How to use art to cope with depression

How to use art to cope with depression? Experiencing stress?

Art will help you deal with it. Art therapy – a therapeutic method in which creativity and self-expression are used as a means of reducing stress and improving self-esteem.

Most treatment methods depend on speech, which is needed to express feelings. And art therapy uses other, more abstract forms of communication.

You don’t have to be an artist to enjoy the benefits of art therapy. In most of the techniques, it is not the final product that you will create that is important, but sometimes the meditative ritual of the creative process.

1. Create a card you won’t send to anyone

No matter what it is – a love letter addressed to someone to whom you are unable to confess your own feelings or an angry rant , which you better not say out loud – sometimes expressing the problems that concern you in a simple way helps to get rid of them.

Composing text is of course wonderful, but when creating a card, you will also need creative thought and that is why it is a much better option.

During the creative process these areas in the brain are activated, which are also activated when filling in coloring books.

When you finish the card and throw it in the trash bin or put it in a drawer that you feel that what you expressed in it will have lost some of its power over you.

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2. Cut out several pictures and make a collage out of them

Create several pictures on paper or cardboard. Cut or shred them when you’re done. Then use the resulting pieces as building blocks of a new work – a collage.

You will see how this original artwork of yours becomes something new, interesting and unpredictable.

This technique emphasizes the closeness between the act of creation and destruction and encourages us to take risksto validate our works, which also helps other aspects of life.

3. Create an altar to a loved one

Take inspiration from folk art and create an altar to honor the unique bond between you and the other person, whether they are alive or not.

Decorate the altar with photos, letters, and other mementos of the times you were together, place the new artwork you created in honor of that relationship.

Creating such a “totem” in another person’s name awakens memories and creates a physical manifestation of the relationship that can provide a sense of comfort in troubled times.

4. Draw in complete darkness

We experience tremendous stress from the negative evaluations and criticisms that always accompany the creation of works of art.

Try creating works of art in complete darkness to purge your creative thought of the “inner critic” that resides in your head. Think of it as a kind of “blind drawing” with just outlines.

So you will suddenly break free and start creating lines, shapes and patterns simply because you feel compelled to. And when you turn on the lights, you’ll be amazed by what you see.