Discovering Art Therapy

I think we all have those important moments of realization in our lives. You realize something so obvious, something that is right in front of your eyes, something that has been there all the time. Other people possibly saw it - and tried telling you about it - however, you were never willing to see it.

Until you did.

For me, this epiphany happened in July of this year. I did not see it coming at all, until one fine day, it hit me right in my face. The Big Truth – that I suffer from Anxiety.

I have noticed my symptoms before, multiple times – sometimes low, sometimes high. I have also been diagnosed with it once, but I guess I simply wasn’t ready to accept it then.

I can write more about anxiety, and about how I deal with it, in a separate blog post, but right now I want to write about something else. The coping mechanisms. Or, Therapy.

Now I have been trying different forms of therapy – talk therapy (talking to a counselor, a friend or a colleague), writing therapy (blogging, journaling, etc.), but my newest discovery, and recent obsession, is Art Therapy.

I came across Art Therapy on YouTube (simply stumbled upon a few videos) and started delving deeper into what it is, and how it works. Now I have only been researching about it for a month or so, and the source of my knowledge is limited to YouTube (and some curiosity), but I have tried to clearly put down below, whatever nascent-stage knowledge and experiences I have to share.

What is Art Therapy?

Art Therapy involves the use of creative outlets and techniques to help people express themselves. These techniques involve (but are not limited to) drawing, painting, coloring, sculpting, etc. The creator expresses herself using one (or more) of the several media available, to create an art form. The art form usually depicts (directly or indirectly) how the creator is feeling. She also has an option to consult a professional Art Therapist to decode the emotional undertones of her art.

How has it helped me?

I have not sought an Art Therapist yet, because Art Therapy has been helping me in various other ways.

1.      As an Outlet: I personally feel like I am a creative soul, and I am more at peace and more connected to myself when I get to create. Art, for me, has helped releasing stress, anxiety, fear, restlessness and other nasty feelings.

2.      Focus: It also helps me focus, since all my energy is going into that one art-piece that I am creating. It almost works as well as meditation, bringing all my attention to the present moment, with no anxious thoughts of the past or the future.

As mentioned above, I consider myself a rather creative person and I feel more inspired whenever I am creating something – be it any shape or form – writing, poetry, craft, or art (and different forms of it – sketching, painting, coloring or doodling). However, in my personal opinion, Art as form of Therapy can be more effective, because it involves shapes and colors, which works differently with our brains as compared to, say, words. Our brain processes images faster, and is able to retain them for a longer period. Which is why, for me personally, reaching out for my color pencils is easier than reaching out for my ink pen.

Another very important concept I can relate with in Art Therapy is not to strive for perfection. It requires you to simply let your hands flow, and depict how you feel, using various shapes and forms. The end result doesn’t need to be perfect. All it needs to do is to make you feel better!

Some people consider practicing some reflective writing after creating their art-piece – about what it depicts, what they were feeling while creating it and what they feel once they have created it. I have not yet felt the need to try this, however, I’m open to it too.