What we humans have over so many other species and what has enabled us to thrive, for good and for evil, is our capacity for imagination. It is the ultimate definer and one that so many have harnessed to their advantage, again for good and for evil, over millennia. Sure, lots of other species have been known to adapt, to problem-solve and even use tools. But imagination? We’ve cornered the market.
We invent worlds where other species are sentient and speak to us; we’ve invested our leisure time in other galaxies and gotten to know and love aliens. We’re perfectly safe in these alternate worlds; it’s our everyday life in real-time that scares us. Anxiety is pervasive in the US. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association “Everyone experiences stress and anxiety at one time or another. The difference between them is that stress is a response to a threat in a situation. Anxiety is a reaction to stress. Read APA: Stress in America: A National Mental Health Crisis (Oct 2020)”
In the old-school view of aging the story has been of diminishment, loss and decrepitude. Maybe that’s part of the story but by no means is it the whole story. The processor may slow down and the capacity may need a tune-up when it comes to imagination and creative engagement. Much depends on your system of belief and your life experience – what you believe is how you see. Sometimes it takes a dire situation to force a shift or break though from one world view and glimpse another. The “rose-colored glasses effect” can detour a negativity bias and alter stress, offering a more positive outlook and less stress (Vitelli). For individuals with impairment, therapists can help them activate their preserved creative abilites (Ross 2023.)
When it comes to the imagination, devoted art/expressive arts therapists and dance/music therapists have been shifting hearts and minds in older adult groups for many years. These are not your old school craft groups. Significant attention is turning toward the impact of the arts (and other social practices) on individual wellbeing, community engagement, social wellbeing, open-minded growth, and improved mood regulation. While much of the benefit on anxiety is supported by experiential results, it is not in dispute and study is ongong (Daker.) We acknowledge that some will have anxiety around creativity and suggest modifying one’s approach to individual abilities (Mauro,Simoni). In the absence of a change in one’s present circumstances and as a deterrent to vacant oblivion, the choice is clear. Enrichment moments and purpose-driven experiences can be found in creative arts, practiced solo or in company. These extend to dementia patients along with well elders. Creative group activities do not demand conformity and give rise to companionship. The potential benefit to those who participate is the ability to sustain those activities when later alone with their thoughts.
Public libraries, civic and charitable organizations, community health centers and town recreation departments are there to provide a haven for all citizens. Act now to contribute to the healthy longevity of your home community and decrease the burden of aging on individuals. Churches, retirement enclaves, and specialty care homes are caring communities that can make their presence felt in their greater community, extending creative activities to members and non-members alike. In a crisis of confidence and fear, and an overwhelming need for skilled caregivers, including creative/expressive arts and dance/music therapists, it’s all hands on-deck. Older adults are calling forth their creativity, producing art and sustaining active engagement in creative practices (Lee). Indeed, older artists and budding artists are an asset to towns and cities, cultural organizations, communities and partners in their own care. Significantly, creative practice in one modality can spark innovation in other realms, allowing older adults to continue to contribute to new ideas both personal and professional.
My mother at 90, newly transitioned to memory care, described to me the move she was soon to make with her imaginary boyfriend to New York City, saying, “It’s New York, I worked there, I know my way around.”
Was it confabulation or a comforting imaginary plan that she created to aid her transition?
Or rather, as Tim Harwood wrote recently in the Financial Times, “what we believe about the world depends on which ideas we are open-minded enough to entertain.”
May/June 2025 ©clairemauro.com
References
Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Fact and Statistics
Carapellotti AM, Stevenson R, Doumas M. The efficacy of dance for improving motor impairments, non-motor symptoms, and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2020 Aug 5;15(8):e0236820. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0236820. PMID: 32756578; PMCID: PMC7406058.
Daker, R.J., Viskontas, I.V., Porter, G.F. et al. Investigating links between creativity anxiety, creative performance, and state-level anxiety and effort during creative thinking. Sci Rep 13, 17095 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39188-1
Fan L, Hu EY, Hey GE, Hu W. Music Therapy for Gait and Speech Deficits in Parkinson’s Disease: A Mini-Review. Brain Sci. 2023 Jun 25;13(7):993. doi: 10.3390/brainsci13070993. PMID: 37508925; PMCID: PMC10377381.
Harford, Tim. Undercover Economist: Notes on the resistant reader. The Financial Times. June 20, 2025.
https://www.ft.com/tim-harford
Lee D, Aula I, Masoodian M. Perspectives on creative well-being of older adults. J Aging Stud. 2023 Sep;66:101159. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2023.101159. Epub 2023 Jul 19. PMID: 37704277.
Li X, Lv C, Liu X, Qin X. Effects of Health Qigong Exercise on Lower Limb Motor Function in Parkinson’s Disease. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022 Feb 17;8:809134. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.809134. PMID: 35252225; PMCID: PMC8892581.
Mauro, C and Simoni, D. For Grief’s Sake: The Grieving Caregiver Caring and Coping Well. Amazon. 2024.
Ross, S.D., Lachmann, T., Jaarsveld, S. et al. Creativity across the lifespan: changes with age and with dementia. BMC Geriatr 23, 160 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-03825-1
Sound Health: Music Gets You Moving https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2018/01/sound-health
Sound Health: An NIH- Kennedy Center Partnership https://www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/sound-health
Vitelli, Romeo, Ph.D., Psychology Today. “Through Rose-colored Glasses.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/media-spotlight/201508/through-rose-coloured-glasses