Gibsons x Contented Brothers

Posted on Feb 14, 2022

Our team were approached in early 2021 by creative agency Contented Brothers, with a goal in mind: Newmarket Jigsaw Puzzle Festival. They wanted to create a film about the festival, and a hobby that we all share: piecing together jigsaw puzzles.

And so began a happy relationship. Contented Brothers set off to create three incredible short films. One about the 2021 Newmarket Jigsaw Festival; one about puzzling through lockdown; and the third film which follows Charlotte, the Commercial Director at Contented Brothers, and her experience with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

It is clear to see from the three videos that jigsaw puzzling can be a haven for those who are struggling, and were a lifeline for people especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Puzzling is a form of escapism and has all sorts of meditative benefits, as Charlotte explains during her exposé. As our minds are focused, we find ourselves concentrating on the puzzle alone, which empties our brains of the stresses and anxieties we face every day. As a puzzle is pieced together, external worries and stress decrease as the mind focuses on an activity that is both soothing and satisfying. As Charlotte herself says in her lockdown jigsaw video, “there is an element of calm and peace every time I sit down to do a puzzle.”

These powerful videos created by Contented Brothers are thought-provoking and relatable. Even for those who are not experiencing CPTSD, Charlotte’s journey through her diagnosis and her relationship with puzzles is one that people can recognise in themselves and their own experiences with mental health. She admits that while she isn’t particularly good at meditating, puzzling is one of her ways of maintaining her sense of calm.

More mental health benefits of jigsaw puzzles