Art & Mental Health

Cheapest Therapy Ever!

***This post is geared towards art and mental health for individuals experiencing day to day stress and anxiety. If you are experiencing more serious forms of mental health and illness, please seek the help of a licensed professional. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.***

Art and mental health have gone hand in hand for quite while. The stigma of mental health and illness is gradually receding and mental health awareness has been on the rise for some time now. Treatment is becoming more mainstream and accepted. There are dozens of commercials currently on TV for prescriptions, apps, and services for mental health and illness.

Once upon a time, nobody spoke of even the mildest forms of stress, depression, or anxiety. And conditions like bi-polar disorder, psychosis, and schizophrenia were hidden away as something shameful for the family, not just the patient.

It wasn’t until the 1940’s that mental health professionals starting using art as a means of treating their patients. Today, you need a master’s degree to become a licensed art therapist. That should tell you that art and mental health legitimately work well together.

Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image 45531393 bialasiewicz

Sometimes speaking about troubling things out loud is hard for some people, especially those who have endured trauma. They physically cannot bring themselves to speak about the horrors and tragedies of their lives. Art offers an outlet and a unique means of communication.

Many patients are able to convey their traumas in paints, clay, markers, etc. The beauty of this method is that the patient doesn’t have to be an artist in order for it to be effective. Just getting the trauma out of them in this way is healing.

Art and mental health on a personal level

You don’t have to be actively seeking or undergoing therapy to take advantage of art for your own mental health. We all have day to day stress. Many of us experience mild depression or anxiety and many times we can handle it and work through it with activities like meditation or exercise. Some will go for a soak in a hot bubble bath with candles and soft music. Others a walk on the beach. Most of us have ways of coping and destressing.

Those of us with a creative bent might consider adding art to our mental health care. Whether your art consists of pencils, paints, or clay, making music, writing, or acting, you know how easy it is to lose yourself in it. You’ve experienced the cathartic healing that takes place while you’re caught in the throes of your creativity. And the bonus is that it somehow magically weaves its way back into the quality of your work. Those works of art seem to have more depth, more emotion, and more substance.

Does art really benefit mental health?

Absolutely! It shouldn’t be that surprising. Art therapy has been a recognized form of psychotherapy for roughly 80 years. It’s invaluable for drawing out the unspeakable emotions trapped inside young molestation victims or in combat veterans dealing with PTSD. It has tremendously helped those with developmental disabilities. It’s also why adult coloring books have become so popular as a means of de-stressing.

But is there science behind it?

Yes. Besides being a vehicle for expression, there is actually a chemical response that takes place when someone is being creative. Creativity reduces cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone. It is actually one of the fight or flight hormones.

As modern humans, we’re generally not in situations where we have to constantly be on alert for animals that might eat us. But cortisol still increases when we’re stuck in traffic, dealing with a jerk of a boss, having an argument with a significant other, dealing with financial hardships, or any other situation that causes stress and worry.

Constant elevated levels of cortisol can have some serious effects on your health, such as:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Headaches
• Sleep problems
• Weight gain
• Memory and concentration impairment
• Digestive problems, including ulcers
• Muscle tension and pain
• Heart disease, heart attack
• High blood pressure and stroke

With these risks in mind, finding ways to lower stress levels seems like a wise choice. Art can do that for you. The bonus is that it isn’t just a method available to artists. It still works towards lowering your stress and improving your mental health even if you’re a beginner. If you feel like it would stress you even more to try your hand at drawing, find an adult coloring book. Your mind will still slip into that creative space just the same.

People approach art and mental health in different ways. I suppose my art is a quiet, calming type of therapy. It’s more peaceful and meditative. There are others who are closer to the Jackson Pollock type artist whose art is more of a physical therapeutic release in the active flinging of paint against a canvas. I can totally see how that would be a great release for anger or frustration.

The bottom line is that we all need to take care of ourselves and our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Don’t be afraid to take a little time for yourself. Find what works for you. You’re so worth it!

Further Reading:

Art Therapy

Developmental Disabilities

Adult Coloring Books

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