Do you
have a stressed mind that will not shut up?
Lately,
the stress of world events, politics and personal worries become tilt overload
for most people. I know politics alone
make me absolutely crazy and leave me feeling dumbfounded, exasperated and
helpless. On top of that, I am going
through one of those major life stressors that rock you to your core and leave
you feeling like a deflated ball; my father is in Hospice losing his fight with
cancer. This has been the most challenging time in my life that often leaves me
mentally and physically drained.
I know
there are so many like me that have their own personal burdens that they are
carrying around as well. I want to share with you what has helped me
tremendously.
Art.
Creating
art is a form of mindfulness, which is focused attention. The troubled world melts away when you are
creating. In that moment, all that exists is what you are doing. And, what you
are doing can be many things. Art comes in many forms, thus known as The Arts.
Creating and expressing oneself can be through sketching, painting, writing,
singing, dancing, knitting, working with clay, photography and more!
When the
brain is on fire running on all cylinders and you just can’t calm it down, what
works for me is turning to art. It works every time. Art is a form of
mindfulness in every brush stroke or pencil mark that diffuses nervous energy
into the current task at hand, creating- thereby, quiets the incessant chatty
mind.
#artheals #art4mentalhealth
Check out
these hashtags on Twitter and you will see many submissions of art to help
break the stigma associated with Mental Health. I participated with Art
Therapist and St. Xavier University Psychology Professor, Nicola Demonte in the
mission of breaking the stigma associated with Mental Health through the
Twitter hashtag campaign #art4mentalhealth. Even though we were in two
different locations, Chicago and New York we posted events and art online. The
coolest thing was to see all the different participants who posted. We had Refugee Art Project who used art to
release their pain and feel a little joy through art. Splashes of Hope are artists who paint murals
in hospitals and waiting rooms for families in prisons to relieve anxiety and
evoke a cheerier atmosphere in what can be certainly scary and unpleasant
circumstances. There were artists who are homeless getting their amazing work
posted and advertised for them through a group called Art Lifting to better their situations and at the same time use art as a means of healing. I certainly
benefited from posting my art as I painted or sketched whenever I felt so distressed
that I didn’t know what else to do make myself feel better. The pencil to paper
focused concentration wipes the chatter away like a squeegee on a
windshield. The distress drips away into
the ethers, every single last noxious thought as I sketch, sketch, erase, and blow.
I
sketched during blizzards. I sketched when I was frightened and horrified by
tragedies around the world, such as the Paris Massacre at the Bataclan night
club. I shared music videos that marked
an emotion that matched a news event, whether it be hopeless or hopeful that I
felt others would appreciate. Music is especially powerful. Art helps. Art
heals and is available to everyone.
It is a
magical balm.
The other
night my husband showed me a brown trout as he has been jonesing for fishing. Bam.
That was my object du jours. I sketched a brown trout as it had been
a difficult day with my ailing father. Somet days are better than others with my coping ability with his terminal illness.
It’s
nothing fantastic, but that wasn’t the point.
The point was I needed relief from my own busy mind and faulty nervous
system. And, you know what? It helped.
It really did.
It is a
message of this much I can do to ease the pain. I can create something. I feel
better.
Give it a
shot. Color. Paint. Squiggle. Doodle. Knit. Create. I did, and I am telling you
it set my emotions free. It unleashed
the untamable beast. Isn’t there a
quote, “Music soothes the savage beast?” See? It’s a tried and true, time
tested healer.
You may
find yourself on a new artistic adventure like me! #art4MentalHealth
Even with
writing this article I am releasing and expressing my emotions. I am breathing
easier because of it.
Create
on, my friends for your good Mental Health!
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