Art, Colors and Creative expressions communicate a lot about human emotions and promote mental health. Mental, Physical and Emotional well-being is not only about Medicine, Therapy, Doctors, Clinics and Hospitals. Art in any form is a primarily therapeutic healing process involving will, strength and positivity.

Art is a form of self-expression through which people externalize their inner World and develop and manage their feelings and behaviour. Art may also depict how people think others see them. Art is a way to stir the inner voice and challenge the latent mind. Art can be developed around a particular idea. People can draw feelings of happiness, sadness, anger, love, pain and so on. It helps the person to focus on inner experience. People may not require an artistic ability or unique talent to do art, and people of all ages, including children, teens, adults, and old age patients, can benefit from it.

Art is a source of solace in this hour of need, particularly in Covid Times. Art as therapy aids not only self-awareness but self-management too. It helps to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions. It enhances a person’s self-worth and causes significant emotional and health challenges. It can address traumatic experiences along with people having specific concerns like stress, distress, conflicts, depression, anxiety, binge eating, substance abuse, dementia, autism and so on, alongside standard treatments. It is used for emotional recovery, promoting insight, enhancing social skills, reducing stress, and resolving conflicts. Art can be therapeutic in many forms, and people use it in different forms, such as Painting, digital art, Photography and textile. Few follow art as a hobby n passion, whereas others as a career.

Using Painting as a part of the therapeutic process in ART, people can explore their emotions and draw anything on a blank canvas that can portray their creative side with great freedom. A person can paint whatever is in the head through Colors, brush strokes, hand paint, wild random strokes, splashes of paint or serene calm scenes, drawing, doodling and scribbling used as a part of healing. Painting from the head, heart, and soul is a great relief, distraction, and peace for the person suffering from emotional distress, physical pain or a deadly disease like cancer. Rebel can get calmer by releasing energy and adrenaline onto a canvas or art. During Covid times, when a person is quarantined at home or in the hospital alone, ART eases loneliness during such challenging times.

Digital Art is another art form that shows a person’s talent and creative side. It is technology-based media, including digital collages, illustrations, films, and Photography through a computer screen, personal cell phones and other compact devices. Digital equipment, software, keyboards and screens or other technological devices, online programs and apps are used for image creating, editing and communicating within the context of treatment. People who are equipped with computers and phones easily use this.

Textiles, another form of ART, displayed excellent results for mental health. The research found that women who used textile handcrafts to change their mood reported more success and rejuvenation. Fabrics play an essential role in relieving stress and curing skin diseases. The softness of cloth can provide comfort and also helps to induce sleep. Textile is therapeutic for a person’s mental health when practised through weaving, embroidery, quilting or knitting. People with schizophrenia can use embroidery as a coping mechanism for their mental health. People with severe mental illness, borderline personality and bipolar disorders can get help by creating a polar fleece blanket, a textural way to self-soothe. A person can channel negative energy into positive in covid times by using this form of art. The automated nature of such rhythmic work help in Traumas of sexual abuse and miscarriage.

Photography, another art form, can be a great outlet, especially in Covid times when people have enough time for themselves. Most smartphones have up-to-date HD cameras built in! You can take pictures of so many different places and people with whom you love you find beautiful and pleasing. Photographs taken consciously or unconsciously as a therapeutic technique can be used for personal healing, growth or understanding. A person can actively take, analyze, and use photos to construct, explore and reflect by pairing them with creative writing. This helps you learn more about yourself and how you see the World. People suffering from Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Mood swings show a marked improvement through Photography and in Covid Times, it can be of great help.

Dr Nisha Khanna, as a Counselling Psychologist, Mental Healthcare Professional, and Stress, Depression and Anxiety Counsellor, proffers online, telephonically and face-to-face Counselling Services. If you live in Delhi, India or any other part of the World, you can approach us online and offline for any mental health issues. For further details, visit Bye Tense, or call us at +91-9818211474