Switching off can be tough and learning to quieten your mind is an important skill.
For 20-year-old Hannah Cameron, ripping out pictures from old magazines and turning them into art has become a lifeline.
Ms Cameron has struggled with anxiety and depression ever since she can remember.
But it wasn't until an attempt to take her own life and a month-long stay in hospital that she found a way to manage her feelings.
"It was scary … I was away from my family for a month," Ms Cameron says.
"We had to be up at a certain time, have our medication at a certain time, go to the gym, do art, make music."
Ms Cameron says one of her friends in the ward encouraged her to do more art classes and make collages.
"I fell in love with the concept of it … being able to express yourself through messy and imperfect art and allowing my mind to shut off for a while," she says.
"When I'm having a really bad day and my thoughts are spiralling, it distracts me.
"In a way, art has saved my life."
Art therapy
Angela McDowall is the service manager for not-for-profit mental health organisation Mind Australia.
The service runs four programs in Mackay, including a 10-bed residential facility Ms Cameron spent some time in.
Ms McDowall says the organisation employs art therapists and runs art groups for clients.
"When someone engages in art, it gets them out of their own head and away from their thoughts, which can be a welcome break," she says.
Professional development coach Rowena Hardy says our brains are constantly stimulated and it's hard to switch off.
"Any time away from that stimulation offers the brain a chance to settle, but it can be very challenging and tempting to reach for a device," she says.
Hannah Cameron has since turned her love of art into a small business.
Using magazines and frames she buys from op shops, Ms Cameron is selling her creations at local markets and holding workshops.
"I love being able to recycle and repurpose and give all the magazines and frames a new life," she says.
"For the first time in 20 years, I feel like I'm getting better."
Ms Cameron regularly sells her collages at local markets where a few stalls down two other women have turned a creative hobby into something more.
'Having that little something'
Angela McDowall says finding an art activity you enjoy can give a sense of purpose and pride.
Between full-time work or caring for a child, Lauren Turton and Karina May put aside time to make earrings from recycled pearls.
"I was going through my jewellery at home and found a few strings of pearls that my grandma had given me," Ms May says.
"I would never wear a string of pearls; it's not my style."
Instead, the duo wanted to repurpose the pearls into jewellery they would actually wear.
"We thought let's make earrings for ourselves and then we made like 100 pairs," Ms May says.
"It's really nice to have that little something that I can do that's not too pressured."
