MUSE MAGAZINE Using Creativity To Cope

MUSE MAGAZINE Using Creativity To Cope

By Maddi Andrews

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICOLETTE SCHWARZMAN

ISSUE XIX

45 I have always loved art. Everything about being creative attracts me. I am passionate about producing artwork, studying artists, talking about paintings, reading about architecture —I live and breathe art. Despite my obvious obsession with everything remotely artistic, I had never considered how making art positively impacted my mental health until a year ago. All throughout high school, I was very involved in the visual arts. Typically spending twelve hours a week in our studio, focusing my energy on creating oil paintings, sketches, and water colours. I loved the smell of the oil paints and how my hands became artworks of their own by the end of a session painting—a by-product of the sheer amount of pigments imbedded in my skin. I always knew that art was intrinsically linked to my identity, but I had never reflected on how much being creative made me feel happier and less stressed. During my third year of university, one of my closest friends passed away quite suddenly. As you would assume, this took a heavy toll on my mental health. Within the subsequent months, I experienced more emotions than I thought was humanly possible. I was devastated, anxious, depressed, angry, and confused. I did not know who to turn to and I was not finding traditional appointments with counsellors helpful. But then I went back to my art. Unlike in high school, I had fallen out of touch with my artistic practice during university. Lacking access to the same materials and facilities, I instead focused my attention on studying the history of art and volunteering in galleries. Despite this, it was during arguably the darkest period of my life that I returned to art with a stronger intensity than ever before. It started with small water colour representations of my memories and experiences – really everything I was feeling came bubbling to the surface. Being creative helped me validate my feelings, but also offered an escape from all of the emotions I was experiencing. As I expanded to collage and other media, I realized how hungry I was for creativity. About a year later, I began an internship that allowed me the opportunity to research the therapeutic arts. It was during these countless hours of reading, writing, and speaking with professionals that I realized how I had unknowingly benefited from the field for years. Through my direct access to professionals and involvement in the field, I began to understand the value of the therapeutic arts. Although art therapy is a relatively new field of study, we have been experiencing the benefits of being creative for millennia. Art therapy is defined as the application of creativity and the visual arts within a therapeutic framework, specifically aimed at supporting mental, physical, and spiritual health. Engaging with the therapeutic arts can range from an individualized session with an art therapist to discovering your creativity independently. As evident through my experiences, I benefitted independently from art as therapy—I was not following any specific guidelines or techniques. For me, it was the act of creating that reduced my stresses and anxieties. But I have also witnessed the benefits of more structured therapeutic arts sessions, where a certified art therapist guide individuals in their practice. The structure offered through a specialized session provides additional support for people who feel less confident in their artistic abilities or are experiencing a crisis. In this sense, regardless of your past artistic experiences, the therapeutic arts have something to offer. We live in a world where mental health is increasingly being pushed into the limelight. We are constantly hearing news stories and statistics about the epidemic of mental illnesses—specifically how universities and medical institutions need to be allocating more resources towards this growing issue. The emergence of the therapeutic arts as a legitimized field gives me hope. Although there is so much more that needs to be done to combat increasing rates of anxiety and depression, I think it is important that services other than the conventional counsellor-patient relationship are developing. As young people, we deserve the autonomy to select which types of services best fit our independent needs. For me, being creative in both structured sessions and independently benefits my mental health more than any appointment with a therapist. At the end of the day, I am truly grateful that I discovered something that allows me to feel more peaceful, confident and happy. I am thankful every time I escape the stresses of my life through the colourful world of creativity.