As a certified Therapeutic Arts Practitioner I’ve seen the benefits in so many different ways. From watching a child’s eyes light up because he saw something in his drawing that helped lighten his bad mood, to adults hesitant at first, in engaging in almost any form of art only to feel a catharsis at the end of an exercise.
Whether I’m working with adults or children the gratitude I experience, for the joy they feel, is my fuel.
This is what drives me to continue working with people in this modality. Art has been a part of my life for many years, however only in the last 6 years have I begun to use it as a form of self healing and as a wellness practice almost daily.
My wish for you is that you find a creative outlet that allows you a moment of peace, a form of release and some well deserved joy.
Watercolour is my joy, I hope you find yours.
- Helen
So many of us have been taught not feel certain things & then we learn suppression as a coping mechanism, to not feel certain things. God forbid you get mad or sad or disappointed, god forbid you express it. It makes others uncomfortable. And then we teach ourselves to be uncomfortable with our own true feelings because they make others uncomfortable.
Think about very young kids & how they go from one emotion to another so quickly, without shame. Laughing & playing with a ball, then all of a sudden crying hysterically for what seems like no reason at all. It’s all perfectly normal to them; because it is. They don’t feel bad about causing a ruckus around them, they just feel & then they feel better. But when they are told not to cry or see that their tears or upset affects those around them negatively (Mommy doesn’t like that, it makes her sad, brother gets mad ), they slowly learn to suppress the “bad” feelings.
If we are not shown that all feelings are ok, we try to suppress the ones we think are bad, or too big & shove them down.
Feelings are neither good or bad, they are just signals. They come & go with time. Some we should listen to, others let go of. When we try to control or suppress them, that is when they become bigger than us, uncontrollable.
With all the practice & training to make sure others are always comfortable, we forget to listen to what our bodies tell us, for our own protection; all the physical reactions that are actually telling us we are uncomfortable. Instead we focus on the physical reactions that are telling us we are making someone else uncomfortable. And we do it all unconsciously, it becomes second nature.
Whether it’s knots in the stomach, or sweaty palms, headaches, racing heart, whatever signals our bodies are giving us, they are more important than what our mind is telling us. What’s in your mind is tainted with programming & thoughts. What your body is saying is very real.
