How Art Therapy Can Help People Comprehend and Manage Depression and Anxiety.

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” Pablo Picasso

Art therapy is a creative process to express your feelings, emotions to express yourself. People who struggle with depression may have a challenging time placing their emotions into words. The use of art therapy may provide a way for people to express themselves.

Doctors noted that individuals living with mental illness often expressed themselves in drawings and other artworks, which led many to explore the use of art as a healing strategy. Since then, art has become an important part of the healing field and is used in some assessment and treatment techniques.

1. Stress Relief

Being worried and having an anxious mind can have harmful impacts on both the mind and the body. The creation of art can counterbalance those effects and lead to peace.

2. Reduce Anxiety

Art therapy works to heal anxiety by helping us feel a sense of calm, express ourselves, and become more self-aware. As part of a complete treatment, art therapy may be a truly transformative treatment option for those who seek healing from anxiety disorders.

3. Boost Happiness

Known for feelings of enjoyment, Happy hormones can provide the motivation needed to start an activity and/or continue it. Creating art has been linked to increases in happy hormones which, in turn, may improve feelings of happiness.

4. Self Discovery

It can be challenging for someone who is struggling with sadness to specify their feelings. Working closely with an art therapist can provide valuable information that can be used to address the individual’s feelings that may lead to a breakthrough in their depression.

5. Enhance Mood

Multiple investigations have indicated that people discover that their mood lifts when they are being creative. It can help the individual transform their negative feelings into more positive ones.

Color therapy is based on the belief that different colors evoke different responses in people. Some colors are considered to be stimulating, whereas others may be relaxing and, therefore, colors may impact one’s energy level, mood, appetite, emotions, and even decision-making.

• developing self-awareness and insight
• exploring hidden emotions
• managing unresolved emotional conflicts and trauma
• improving communication, self-expression, and social skills
• increasing self-esteem, self-reliance, and personal independence
• a decrease in negative emotions and stress and an increase in positive emotions

Few of the experiences shows how color therapy works to ease down depression & rejuvenate life:

My own experience of having Art Therapy – Neha Gupta Senior Art Designer TOI (TimesOfIndia)

After losing all the self-confidence and going into a deep depression with constant anxiety and fear issues, I started in my art therapy on my own 6 months back & wanted to put into colors and explore something that was under the surface that I wasn’t able to articulate. It turned out to be my emotional vocabulary and significantly permitting me to fully embrace being myself – and within that, to call myself an artist – and believe it too.

It has very much fed into my work as an artist & creative designer, it has dramatically changed how I communicate with my husband (for the better), it has given me a huge amount of confidence, and a much much deeper understanding of myself and who I am today.

Here are some of the artwork which represents my emotions in colors and paint strokes. 

Art therapy is like any other form of therapy; however, the key difference is that it provides a form of expression that all of us are familiar with. Articulating trauma and difficult experiences can be demanding, and art therapy can be an effective gateway for non-verbal communication. You don’t have to be an artist to be part of art therapy; that is not the point. It is a judgment-free zone for one to express themselves, and the quality of art or what it is representing will never be judged.

So Let’s start it today, grab some Acrylic colors, brushes, artboard, and paint it today for a fresh and colorful start for the life.