5 Ways I Use Art as My Own Therapy
I am not the most mentally healthy person in the world, so I am not ashamed to say that I have spent a fair amount of hours in a chair facing a therapist and telling her my many issues. In one of the very first sessions with her, she made the statement that no one could be stressed and do art at the same time, because each one requires a different side of your brain. Since you can’t use the left and right sides of your brain at the same time, the art would overpower your stress, and therefore eliminate it! I thought that that was extremely interesting and even accurate because I have had my own experiences with it before going to therapy. So even though I was creative before, I’m more aware now to allow more time in my schedule for creative time to reduce my anxieties.
1. Take Art Outside
The first thing that I like to do when I’m feeling anxious is to take one of my (very many) sketchbooks and my pens and to just go outside, drawing what I see. Being in nature is soothing already, so adding art is just extra relaxing.
2. Let Music Control Your Pen
Another thing I enjoy doing is to put my music on shuffle, and draw something based off of the song that pops up first. The results are usually very interesting and it allows be to flex my creative muscle a little.
3. Perfect An Old Project
Because I am in design school, I have so many projects that I have to complete on a regular basis. There are times that I don’t like the way that something came out, so I’ll just redo it at my own pace and see what the final product is the second time. It reduces some of the stress of trying to figure out something new to do as well.
4. Create Something with All of Your Favorite Materials
One of the things that I enjoy the most is taking out all of my favorite materials and laying them out around me. Then, I’ll experiment with one item at a time until I have used each one. The end results are usually really odd but the process is always super satisfying.
5. Focus on Only One Item or Figure
Having only one thing to focus on reduces my anxieties and lets me focus all of my efforts on one thing, so that is one of my go-to exercises for when I am feeling most down.
