Table of Content

• What makes Arts and Artists So Special?

• Benefits of Art Therapy

• Art and Mental Health Quotes

• Take-Home Points

• FAQ on Making Art Helps Improve Mental Health - Art Therapy

Art and Mental Health

Arts have always been a part of life! Even though we don't explicitly claim likeness for art, we expect a level of aesthetics in everything we have - from the designs in our beds to the brushes we use in our daily hygiene routine. Why do designs in our common household products? Because it adds a relaxing element to the product and people are more likely to get attracted to the product if they see a good design in it. Art is not just paintings done using brushes and boards. It exists in simple designs used for improving the appeal and consumer preference of products. 

Keeping aside our common view of art, it has been used for many thousands of years by artists for releasing their difficult and melancholic emotions. Art and mental health have always been related to each other since ancient times. Here you would learn the relationship between mental health with art and also the benefits you can gain by inculcating art in your life. 

Mental Health Statistics - India

Today, mental health disorders have become one of the major health diseases faced by the population. Many people are becoming aware of the negative effects caused by mental disorders like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, eating disorders and PTSD.

This statistical data collected by Global Health Monitor in 2020 gives a rough estimate of how many people at the global level are a serious threat. The point to be noted here is India has been recording exponentially high levels of mental health diseases for the past 5 years. This says that we need to find a cure for this as soon as possible!

What makes Arts and Artists So Special?

Art is the way in which artists express their unsaid and suppressed emotions. It helps in regulating, processing and managing their emotions. While doing their favorite pastime like art, they forget the world for a moment and give beauty to their canvas. Many artists have been the victims of mental health diseases and have used art to cope with them. 

For example, the famous artist Van Gogh who is highly popular for creating masterpieces like The Starry Night, Almond Blossoms and Irises suffered from schizophrenia and used art as a creative outlet. 

Benefits of Art Therapy

Art therapy is one of the best ways to not only unlock your creativity but also reduce your stress levels. Various artists have used art in their life to cope with their sadness, melancholia, depression, schizophrenia and anxiety. Nowadays, art therapy has been offered by several organizations for people who are either suffering or have high vulnerability to mental health diseases. Undergoing art therapy has several health benefits! The top proven benefits of the art have been given below, 

Reduces Stress

Life has become highly stressful and competitive with the rise of sophisticated and advanced technologies. People are running behind in their successes and building up the stress of improving their social image. Modern life has totally neglected the need for community building and trauma healing in the process of creating successful people. That’s why art therapy is the best way of reducing stress! It helps you in releasing emotions, frustrations, anger and other negative emotions. 

Healthy Coping Mechanism

While reducing stress, art is also the best and most healthy coping mechanism one can have! Unlike other negative coping mechanisms like binge eating and substance abuse, art therapy doesn't have any negative effects on your health. 

Improved Self Esteem

Being a good artist is a prestige right? When you are being a good artist, you would take pride in your ability and skills, thereby increasing your self-esteem. Taking up art as a passion can greatly improve your resume and career prospects.

Forgetting Negative Emotions

Immersing yourself in art helps in releasing and forgetting the negative emotions for a while. In the long term, art helps in the healthy processing and management of your difficult and complicated emotions. 

The joy of Living in the Present

Living in the past makes you guilty and living in the future makes you anxious. So the best way to feel happy is to live in the present. Doing arts will help you in living the moment without any regrets or anxiety. 

Making Precious Memories

Art can help you in creating community and friendships that would offer you many precious memories and relationships. The community building and social circles would take out your negative feelings like loneliness and depression. 

Art and Mental Health Quotes

Here we have brought you the top ten art and mental health quotes said by famous personalities that would help you in understanding the correlation between art and mental health better, 

• Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist. 

            ~Eileen Miller

• Art is my cure to all this madness, sadness and loss of belonging in the world & through it I'll walk myself go me. 

             ~Nikki Rowe

• I create beautiful art, so I can look back on the life my body fell short of in such a way that it brings me peace. 

              ~Nikki Rowe

• My reality isn't as gracious as it used to be, so I create things that are. 

                ~Nikki Rowe

• Creating artwork allows your mind to be in a safe place while it contemplates the tougher issues you are dealing with. One can use the tools of brush, paint, pastels, crayons etc to expose and even for a short time colour those issues in a different light. 

                   ~Miller            

• Life is full of challenges. We all have them. Art has helped me through my own deep valleys.     

                    ~Sarah Jio

• Explored through the images of the participants is how the process of the weekly creation and reflection on the self-portrait facilitates the individual’s self-awareness regarding their current functioning and sense of well-being through emotional, spiritual and bodily awareness.

                         ~Laurie Ponsford-Hill

• Imagination is tapping into the subconscious in a form of open play. That is why art or music therapy, which encourages a person to take up brushes and paint or an instrument and just express themselves, is so powerful. 

                           ~Phil P. Cheney

From these quotes, you can understand that art, from earlier times, has been always used as a therapy and creative outlet. 

Take-Home Points

Art greatly benefits mental health by reducing stress, improving self-esteem and also in increasing the quality of living. 

Many artists have considered their art as an escape from reality and relaxation for their stress. 

Inculcating arts in your life can greatly improve your happiness and peace. 

FAQ on Making Art Helps Improve Mental Health - Art Therapy

1. Does doing art help with mental health?

Ans. When people express themselves through art, it can cure depression, anxiety, or even cancer. Also, art has been linked to improved memory, reasoning, and resilience, especially in older people. 

2. Is there a link between art and mental illness?

Ans. Yes! Many studies have demonstrated correlations between creativity and people living with major mental disorders including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, OCD and ADHD. 

3. How does art heal trauma?

Ans. Art is one of the coping skills people use for escaping harsh realities. They process their emotions through their art. Art forms an outlet for their emotions, anger and frustrations, therefore reducing stress. 

4. What is healing through art?

Ans. As the name suggests, Healing Through Art is a therapy program, which provides a method of coping and self-expression for individuals affected by psychological and physical illnesses. 

5. Are artists more likely to have a mental illness?

Ans. Yes! Many studies have concluded that artists and writers are up to 20 times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder and 10 times more likely to suffer from depression.

6. Why are artists so emotional?

Ans. They resonate with their surroundings at a deeply emotional level. The best part is they not only can feel everything deeper but also possess the ability to express these profound inner feelings in their art.

7. Do artists have schizophrenia?

Ans. It's not that all artists have schizophrenia but several popular artists have battled schizophrenia in their lifetimes. 

8. Does art help with PTSD?

Ans. Yes! Art can help in reducing PTSD symptoms as it gives a healthy outlet to all your negative emotions. 

9. How does art reduce stress and anxiety?

Ans. By creating art drawings, stress levels dropped exponentially in mental health patients. Art helps the patient to relax and focus their mind on other things helping patients in processing their emotions and thoughts, thus reducing anxiety and stress levels.  

10. What is the relationship between art and psychology?

Ans. Art does a great deal of help in treating our psychological health. It improves health and well-being among individuals.

11. How does an artwork empower a person?

Ans. It makes you understand the deeper meaning, increases your self-awareness, and also allows you to become open-minded about new ideas.

12. What are the benefits of the arts?

Ans. Art would provide us with the opportunity to express ourselves and also form a healthy outlet for our bottled motions. Art is beneficial to both the creator and the viewer. A viewer would be amazed and relaxed while seeing the art and an artist would script his emotions, thus reducing his psychological baggage. 

References

Arts in Psychotherapy

Art Therapy for Mental Well Being