Art therapy & #Anxiety

Everyone uses inspiration in many different ways, but those who suffer from anxiety handle their anxiety through art.

Art therapy is nothing new to those who have a mental illness. It has been lovingly - or not so lovingly - called "child's play". Many people will say that in order to do art therapy, you need to see a qualified professional in order to do art therapy properly. However, my sister, who suffers from anxiety, writes and draws zentangles as her art therapy. Ever since she started writing and drawing, her daily anxiety attacks have leveled out and she isn't having as many. She has been able to block out her troubles while she works, and is much calmer afterwards.

In a recent article on Psych Central, it was mentioned that art therapy actually calms the nervous system, which allows us to handle more difficult experiences and situations in a calmer state. (On a side note, you can also find 3 different kinds of art therapy techniques in the article as well.)

You're probably wondering how you can get started on art therapy. There's Google, of course. But that doesn't always give you the results you're looking for. So I went ahead and picked out a few ideas for you.

• Art. This includes drawing, painting, collages, photography, and sculpture.
• Writing. Start a novel. Write a poem. Start an anxiety journal. Many sufferers start an anxiety journal as soon as they are diagnosed.
• Music. Listen to your favorite music. Write music. Sing. 
• Media. Create a digital image of what your anxiety looks like. Pour out your thoughts into a video.

Those are just a few ideas. However, I came across a pretty extensive list of Self-Expression Therapy Activities on Expressive Art Inspirations. You may not relate to all of them, but you might find a lot of them very helpful. 

Have you used art to help you deal with your anxiety?