Depression and Art Therapy
Art Therapy and Depression
Angeline Kin, Art Psychotherapist & Counsellor
the dark night of the soul.
When darkness plagues your soul to such depths that there are no words to describe it or make sense of it…art can navigate through the gloom: A way to acknowledge, articulate, understand and externalise this darkness to ultimately empower you to find a way out. Art can be as light and air to gradually enlighten and revive a soul immersed in the darkness of depression.
To battle the pervasive hopeless and helplessness that drains life can begin by slowly bringing colour into a grey bleak world.
When you struggle to put self-defeating, self-destructive thoughts, feelings and behaviour to rest – consider how Art Therapy can be an experiential path to help you to recognise and process unhelpful coping patterns to reframe and develop new skills in dealing with difficult thoughts and emotions.
How does art therapy help?
Harvard professor, author of ‘Emotional Agility’ Susan David notes that our brains engage in ‘sensory blending: integrating sounds, feelings, images, symbols, gestures and metaphoric thinking. She adds that
‘thoughts come fully accessorized with visual images, symbols,
idiosyncratic interpretations, judgements, inferences, abstractions
and actions. This gives our mental life a vibrant intensity, but it can also
take away our objectivity and leave us at the mercy of intrusive ideas –
whether they’re true of not, and whether they’re helpful or not.’
Thus translating our thoughts & feelings into visual communication provides a much deeper, more authentic portrayal of our inner experiences than through words alone.
Making a visual representation (artwork) of your depression is more than a picture – it is a map of your emotions, a guide to your inner world so that you ‘find your bearings’. People are inherently unique and each person’s experience of depression is unique to them.
What does your darkness looks like and what demons keep you there. Detailing all the nuances of your pain equips you in naming and labelling your emotions, feelings and accompanying thoughts. As you trace these back – you discover and unravel parts that were lost, neglected and hidden. Expanding on the details exposes barriers and broken areas that need dismantling or healing.
Everything you create in art therapy has meaning and purpose – even if it is to vent unspoken anger, release burdens or uncover shame and guilt. There is healing when the truth is exposed through the lens of artmaking, creativity and art media within a safe therapeutic space.
Colours, textures and images encapsulate and externalise distressing thoughts and feelings. And in giving them form, their energies are released and contained in the new creation. Cathartic expression & sublimation is achieved through the artwork, the process and meaning making. Witnessing and validation of this art product, narrative, associated feelings & beliefs is profoundly beneficial. These art products are like signposts to navigate through depression into healing.
Clients are empowered to let go, discard and leave behind their artworks of ‘pain & struggles.’ During each session, their inner fortresses of shame are transferred into external ones beginning the process of self compassion, understanding and dismantling – distortions of self, internalised condemnations and harsh assumptions.
It is far easier for a person to face these struggles, triggers and vulnerabilities as externalised images of metaphors and symbols.
a picture may be worth a thousand words…
But a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures…
How does making art of our struggles and pain help?
Art facilitates free expression. The suppression and avoidance of emotions is more harmful as the act of ignoring, negating or stifling emotions not only creates additional stress but amplifies and intensifies those ‘unwanted’ emotions. Art can instead provide novel and externalising ways to express emotions and thoughts to enable self understanding, insight and emotional regulation.
Secondly, making an artwork of our struggles helps us face the darkest part of ourselves so that we can understand the aetiology, theme and message of this pain and struggle. In order to heal it, we must be able to identify and understand its wounds, background and history.
Finally, the experience of staying with this pain and transforming it into an artwork introduces mindfulness, self understanding and regulation…learning to acknowledge, identify, and accept its presence with openness, curiosity and kindness…
As we grapple with chaos – we are enabled through art to find clarity and meaning in the unexpected and exploring beyond our comfort zones. It is an experiential doing and being…We encouraged to fill in the missing parts of our visual narratives, find resources, self-compassion and courage to create or expand parts that are missing.
Being aware of the stories we have about ourselves is vital to how we face ourselves, others and our futures.
In creating artworks, we may discover in seemingly random compositions, an underlying weave that shapes its fabric. It is in these unique details that unconscious patterns can to be re-examined and re-evaluated – what is missing, what is over-emphasized and what details need to be filled in… what areas are neglected and which areas are overwhelming?
Art is more than a picture, it is a process, an exploration, a discovery, a balm, a macro or micro lens as well as a compass. Art has the power to focus deeper, uncover, reveal and enlighten…it beckons us to find ourselves.
But I can’t draw…
The art is art therapy is all about finding your authentic visual language and nothing to do with artistic ability, talent or experience. In other words, you don’t have to know how to draw.
It is more about attitude – a growth mindset that is open to uncertainty, ‘trusting the creative process’, and being willing to take a (supported) risk exploring something new. The process itself can be sensory, tactile, perceptual and playful: experimenting with art media, dropping inhibitions, connecting with ourselves and venturing beyond our comfort zones with the aim of explorative self actualisation and healing.
Everyone is creative, people may have the misperception they aren’t creative but actually everyone has that ability. People make daily decisions about what to wear, how to decorate their homes, what meal to improvise or coming up with a surprise celebration – life is full of creative decisions and problem solving.
Art takes creativity and creativity takes courage. Courage to be and express your authentic self…of attuning to your emotions, thoughts and sensations…of holding and being with them mindfully to release them as expressions of colour, form, texture or metaphors. This vital act of creating stretches us…learning to tolerate uncertainty, frustration and chaos in order to make sense, find order and externalise steps of growth or change.
In conclusion
Art helps re-aquaints us with parts of self previously forgotten, abandoned or rejected; so that we find authenticity and wholeness. The act of creating, the rich sensory engagement, novelty and movement within a therapeutic relationship activates neuroplasticity with flow processes to nourish the body, mind and spirit.
Art envisions values, hopes, dreams and futures. Visualising new aspects of ourselves helps us break self destructive cycles negative thinking. It brings into being a new self that can create, find clarity and insight and a different way of being despite the adversity and struggles. It creates new synaptic connections and neuronal activity – vital in the treatment of depression.
This may sound quite daunting – but you are not alone in this formidable journey – the art therapist journeys alongside as a co-creator/guide in the path back to self and healing. The art therapist offers attuned support within a safe space to foster your self efficacy, resilience, strengths, and self-actualisation.
If you are struggling with depression, don’t suffer alone in silence. Instead, consider a holistic, expressive creative path. Art therapy can initiate this inner journey of self compassion, enlightenment, exploration and empowerment: involving all of the person and all of the senses….