Healing Through Art

The freedom of expression can serve as a powerful tool to help you find your voice, a skill you didn't know you had, a creative outlet, and much-needed inner peace.

Expression can come in many different forms and one of those forms is through art. Creating a piece of art or something unique while going through a traumatic experience or a difficult period in life can help you heal in ways you wouldn't believe.

Whether you paint random strokes of paint on a canvas, doodle random cartoons on a piece of paper, or mold a clay figure, you are releasing inner emotions and pieces of yourself out into the world.

How Art Helps You Heal

Art can positively impact your physical well-being.

In a study published in the journal of Art Therapy, over 75% of participants experienced significantly lower cortisol levels during an art-making session. Some participants had some level of art experience and some had absolutely zero experience.

Participants indicated that the process of creating art was relaxing, enjoyable, and helpful in learning new aspects about themselves. It allowed people to release themselves from constraints and to simply focus on the canvas in front of them.

Art forces you to make a connection between your mind and body

When you sit down to paint or draw, you are using your mind and physical body to pull something out of you and put it on the canvas. It's a powerful two-way connection that engages your physical quotient and your mental focus to create something unique.

It can calm your spirit, force you to focus, and engage your mental state in a calm and narrow way, similar to exercise.

Art serves as a way of getting your emotions out non-verbally.

Some people have a hard time expressing their feelings to others verbally or opening up about their struggles and what they are going through. Art can serve as the perfect outlet for people who tend to struggle with their emotions.

Art can serve as a form of internal therapeutic release if you don't feel comfortable talking about your problems with others or if you simply don't have a support system in place.

Emotions are complex and can't always be broken down into words, but they can still be communicated in a non-verbal fashion.

Helps you explore hidden talents.

Many of the world's most famous painters such as Francis Bacon, Vincent Van Gogh, Stan Lee, and many others discovered their love and passion for art much later in their lives.

Francis Bacon didn't start painting until his 30's.

Vincent Van Gogh didn't even go to art school until he was 27 years old.

Stan Lee, the man who brought us Spider-Man and a plethora of other superheroes, didn't start sketching until he was 43.

Some discovered their passion for art by sheer luck and simply by being open-minded. By trying out art, you may discover natural talents you always had, but never knew existed. There's also no telling where your talents can take you.

Art can help you find meaning

Art is truly in the eye of the beholder and also in the eye of the creator. You never know what kind of piece of art can help you discover a certain motivation you were lacking, a certain feeling you were missing. or a certain person you haven't seen.

It can spark an old memory, a taste you had forgotten about, a feeling of hope or encouragement or it can simply help you to escape to a different world for a period of time.

Art can function as an extremely powerful medium you re-discover yourself, find inner peace, and get lost in a world that's far beyond our own.