People are at increased risk of developing mental health problems, such as depression or increased anxiety during the lockdown. The anxiety rates due to the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown may hit exhaustion as you may feel the struggle to balance professional work at home, meeting deadlines and personal – household duties, cooking, children, etc. on your head, all you need is some downtime where you can get away from all of this and stop the stress.
Although being isolated in this way is new to many of us, there have always been groups of people living with limited social contact. For example, think of prisoners or patients recovering from medical procedures that require a period of isolation. Researchers have studied such communities’ and researchers learn a lot, about how people spend a lot of time themselves. The one thing that seems to be helping is art therapy.
In this time of crisis and isolation, the role of art becomes more central to our lives, whether we realize it or not. Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses the creative arts as a tool for therapy. Instead of speaking for an hour, you might paint, sculpt, or creatively express your thoughts.
Art can inspire and help people see things from a different perspective. Regardless of whether you paint a picture, write a novel, or play a piece of music; art activates the brain and promotes constructive behaviour in the lives of people. Examples of art therapy practices include:
- Drawing, painting, or sculpting a self-portrait.
- Using crayons or markers to draw emotions.
- Creating a collage to express inner thoughts.
- Drawing or painting the place where you feel safe.
- Keeping a sketchbook to draw thoughts throughout the day.
- Draw yourself in a nature scene.
- Creating paper crafts, such as cards or origami.
- Drawing your feelings after listening to a song or poem.
Let us check a few benefits of taking art therapy
- Art therapy is capable of exploring, managing, and providing insight into traumatic experiences.
- Art therapy is capable of promoting self-expression, feelings, and emotions.
- It can facilitate positive perspectives on one’s life.
- Art therapy is capable of promoting a sense of personal independence, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency.
- Art therapy can help a child work through difficult experiences.
- Art therapy encourages the development of healthy coping strategies.
- Art facilitates insight, empathy, and acceptance of others' life challenges.
- Art therapy can make people able to encourage problem-solving skills.
It is important to understand that you do not have to be a professional artist to seek art therapy. Performing an art therapy session is to be truthful about yourself and your feelings. Once you unlock your intuition, the inner artist will easily wake up.
If you are struggling with anxiety, or stress does not hesitate to speak to a professional and get counselling for anxiety to find some relief.