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| Illustration by Nishat Nabilah |
By Cora-laine Moynihan (United Kingdom)
Brushing bristles across the tightly woven threads of cotton that makes the canvas, emotions are brought to life in the form of intricate swirls, carefully placed dots, and softly mixed colours.
Kneading clay between fingers, stress is freed—disappearing with each press down of a palm.
Guiding the pencil, an image is brought to life, a memory long needed to be processed.
Art is not just for creativity, or an escape from the everyday. Art is for wellbeing. For discovering your inner self that was once lost. Art is method of healing. Of processing trauma, pain, and illness. And it is a way to find our voice.
Its power over one’s mental health and recovery is immense, and that is why it has been harnessed in therapy to aid people when in mental strife. Many studies suggest that art therapy can be very valuable in treating issues such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and even some phobias. It helps you process complex emotions without words or sharing plainly with others, and find relief.
That is why art is such an integral part of the work Safeline and I do. Safeline is a UK-based charity that specialises in supporting survivors of abuse and young people suffering from poor mental health. As part of their clinical services, they offer drama and art therapies as a type of counselling you can receive—providing you with a safe, private space to express every and any emotion you are feeling as well as to address any traumas or challenges you have faced. For young people, art is used as an educational aid just as much as a therapeutic one. As part of Safeline’s education and prevention projects, young people are encouraged to engage in arts and crafts, drama, music, and sport to explore sensitive, safe-guarding subjects (for example: online-grooming, drugs and alcohol, and sexual harassment).
As a Safeline Ambassador, and previously a young person that used the service, art is integral to my own social action work and mental health. From creating an art calendar to sharing poetry, I have used art to raise awareness of sexual abuse and mental illness in order to create a safer community for all to live it. And I would not have done this had I never experienced the power art can have on one’s wellbeing.
So, the next time you face turmoil, either internally or externally, try turning to art to free your mind. Express your emotions in paint, or clay, or writing. Whichever speaks to you most.
