You don't have to be Picasso to benefit from art therapy. It's the process — not the end product — that will help you reduce stress. Here's how to get artsy with your stress reduction and have fun in the process.
Finding stress is easy. It's everywhere: at work or school, from problems with money, relationships or our overall health, and from a host of other sources. There's no shortage of it. So dealing with stress requires some creative solutions.
One way to get stress relief, at least in the short-term, is get involved in an activity. By intensely focusing on a hobby, game, book or movie, we tend to forget our problems and relieve our stress — at least for a while. But dealing with stress more fundamentally, and more permanently, requires a bit more effort and planning.
One activity to try is art therapy. View this slideshow and see how art can help you deal with the stress in your life.
Art therapy uses the concept of focusing on a creative activity — art — and mixes it with professional counselling. The creative process you go through when making art takes your mind away from everyday stresses and opens it up to ideas, thoughts and insights that you might not otherwise have reached. And these things can show up in your art.
Then with the help of an art therapist to discuss your art and new insights, you can more permanently deal with the sources of your stress and improve your overall sense of well-being.
And you don't have to be a good artist. It's all about your effort, your mindset and what you discover along the way.
By using art therapy, you may:
- Examine feelings in a new light
- Understand emotional conflicts
- Boost self-awareness
- Deal with behavioural issues
- Improve interpersonal skills
- Develop insights
- Lessen anxiety and overall stress
- Increase your sense of worth and self-esteem
Art is a personal activity; it can be done in many media formats. And best of all, it doesn't have to be great. It's your art. It's an expression of you, your feelings and thoughts — that's all that matters. Here are some artful things to try:
- For out-of-control stress: Create a paper collage. With this technique you take charge, putting together any sort of collage you like. You decide what goes into the picture and where. You make all the choices.
- For highly stressful times: To help you deal with a large degree of stress, create a picture with soft pastel coloured chalk on large paper. The result can be a very pleasing, soothing and stress-reducing image of blended colours.
- For ongoing stress relief and well-being: Keep a sketchbook, in essence your visual journal — which is also great for processing deep emotions. You can:
- Sketch pictures representing feelings caused by immediate sources of stress
- Draw abstract pictures capturing feelings related to previous stressful experiences
- Keep a "Dream Sketch Diary" capturing dream images you want to remember or explore further
- Keep a visual diary of things you think are beautiful: people you love, peaceful places or any images that make you feel good.
For some of us, creating art on our own can be a good way to reduce stress and escape from our daily routines. Others, however, may find that an art therapy practitioner can help them even further.
Using art as a counselling technique and stress reliever may offer benefits that traditional counselling may not. Art therapy:
• Begins with the visual, not the verbal
• Gives you a chance to examine experiences in a unique way
• Concentrates on one activity
• Encourages creative thinking
• May be easier to take part in than conventional therapy
• Can help you face strong emotions
• Can be useful for anyone at any age
And let's not forget that creating art can be fun!
Finding art for you
To learn more about art therapy or to find a practitioner in your area, search "art therapy" in find support.
