3 Ways Art Can Improve Your Mental Health
You’ve heard about it before; art therapy, therapeutic art-making, art mindfulness… but have you ever actually tried it?
Maybe you haven’t, because you don’t consider yourself creative or artistic. Or maybe you’re skeptical that drawing a few things will really help your mental health. You’re in the right place, friend.
It can sound kinda weird, right? Using things like paint, markers, pens and pencils to try and process your emotions? Is that really how it works?
Let me tell you more about the world of art therapy, and how it can be extremely beneficial to your mental health and help you gain new insight to who you are at your core.
1. Your focus is on one thing
As someone with ADHD, I can’t tell you how many times a day my mind is thinking about ten things at once. And you can probably relate to that too, even if you don’t have ADHD. With therapeutic art, you are given a specific task, one objective. And that is your entire goal. There may be other thoughts and emotions that come up while you’re doing it, but you’re still focused on finishing the one task in front of you.
During the day, maybe when you’re working, hanging out with a friend, or just driving, how many times does your mind wander? Thoughts like, “Did I turn off the stove?”, “What time is my appointment tomorrow?”, “I kind of want sushi for dinner tonight.” can pop up in your head so easily without even realizing it. It’s so easy for the mind to wander when it isn’t focused on one task with a short-term goal in mind.
Something as simple as “Pick a color to describe how you’re feeling” lets your brain do one of its favorite activities by completing a task. It also gives you a sense of instant gratification because of how simple the question or task can be.
2. Sometimes words aren’t enough
Emotions can be complicated. Oftentimes people will tell me that they don’t have the words to describe how they feel. Sometimes crying helps, and sometimes tuning out the world for a little bit helps too. But sitting down and painting something, anything, can help even more.
Creating art when you’re feeling a certain emotion helps you visualize what that emotion means to you, and how you’re dealing with it. It can give an incredible amount of insight about yourself that you may not have known otherwise. The size of certain objects, the colors you choose, and even the perspective of the piece all have meaning and significance.
For the times you don’t feel like talking about it, draw about it. Paint it. Feel it, using a different part of your brain. Instead of the analytical and data-driven part of your brain that can sometimes be exhausting, try letting yourself be abstract with your emotions. No one said you have to keep the thing you created. Throw it away if you want, the process is what matters.
3. Your stress is reduced
When you’re focused on the action of creating rather than the end result, the pressure to perform is off your shoulders. You can relax, and create freely. No need to try and make this perfect, right? Turn that critical part of your brain off for a few moments. It’s helpful in other times, but this isn’t one of them.
Art-making has been known to reduce cortisol levels, and put you in a positive mental space. I’ve said it before, but you do not need to be good at art or have any recent experience with art to reap the benefits of art therapy, and this study proves that.
This is a small and simple way that you can show up and care for yourself. No one is expecting you to draw the next Mona Lisa. Take that expectation and pressure off of yourself, and just enjoy the act of creating.
It couldn’t hurt, right?
So here’s your sign to go ahead and give it a shot. If you’re looking for new ways to take care of yourself and relax, I can’t recommend enough to give therapeutic art a try. You can even get started right friggin’ now by downloading my free therapeutic art prompts!
What do you think? Have you ever tried using art to express your emotions? Let me know in the comments below.
Stay creative, friends!