Let art banish your stress

For Peace’s Sake — Make Art!

Writers Write. Creators Create. The artistic soul finds calm and healing in making more art. When creative people get stressed, they are most likely to pick up their pencils or brushes to relieve that stress, and studies show it works!  Art therapy, such as drawing and coloring has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve mood. Artistic activity can purge negative feelings by distracting you from stressful thoughts and emotions, and putting you into a refreshed state of mind. And it has the added benefit of producing a unique work of art at the end!

One thing to keep in mind:There is really no artistic talent required here. The end product isn’t necessarily important. It’s the process of creating art that brings mindful benefits, so learn to let go of “results”. Creating art allows complete freedom of expression, which fosters a state of ‘presence’ that can release anxiety or simply deepen a sense of peace as well as a feeling of gratification.

So what to create? It doesn’t have to be the cliche children’s ‘fridge’ drawing that foreshadows some terrifying movie plot. Realism is overrated! Don’t go for accuracy, scale or realistic representations of things unless you want to. Also, consider other tools beyond pencils and pens. How about charcoal, pastels, fingerpaints, clay?

Symbolic art can be one place to start. Do you doodle on a notepad while talking on the phone? Inking over the shapes that were drawn completely filter-free deeper and bolder the longer you talked, and crept further and further down the edge of the page? Guess what — symbolic! Why not try doodling for 5 minutes, without being on the phone. Try it right before bed, and discover a wonderful way to let go of any stress that’s built up over the course of the day, or creatively capture feelings of satisfaction and happiness at the end of a good day!

A mainstay of symbolic art therapy is that of creating Mandalas (nothing to do with Nelson, and spelled differently). Swiss psychologist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung used Mandalas as a therapeutic tool, as have many therapists and artists since his time. Mandalas are patterned designs typically drawn in a circular shape with symbols and patterns inside. In fact, the word “mandala” is Sanskrit for “circle”. The symbols and shapes can represent your life experiences, triumphs, challenges, interests or personal feelings in a non-narrative way. Remember, it can look any way you like, and doesn’t have to result in a masterpiece, just be meaningful to you.

You can create a mandala freehand, or use a computer application after which your design can be printed off and hand-colored. A great site to check out is colormandala.com. The drawing below is a simple example of what colormandala.com can do. Coloring ready-made mandalas is equally therapeutic, as evidenced by the plethora of mandala coloring books available in stores.

There’s certainly enough evidence that creating art promotes well-being, so let your inner artist loose and feel fantastic!