of time it didn’t feel that way. In the past, I was the type of person who regularly compared themselves to others, often feeling behind in life and left out. I’m not afraid to say I suffered from Loneliness from time to time, getting hit by that random wave of sadness we all feel every now and again.
“I like to be alone, but I hate being lonely”, is a quote I’d use to describe how I felt. I’m naturally an introvert, and even though I feel I’ve grown out of it more and more as time has gone on, social anxiety is something I had to overcome too. As a result of feeling down and in bad moods, I’d eat junk food often, causing me to put on weight. Another thing I noticed is I started to care less about the things I’d previously cared about and enjoyed doing.
Fast forward to this time last year, I was 29 nearing 30, and not getting any younger. My mental health was much improved, but ultimately I knew something had to change. To put things bluntly, after spending 10+ years working in retail, I was fed up within my job, amongst other things in life of course, but I certainly had little to no motivation to get up at 5am Monday to Friday each morning anymore, often turning up late. At times I felt as though I was just living day-to-day, simply going through the motions, not enjoying life as much as I should. I felt like I was going nowhere, everyday felt the same.
You see, the thing is it’s very easy to become comfortable, being cautious of change when something is all you’ve ever known, stepping out of your comfort zone is a big jump. I’d been thinking about it for a while, but if I was ever going to move abroad for a period of time, it was now or never, and I felt as though I’d regret it looking back if I hadn’t. I had no ties, so now as I sit here writing this blog in New Zealand, with my mental health better than ever, I think why didn’t I make a change in my life sooner?
Moving onto how I dealt with any mental health issues over the years, a major way to combat this was indeed through Photography. The word photography can be used loosely, you don’t need a proper camera to go out there and take photos, I was happy using my phone for years. However, I do certainly believe there is a correlation between photography and mental health.
Although photography may not be a kind of therapy for everyone, it has worked for me, and can of course help others. This all stems from the benefits it can produce. Firstly, by even thinking about going out to take photos means you are pushing yourself to go outside in the fresh air, and therefore doing some kind of exercise. From experience, just by taking a stroll and being outside works wonders. For me, my Home meant I was lucky enough to live near the seaside, so I regularly went for a walk along the seafront, but it can be a park or even a walk round the local block.
Once you start to do such activities regularly, it kind of becomes second nature, and in my case even though I’d normally take my camera anyway, just being outside was the main motivation in the end. This is because it allows you to clear your head and think things through, switching off from negative thoughts.
Furthermore, and just as important, the photography aspect gives you something to focus on, allowing you to get creative. The thought of just grabbing the camera or phone and heading out to see what you can find and shoot gives you a purpose, and ultimately an escape from reality. Photography once started and slowly getting into can become addictive, you want to better yourself, capturing new angles and compositions. One of the key aspects for me is it allows you view things from different perspectives, the more you get out there and do photography, the further you adjust to taking things slow and noticing more around you.
Naturally, each person is different, and therefore everyone will have their own ways of adjusting and coping with their mental health. Some use running, while others choose to hit the gym, reading, watching TV, playing Chess, or even blogging like I’ve picked up recently, allowing me to write all my thoughts and information I know and would like to share about photography, travel, and everything in between down so it may be of use to others too.
With all being said, I feel the connection between Photography and Mental Health is one worth exploring, maybe whack in your headphones too, step outside and take a wander around. Of course this method won’t work for everyone, and that’s perfectly fine, however it may be one worth trying.
It’s Okay, to not be Okay.