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Have you ever wondered why does creative expression help stress? In this post I show you a little bit about why expressive art works for all kind of stress.
It is my hope that as you read through this website you learn how art can enhance your life and help you to destress. I’d like to go into more detail on how this works though.
Many people view art as a luxury, a hobby, a fun thing to do. And it can certainly be all those things. But there is alot more to art than that.
Expressive Art Has Many Mental Health Benefits
Psychologists and therapists have used art for many years to help clients overcome mental health obstacles. It has been proven to enable clients to release emotional and mental, spiritual and even physical struggles.
When people express themselves creatively, they are actually creating new pathways for their brain to follow. They are essentially learning how to navigate a new situation much like a baby learns to crawl and eventually walk.
When your mind and brain are presented with a problem or a stressful situation it can be easy to clam up, keep it all inside and try to protect yourself. This way of coping is very unhealthy. It is better to embrace the situation and learn how to navigate it rather than deny it is there and stuff it away. If you do not embrace it, it will eventually cause greater problems and stress in your life and those around you.
Your Inner Voice Needs To Be Heard
Expressive creativity in the form of art creation, enables you to express what you are feeling in a safe and creative environment. The mere expression of what you are going through on paper or in clay or other artistic forms can give you a voice when you may feel you have no way to let it out.
It enhances your capabilities of coping with great stress by providing a safe outlet for your feelings. In addition to that safety, your brain to begins to think about the situation differently thereby discovering solutions to the problem or release for the stress. This is a very important factor in your emotional well being.
Let It Out
If you have ever felt the need to scream extremely loud and allow the emotions out in this way, imagine that expressive artwork is kind of like a good scream. Only it is on paper, canvas, in clay forms or other art. So instead of giving yourself laryngitis and screaming loudly, you can take that paintbrush and paint it out on your paper or canvas, plunge your hands into clay or a myriad of different ways to express that emotion using art creation.
I hope this little post gives you an idea of how art can help you with stress and other emotions in your life. Pick up a paintbrush and “scream” or sing, or laugh, or dance… Whatever you need to let out, let it out creatively.
Check out these other great blog posts on how creativity heals and helps:
