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“Express yourself” is about finding creative ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas…
…through things like art, writing, music, dance and doing things that make you feel good.
Being creative and expressing yourself can:
help you to relax and de-stress
generate “feel-good” endorphins which can lift your mood, help you feel empowered, and create a sense of identity and achievement
help to boost your self-esteem, connect with others, and give you purpose and meaning
How does society often expect young people to look, think, speak and act? And where do these ideas come from?
Do these expectations stop you from expressing your true self?
How does that make you feel?
Watch this spoken word piece by George the Poet on the theme of possibilities.
Think about the possibilities for each you to explore your own creativity this Children’s Mental Health Week.
What is self-expression, and why is it important?
Self-expression is about communicating your individuality. This can be through words, clothing and hairstyle, or through art forms such as writing, drawing, music and dance.
Self-expression can help you to showcase your true self – your story, your thoughts, feelings and emotions. But this can also make us feel vulnerable, so you might want to take things one step at a time.
We often get told by our family, friends, school, communities and through social media how we ‘should’ look, think, speak, and act. These constant messages about what we ought to do, and who we ought to be, can make it difficult to let go of expectations and express our true selves.
Self-expression is a great way to relieve yourself of stress and free your mind. Self-expression can help you to reflect on your life, actions, decisions, relationships, beliefs, and thoughts — rather than keep them buried deep down
Draw or Paint
Play Music
Create and Craft
Dance
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Tell us what you've been doing to express yourself this week. We'll add your stories to this page over the week so you can inspire others!
Self-expression helps us connect to each other – in good times and bad
By expressing ourselves thoughtfully, we can better communicate, collaborate and build a community with others. At times of crisis, people come together to express themselves individually, and as a group, through the arts. Here are some examples you can look at at home:
Gareth Malone’s Online Choir - bringing self-isolating singers together during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Grayson’s Art Club - a series of online masterclasses to help unleash creativity during the Covid-19 lockdown.
BBC Lockdown Orchestra - as part of a ten-day creative challenge, nearly 1,500 members of the public joined the newly formed BBC Lockdown Orchestra as part of a huge virtual performance.
Create 2030 Solidarity Art Shows - The World Health Organisation, Create2030 and a group of international working artists collaborated on a project to showcase films, music, poetry and visual art about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Te Rito Toi - using art to help children when they first return back to school in New Zealand following a traumatic or life-changing event.