How Art Therapy Can Help Reduce Stress And Anxiety

🔊 Listen to this post Now in English

What might art have to do or do with stress and anxiety management? In fact, doctors have found that people with mental illness often express themselves through drawings or other forms of art. This then led many scholars to explore the use of art as a therapeutic method.

We have been using art as a medium of communication to express ourselves and to heal for thousands of years. With art, we are able to focus on our own perception, imagination and feelings. As a medium of expression, art can be used to help us overcome stress and explore different aspects of our own personality. Whether creating yourself or viewing other people’s art, this activity can help build self-esteem and work on our social skills.

What is art therapy?

Art therapy integrates techniques into the creative process to improve well-being and mental health. The goal is to use this creative process to help explore self-expression. It also allows you to find new ways to gain a personal vision and develop new coping skills. Art therapy can be used for different things for different people. Some even use it during a healing or rehabilitation process in addition to de-stressing oils.

Techniques used in art therapy can include drawing, painting, sculpture or collage. As we create, we can analyze what we do and how we feel. We thus encourage the search for themes and conflicts that may affect our thoughts, emotions and behavior.

Who can use art therapy?

Anyone can use art therapy. In a world where there are so many ways to express yourself and communicate, therapy through the arts is another. One of the main differences between other forms of communication and art therapy is that most other forms require the use of words.

The problem is that often we are unable to fully express ourselves because our expression is limited by language. Therefore, one of the wonders of art as therapy is the ability for a person to be able to express their feelings.

Those who have experienced emotional trauma, physical abuse, depression, anxiety and other psychological issues can greatly benefit from this creative expression. The key to this form of therapy is to encourage these people to create art that expresses their inner world more than doing something that is an expression of the outside world.

Here are some conditions under which art therapy can be used:

Mental illnesses associated with aging
Anxiety
Stress
Cancer
Depression
Eating disorders
Emotional difficulties
Medical conditions
Psychosocial issues
Dependency

Art – a wonderful form of therapy

While there are other types of expressive therapy such as the performing arts for example, art therapy as discussed above generally uses more traditional art forms. Activities such as painting, photography, drawing, sculpture and a variety of other types of visual expression. It can be a mixture of drawing, painting, sculpture and just about anything you can think of that is artistic.

Expressive arts therapy should not be used only as a treatment. It can be used as a mode of self-discovery. Many people indeed need to be able to use some sort of creative outlet. Music and dance are other main expressions of a variety of arts therapy. Music therapy can be a mixture of listening to music and singing. Dance therapy uses dance and movement. It makes sense that dancing is so effective since a lot of endorphins are released in the body when we move.

Conclusion

There are so many benefits and uses of Expressive Art Therapy, which can help greatly improve life for a number of reasons. And even if you don’t need medical support, art therapy can be a great way to release your anxiety after a long week at work. So be creative, daring, expressive and give art therapy a try!