In an era when funding in the arts is in steady decline the world over, it is crucial for us to investigate and quantify the relationship of art to the health of individuals. The hypothesis that color induces synesthesia is a direct response to how art makes me feel – joyful.

In 2016, mental & addictive disorders affected 1 billion people. Average Annual Growth Rates for Mental Health and Substance Abuse (MHSA) spending grew 43 billion between 1991-2001.  71 billion dollars were spent to treat depressive disorders which amounts to a 3.7% annual rate of increase between 1996 and 2013 as has been reported by the American Psychological Association in 2017.

The reason I believe that there is a connection between spending in the arts and mental health is not only because of what color does to my psyche but also from what I gather from published literature.  Finland spends 0.47% of their GDP on Arts programs while the US spends 0.02% of their GDP.  Also, the percentage of total mental health care expenditure in Finland went down from 5.5% in 2000 to 4.5% in 2010. While this relationship may be coincidental, it begs to be studied in-depth.  Finland is definitely making a commitment to invest in child and community based programs to improve the outcomes most notable of which are reduced suicide rates and decreased mental health spending.  Reiterating here that the average Annual Growth Rates for Mental Health and Substance Abuse (MHSA) spending in the USA grew 43 billion between 1991-2001.  There are eight countries that spend more than the US on Arts programs.  I would love to find out whether there is a correlation between arts spending and mental health care spending of these nations. 

The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 7.4 percent of global DALYs are caused by disorders in the mental and behavioral category.  Major depressive disorder accounts for 34.12 percent of DALYs in the mental and behavioral category.  If more than one in four people in the US are suffering from mental and addictive disease, we must look at innovative measures to implement so we can reverse this effect or at least stunt the rise in costs associated with the increase in these diseases.

Given the above statistical comparison of art and mental health, I believe we must take a look at the influence of art in the general well-being of society.  While the few words mentioned in the paragraphs above just skim through ideas which can be expanded upon, an in-depth study is warranted.

As always, be curious and create!

Hyacinth

https://www.hyacinthpaulart.com/