How art therapy heals your mind

What is art?

Art is the process of making something new, of developing that sense in your mind to produce something creative and beautiful. From the doodle you drew when you were five years old to that boat you crafted for your kids, art can be anything. It’s the simplest of things that surround you and makes your mind feel imaginative.

Art therapy

Art therapy uses the creative process of making art to improve a person’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Whether you write endlessly about your feelings or doodle mindlessly on a page, research suggests that art has the power to heal stress, depression, and anxiety.

How art therapy helps us to heal?

Everyone in this world is connected to art. This is probably because somewhere in your childhood, you would have gotten your first pair of colours. These colours urged you to put forth your imagination onto a piece of paper, resulting in that sense of satisfaction and enjoyment while your mind was at play. This connection between your body and mind with the fulfilment of creating art helps heal your mind and body altogether, unlike exercise, which only affects your body, and meditation which only affects your mind. Art-making access to both mind and body helps to promote healing. It’s because every time you sit down to write a song or paint a picture, you’re using mental processes in a physically engaging activity.

Art therapy and mental health

Engaging yourself towards creating new things helps you to overcome those negative thoughts appearing in your mind. Art assists you to spend some time with yourself. It makes you understand the worth of beauty and creativity. Every time you write something or you create a piece of painting. You interact with those things; you interact with the sense of originality, elegance, and mental peace. Hence, providing some time to yourself and improving your mental health.

Types of art

Art includes different activities that help you analyze what you have made and how it makes you feel. By exploring your art, you can look for themes and conflicts that may affect your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. These activities help you realize the importance of art and enhance your skills regarding that particular art.
These activities include drawing, painting, coloring, sculpturing, and writing.

Uses of art therapy

Art therapy can be used to treat a wide range of mental disorders and psychological distress. In many cases, it might be used in conjunction with other psychotherapy techniques such as group therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Situations in which art therapy could help you to get over your distress includes:

• Adults experiencing severe stress
• Children suffering from behavioral or social problems at school or at home
• Children or adults who have experienced a traumatic event
• Children with learning disabilities
• Individuals suffering from a brain injury
• People undergoing mental health problems

Conditions that the set therapy may be used to treat are:

• Aging-related issues
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Emotional difficulties
• Family or relationship problems
• Medical conditions
• Psychosocial issues
• Stress

Art therapy is a fine way to get over your jumble of thoughts and to spend some quality time with yourself. No matter if you haven’t practised the art yet, there is always time to start something new. Practising art therapy will help you to enhance your mental and physical health.
Start from something small, take a pencil and start drawing, open your colouring book and start writing as “Art therapy is about having fun through self-exploration – not winning an art prize.”

Writer : Sanjam