Art and Mental Health
Holding a pen or pencil can be less menacing than writing how you feel. It is a cathartic release. Art acts as bridge when you feel aloof, stunted. and distant. Art, steps into become a vehicle for communication. Making the senseless make sense. Art gives tangible form to emotion. Art quells and quietens my catastrophic, racing thoughts whilst stopping me from running away from complex emotions. Helping me deal with and face head on grief, heartache and trauma. Sometimes I want to escape creating works of beauty either through drawing or embroidery. The vibrant colours are tantalising and offer me respite to whatever I am dealing with in my inner world. I found beauty in flowers and hearts. Painting boxes, doing paint by numbers and delighting in oil paint was very much my anchor when I was home bound due to a recurrence of being physically unwell. Art helped me stay in the present moment and focus my attention, distracting me from my pain in my back, foot and ears. Through hyper focusing on the intricate fur of a Russian Blue cat. I had found abstraction. This was better for me than numbing myself with rubbishy TV which failed to soothe my distress in the past has resulted in poor sleep patterns due to unhealthy distractions as I couldn’t for a long time shut down my brain as I watched reruns of Come Dine with Me and Made in Chelsea. The loud half asleep chatter disturbing my dreams and twisting my already aching body with monotonous chatter booming from my IPad versus the comforting realisation that I finished a piece I was working on for months. When doing Art my brain filled very quickly with dopamine.
Art is an oasis for my subconscious as researched by Sigmund Freud who viewed “Art as a powerful expression of the unconscious allowing repressed desires, fears and conflicts to surface in symbolic form.” Psychoanalysis attempts to interpret these symbols, revealing the hidden meanings beneath the artwork..transforming the invisible workings of the subconscious into tangible forms enabling to confront emotions, memories and desires. that might otherwise remain inaccessible.” Art is my voice.
Art increased my confidence when depression lowered my cortisol. Art is a steadfast stress reliever attuning with the very essence of my inner world. I also use Art as a visual prompt for my writing making my writing cinematic. I wrote from images that resonated meaning and helped me deal with intense emotions with particular symbolic google images. For example, when I am angry I used angry Google Images to inform my writing. This is cathartic and healing. Colours acted as an impetus to externalise emotions with black being a depressive colour and bright pink being a jovial albeit manic colour. When overwhelmed and incarcerated by my own thoughts art helped to increase chemicals like cortisol and serotonin . There is scientific evidence that when people are in a low in mood they have a decrease in serotonin and cortisol and the practice of art can biologically put them in a different frame of mind.
Carl Jung believed that Art gives symbolic expression to the unconscious and can aid psychological integration. He believed that Art has the power to transform by giving form to hidden emotions, fostering self reflection and connecting individuals with the deepest aspects of human psyche. Accessing the conscious and unconscious processes that influence emotions, behaviour and identity. Art remedies your most inner emotions and helps you find and untap who you are. It can be liberating in many ways. I identify emotions from what I choose to draw, for example a lion when I am. angry and an anguished woman when I was distressed.
I recently had a trial day of a free art therapy session held weekly and found it healing. Painting a memory of my dead brother and within it was a painting of me. I was trying desperately to reach across to touch his arm whilst we ate ice creams, taped into something primal and unearthed a sense of longing alongside a happy image of him eating his favourite ice cream whilst I relished mine.
Dr Emma Whicher, who works as a Director of South West London and St George’s Hospital recognises that creativity improves well being. After doing some research in organisations that provide Art classes and therapy for people with mental health I stumbled upon ‘Art on prescription’ which offer a series of free, friendly weekly art workshops. Their aim is to increase wellbeing for people with conditions like depression and anxiety. Unfortunately I don’t know what other boroughs they cover but it would be worth contacting them so they can signpost you. What helped me was having a social prescriber on the NHS to inform me where to go in my borough for art therapy and classes. There has always been a dearth of mental health services and this is something governments should offer more of in their local boroughs as it can be very costly to go privately forking out at least £45 for private one to one support. These preventative measures of funding the Arts and creative mental health services would end up costing the government far less than what the NHS would spend per day in a Mental Health Ward. Sadly I have been at the receiving end of not getting enough adequate support and feel that the systems in place are reactionary when they need to be proactive which can be isolating causing a downward spiral into relapse and crises.
The Guardian newspaper evaluated that “Arts on Prescription decreases depression and loneliness. Patents frequently experienced higher self esteem, improved communication and measurable cost savings for public health system as well as a reduced clinical burden. As a result of Arts on prescription there is a notable drop in GP consultations and reduced hospital admissions. Rather than just curing a specific ailment the programme acts as a catalyst. One participant of Arts through prescription “felt so much better having the time and space to do some Art.”Gavin Clayton Executive Director of Arts in Mind in Cambridgeshire stated that “people with Mental Health can self refer by their GPs or community psychiatric nurse or family support workers. Arts in mind. offer 12 week term of visual Arts in Cambridgeshire city and South Cambridgeshire who all completed baseline, midline. and end point questionnaire and overall 67% participants reported a fall in Depression and 83% reported a general increase in wellbeing. One participant compared the programme to be as “therapeutic as medication” and helped her “relax and overcome mental blocks.” An increase sense of purpose emerged through exploring new skills and participants found “motivation by making art and having a decrease in Anxiety and Depression. Nowadays Art therapy is used in prisons decreasing rates of reoffending with prisoners with mental health conditions.”( Role of Art therapy in promotion of mental health a Critical review by Apoorva Shukla)
Shukla cites the National Institute of Health that art therapy allows people to express themselves more freely as well as improve interpersonal relationships. On World Heath Organisation mental health database it was found that the use of art therapy as an adjunct showed improved mental health.
Art therapy is usually a person centred approach and encompasses emotional, spiritual and social needs. Looking back in history thousands of years ago people were practising and depending on the arts for self expression, healing and communication. However, Art Therapy did not become a formal curriculum until 1940 doctors began to to note that people with mental illness frequently enunciate themselves through drawings and artworks. The scope of anaesthetic, sensory, perceptual and symbolic communication motivates uncommon receptive and expressive communication modes that can function be language limitations. Engaging in creative processes can heal trauma, improve interpersonal relationships and achieve a sense of self. Manic episodes, depressive episodes effects 5% of adults worldwide according to RCT, randomise control trial that found that introducing Art Therapy for people with schizophrenia created a greater emotional awareness through the Art Therapy form. Creating Art whether the one becomes an artist or not is inspiring. It fosters a sense of self-sufficiency whilst using one’s artistic ability and mental capacity to generate outcomes one values and desires to share further throughout history people have used paintings as healing rituals.
Get Meaningful Insights and Reflections’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Policy maker should be urged to enhance Access To cost-treatment for prevailing mental illness in primary healthcare settings, including creative therapies and not limiting to Art Therapy
Art is my. pain reliever energising me when I am in a downward slump.When I was reading the Guardian article I learnt of Molly who “ was diagnosed aged 21 with Depression,” Molly talks of externalizing her thoughts and feelings as both helpful and delightful. Helping her gain a better example of what she is dealing with. During Molly’s worst times when consumed with panic and despair. It was hard for her to simply make it through each hour and even harder to concentrate but Art always remained a constant resource and antidote to her malaise.
According to the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran “Art captures the essence of truth while words can analyse or describe pain.. painting communicates it through colour and texture making the human experience both visible and immortal.” Art is a semblance of the inner workings of your self and what it unearths about what mental health professionals can discover, what is left unsaid.
Mental health conditions like Depression can be extremely isolating entrapping people in a far reaching dark abyss. Going to Art groups and Art therapy is also social and communal which allows people stuck in a rut and at home to be out in the community and meet like minded people. When there is a dearth of written or verbal cues Art steps into supersede this. Hence serving to untap the underlying reason for that feeling. Art can seek to understand and come to terms of the root cause of the person’s mental health. It reveals what is left unsaid.
Ground Raising Behavioural therapy a bespoke organisation based in Massachusetts, America is an organisation that harnesses self expression in order to explore inner worlds safely beyond verbal communication. The organisation sees the power that Art can have to regulate emotion, decrease stress and build strong network.
In London closer to home for me there are other local creative programmes that struck a chord for me, for example,London Arts and Health, a free to join organisation who have opportunities to collaborate with Arts sector peers. They have a Creativity Wellbeing Group every year. There is also Wandsworth Culturally Mindful whose aim is to transform creativity by building long term partnerships between the NHS, local government, Artists and community organizations . London Arts and Health host Artists’ Residencies co created with services. by working closely with hospitals like Royal Hospital for Neurodiversity and St George’s Hospital. Their mission statement is to improve overall wellbeing for communities experiencing barriers to accessing healthcare by offering paid training and mentoring for disabled service users. Culturally Mindful also places artists in hospital and community organisations to work alongside staff and service users by running activities like Painting and Textiles. They also reach out to children and adolescents mental health services not withstanding helping to support carers and adults with learning difficulties. In South West London there is an organisation like Art and Soul- whose mission is to improve emotional wellbeing through creativity a free services funded by grants. They offer therapist led art workshops for young people and families experiencing mental health as well as offering exhibition space for services users to display their art publicly. They demonstrate how “Art activities help people articulate their emotions encouraging open discussions about their.. lived experiences.”
