Engaging in therapeutic art-making is an excellent way to reflect and process difficult emotions, both in the therapeutic space and on your own. By creating art about our feelings, we begin to notice patterns in our emotions, stress levels, and feelings of discomfort. Spending time making art is also beneficial for decreasing stress and anxiety, and promoting motivation and emotional wellbeing.
Creating the routine
Creating an art making routine is a simple form of self-care, and setting aside 15 minutes a day is plenty of time to engage in emotional expression. You can use whatever materials you have on hand—markers, crayons, watercolor paint, or even just paper and a pencil. Reflect on your day and draw, paint, or scribble creatively about the day’s events. It can be abstract or a concrete representation, and it might be different every day you create. Spend your time releasing your stress, frustration, sadness, or happiness about your day in a way that works for you.
Emotional expression though art
When you complete your art, think about the feelings you expressed and how they look visually. Did you use dark or light colors? Did you scribble quickly or did you let your drawing flow with ease. Connecting the feelings you had about your day with how you expressed them on paper can help to release those emotions and start fresh for the next day.
Reflection on art-making
Consider also how you felt about the process of making your art. Did you feel that you were able to release tension, stress, or anxiety? Getting your thoughts out can give you the opportunity to feel more focused on other tasks, by eliminating emotional stress and allowing you to return to your emotions to process them when you feel more capable of processing them fully.
Final thoughts
Therapeutic art making is a unique and easy approach to understanding yourself better and uncovering truths or beliefs that you might not have noticed that you have carried with you. Giving yourself an opportunity to express yourself is an act of self-care and can help you to release negative emotions in a healthy and easy way.
Learn more about Naperville therapist, Sam Nolan, LPC, ATR-P here.