People in the modern world experience tons of stress and pressure daily. We are pressured daily at work, during studies, and just in our everyday routine. There are various ways of relieving stress — from yoga to swimming. However, not many people know that art therapy is one of the most efficient ways of getting rid of stress.
Art therapy is also called expressive therapy. Can you imagine it was launched in the 1940s? It was determined that creative expressions were one of the best ways to get into people’s thoughts and emotions. Since people were not burdened by the internet, computers, and smartphones, art was the best way to distract their attention from annoying routines and just relax.
Art therapy is often combined with talk therapy. It helps people cope with their emotions and increase their self-confidence. It decreases anxiety and stress. Art therapy includes a variety of activities. For instance, painting, sculpting, drawing, etc.
If you haven’t tried art therapy yet, you definitely should because it has a wide range of benefits and positive effects on your mind and body. Researchers say that art therapy can treat a number of health issues. Let’s take a closer look at the biggest advantages of such therapy.
STRESS RELIEF
The first and foremost benefit of art therapy would be its ability to reduce the level of stress. This is, actually, the goal of all types of therapy. When you attend yoga classes or sing, your main goal is to get rid of the accumulated stress. Art therapy is not an exception. You should do it to relieve stress.
Art therapy alone may not play the role of full-fledged mental treatment and it should be used in tandem with traditional therapy. However, it can be used quite successfully without any other components to reduce stress. The greatest thing about art therapy is that it is not for artists. You do not have to be really talented or gifted to get rid of stress with its help.
Creating art makes you forget about the situation or people that caused stress to you. Your mind is fully focused on the process. Moreover, it is quite peaceful and makes your mind distracted. Psychologists say that women need endorphins to get rid of stress while men need testosterone to do this. Since the process of creating art is more peaceful, it cannot cause the production of testosterone but endorphins. Therefore, to reduce stress, it is more suitable for women. However, the production of endorphins makes people happy, thus, men can also benefit from art therapy and become much happier.
SELF-ESTEEM BOOST
Art therapy is one of the best ways to boost self-esteem and self-confidence if that is what you struggle with. The feeling of self-accomplishment is something that you experience when being involved in art therapy. This activity makes people appreciate their own selves and increase their self-confidence.
Although you are not doing anything special while drawing or sculpturing and you do not even have to possess any specific skills, you still feel that you are complete. When making even the smallest progress and succeeding in the process step by step, you subconsciously reach certain goals and are happy about that.
The fact that you reached even the smallest goals makes you proud of yourself and increases your confidence and self-esteem.
RELEASING EMOTIONS
Both men and women need to get rid of their emotional baggage from time to time. One of the ways to do it is to talk. For example, communication and active discussions with your friends can help you get rid of your emotional luggage. Not everyone has such friends though and if you are one of those lonely people who do not have anyone to share your emotions with, art therapy is the best method of doing it.
All of your fears and emotions can go away through art therapy. Why is that? Sometimes, it is quite difficult to express certain emotions like anger, fear, sadness, etc. with words. You can easily do it in art though. When drawing or sculpting, you can express all of your feelings and emotions, and this way, release the emotions that are bothering you.
ANXIETY REDUCTION
Anxiety is certainly not a rare thing in today’s world. Lots of people, regardless of their age group, experience this issue. Anxiety, stress, and depression are very common, and fighting them is often very difficult. Art therapy helps do that in combination with other types of mental therapy.
Anxiety is a very dangerous condition that requires specific attention. Students who constantly work in terms of pressure and lack of sleep often have anxiety followed by depression. Art therapy reduces anxiety a lot and helps fight it.
BOOST LEARNING CAPACITY
Art therapy is also good or people experiencing learning difficulties. It is especially common for children or students. If you are a student who cannot focus on certain things or the learning process or your child has problems at school, you should try to correct this with the help of art therapy.
It is crucial to choose the art that is the most suitable and enjoyable for your child or you personally. Through deep concentration on the process, you will be able to increase your learning capacity and studying ability. Researchers say that art therapy boosts the academic success of children and students.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS IMPROVEMENT
Although you do not communicate with anyone while creating art, it helps boost your communication skills. Art therapy is very helpful for people within the autistic spectrum. Therefore, if you struggle with your communication skills, do not rush to attend oratory classes and try to get involved in art therapy first.
Art therapy may not be a very common treatment for various mental disorders, however, it is one of the greatest ways to get rid of the burden of emotions, boost your self-esteem and academic success, fight stress, anxiety, or depression, and just spend an enjoyable time. To get the best result from art therapy, you should choose something you really enjoy. This could be anything — from drawing to photography or collaging. There are multiple ways to find yourself in art and you do not have to be a great artist to make it happen.
Author’s Bio: Vanessa Morgan is a SEO writer for FreeEssayWriter who helps businesses boost their Google rankings successfully. Vanessa also writes amazing essays for students on various topics. She holds an MBA degree, however, is interested in versatile topics and fields. This allows Vanessa to create top-notch papers for students that make them happy about their degrees.
