Homeland Magazine May 2022

Page 22

A Medium for Healing: Five Ways Art Heals By Amber Robinson As a disabled combat veteran raised by artists, I soon discovered the cathartic link between my personal healing and art. My living room is covered in abstract art, pieces done after each of my respective deployments then into the years after service as a way to deal with PTSD and physical ailments. Each brush stroke is an emotion that had to be expressed, a story my heart and mind needed to tell in color, shape and form, so I could feel whole again. I used paint, but you can also use writing, music, dance or sculpting as your special creative “language for healing”. What do you think your medium, or language, for healing would be? Below are five ways art can heal you, too. 1. Art Lowers Cortisol Cortisol is a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands that helps us handle stress. When we are over stressed, cortisol saturates our system and can become problematic, making us very sick. According to a study published in Art Therapy Magazine, 39 healthy people were tested for cortisol before and after 45 minutes of art making. According to the study, cortisol levels were notably lower after participants spent time creating art. 2. Art Connects Us More Fully to Ourselves According to that same study, participants reported that art helped them “explore different aspects of themselves.” Thomas Merton, who was a trappist monk and Roman Catholic Priest wrote about social issues, art included. He once said “art is where you can lose yourself and find yourself at the same time.” Through the carefree act of art making, you are creating new pathways in your brain by which you can discover abilities and insights that you didn’t know you had. 3. Art Promotes a Sense of Wholeness According to a thoughtful blog on the Henry Ford Health System website, art is the only activity that forces us to forge a connection between body and mind. Through those connections back to dormant parts of self, we find healing, or wholeness. 22

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As mentioned, art helps to lower cortisol levels, but according to a blog by Oil Pixel, it also releases feel-good hormones called endorphins which help you combat stress and pain. Through that sense of contentment and fulfillment, you are transformed into a more positive, wellrounded human being. 4. Art Connects us to our Inner Child According to a thoughtful blog on the Henry Ford Health System website, through art and creativity we are able to connect to our “inner child”, usually the part of ourselves that is most pure and unscarred. Mental and emotional trauma can change a person, leaving them with symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress, like depression, anxiety and anger issues. The unscarred version of self is always inside of us. Art is like a magical key that opens the door to that person again. Art allows us to be new again. 5. Art Helps Us Express Damaging Emotions Studies show that whenever we repress, deny, or disallow an emotion to be what it needs to be, our network pathways get blocked. According to a blog on the Arts Academy in the Woods website, sometimes stating how we feel about something isn’t enough for us to properly process it. For emotions to move through us freely they must be accepted and expressed. Art provides a myriad of ways for us to express ourselves when words may fail us. Dance, writing, painting and music are all mediums that can be used to express yourself, when words may not seem like enough.


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Articles inside

Inside the Monthly Columns

4min
pages 60-64

Careers in Law Enforcement

1min
pages 54-59

Off-Base Transition Training

3min
pages 40-41

Apps That Make Life Easier

3min
pages 46-47

Legal Eagle: Non-Compete Agreement

3min
pages 48-49

Successful Transitioning Stories

4min
pages 42-43

What’s Next: Remember who you are

4min
pages 36-37

Veterans in Business: CRM

2min
pages 44-45

Guide Dogs of America

1min
page 35

Shelter to Soldier - Purple Heart Recipient

3min
pages 32-34

Military Caregiver

1min
pages 30-31

Ukraine Conflict Awakens PTSD

3min
pages 28-29

Father & Son Stand Alone

5min
pages 8-9

War Widow of Green Beret

4min
pages 18-19

Real Talk: Mental Health Therapy Stigma

3min
pages 20-21

Medium for Healing

3min
pages 22-23

WWP - Marines Reconnect

8min
pages 10-13

Memorial Day - Honoring All Who Served

2min
pages 6-7

Craft & Honor

2min
pages 24-25

Cohen Veterans Network

4min
pages 26-27
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