Sarah Jane, an Art Psychotherapist. who works for Mind Body Clinic (a clinic that treats both physical injuries and mental health in Tonbridge, Kent.) states that “Art. therapy is an incredibly useful technique and one which, she can alongside other talking. therapies and counselling..” According to the Mind Body clinic there is a “period of reflection where the individual and therapist discuss their art work. A crucial step for gaining insight and understanding the meanings behind their artistic choices.” According to the Mind and Body clinic website “the insight helps the individual draw connections between the artwork and their feelings, thoughts and experiences.. The final stage involves integrating the insights gained from the art making process into the individual’s life and therapeutic journey.”
According to the Grand Rising Health website: Art therapy allows. individuals to express complex emotions non verbally providing a safe avenue for exploration and personal growth leading to profound insights about one’s emotional landscape.. Art therapy offers a multitude of social benefits particularly in group settings because in these environments individuals can build trust and empathy.. overall Art. therapy enriches lives by improving personal resilience.” Some examples of Art therapy are drawing or painting emotions, creating an emotional wheel and meditative painting ( the practice of using painting as a form of mindfulness or creating a peaceful environment for. your meditation space..” Grand Rising Behavioural Care offers a safe setting to receive discreet care in person, private treatment and care in a secure and supportive environment.
In my opinion and lived experience , images can trigger communication and act as a paramount bridge between communicating complex inner thoughts, traumas and experiences in an attempt to quieten disarming emotions onto paper in a purifying way. Art mirrors yourself and what you find challenging to express. Art pinpoints your emotions and experiences to try and find some semblance of catharsis, meaning and insight into your most unfathomable thoughts.
When thinking about depression and the role that Art plays we have to understand depression disassociates from what you are able to communicate. When communication becomes a barrier Art becomes a bridge to help depressed people to actualise their authentic and raw emotions in a constructive and poignant way. Art is a sacred and safe place. For me, Art explains the inscrutable and unexplained in a multifaceted way to tap into my emotions. Using an array of mediums helps me to choose either, softer pastels or to or darker inks depending on my mood and what I want to express . There is not one size fits all approach and that’s why offering a multi disciplinary approach is so important.
On a personal note Art has benefited me greatly since I was young. I have fond memories of crouching down in the National Gallery and copying in my sketchbook the Cubist , Picasso and Impressionist, Van Gogh. Two years ago when I was in a Crises Home because of my suicidal ideation, delusional thoughts and a general decline I used Art as a tool to escape mindfully through the. hours when I was left to my own devices. I spent a long time cutting up magazines from Homeware, Toys, Lifestyle and Fashion magazines. I whiled away the time through my intricate cuttings when confiding in a friend my age said coldly that my recovery in the home isn’t an “Art club and I am there to get better.” This wasn’t true at all as part my recovery was finding joy in what I loved before I was self harming and toying with not being alive including running recklessly through moving cars. Art became my sanctuary. It dulled my fatalistic thoughts and abstracted me from harming myself. Art was my beaming voice. Hyperfocusing me into a world of possibility and hope. I knew there was a way out. I was of course grateful to the psychiatric intervention I received with the mood stabilisers placating my dark thoughts and stabilising my mood but art acted holistically whilst the medication kept me grounded Art kept me feeling hopeful and resilient.
When I was bullied at school Art became my refuge from being ostracised due to ongoing bullying and intimidation. I decided hence to spend as much time in the Art room as I was allowed to. Colour, form and composition became my steadfast friends. Art. placated and stifled my anxiety and racing thoughts. I feel a great sense of achievement when I finished my embroidered leaf in the Crises Home and was allowed out in the local area to find a good quality frame. When I was in hospital over 8 years ago when I was psychotic, loss contact with reality and was direct threat to myself the opportunity of doing Art enthralled me. The mental health nurses gave me permission to use scissors and needles they kept safely for me and I had great pleasure in embroidery pink hearts on white plimsoles. Art has always been my home away from home. There was a sense of certainty to it. Art was something I could rely on. I relished the vibrant colours of acrylic paints. When I felt low colours were a way out even temporarily. Bright colours were my endorphins. I felt grounded, present and whole when I was creating. My imagination conjuring exciting visions. Art has always been my comforting voice when I felt all was lost.
