G1. Art & Relaxation

Time for a little rest and relaxation. Art can be therapeutic for its relaxing and meditative benefits and as a creative outlet. Art therapy can also be a useful tool for reaching the nonverbal feelings and ideas that might be troubling or exciting you - but wordlessly.

 There are two main types of art therapy. 

1. One is the simple "art as therapy" with relaxation benefits for the individual who is creating something of their own. 
2. The second type is "art psychotherapy" in which a therapist and patient are seeking deeper understanding of the patient's nonverbal issues. Emotional problems and memories from early childhood are formed without words. Art therapy can help a patient or individual reach those nonverbal thoughts or feelings with the aid of drawing or sculpture, song lyric and music or a poem and illustration. Free-form movement and dance or theater can also help channel nonverbal ideas into visual form. 

• Summarized from information related to this footnote: (Edwards, David, Art Therapy, 2004, 2) from this report: (6.Chennai_Symposium)

The "art therapist" ideally has training in clinical therapy and in art techniques, when there is a goal to access nonverbal feelings and issues. Strong emotions can be generated by the process of creation and it can be helpful to have a counselor to share them with and help process them from the eyes of an adult rather than what might have been the eyes of a child in a fearful situation trying to make sense of what they had no words to explain at the time.

 "In her exhaustive review of literature Staricoff (2004) accrued an enormous amount of 385 references from medical literature into her research report and concludes,

• different art forms induce physiological and psychological betterment in patients, 
• helps fighting drug addiction, 
• reduces the length of hospitalization, 
• expands doctor-patient relation, 
• improves mental healthcare, 
• and Increases practitioner’s understanding of gender and cultural diversities " 

                       - (6.Chennai_Symposium)   

One of the earliest books regarding art and emotion was written to help encourage people who had been told too often that they couldn’t draw or weren’t an artist to pick up a pencil and try anyway - try drawing without looking at the paper. 

     Taking the eyes out of the way, so to speak, can help the mind relax and let the fingers and brain explore the curves and empty spaces that are present instead of overthinking about what things “should” look like. Perspective plays games with our eyes and things don’t always look the same when seen from different angles.

• B. Edwards, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (drawright.com)

A Beginner's Guide to How to Sketch & Draw, (easydrawingguides.com), includes basic techniques for sketching with examples that include cartoons rather than a still life of a fruit bowl. Either strategy can increase skill and comfort level about drawing. 

Art can be about fun and relaxation, not just about producing a masterpiece for a museum. Even the great artists probably started with sketching  ;-).

Drawing can help us organize our thoughts in flow charts, organizational grids, or other patterns. Drawing is used to design buildings or clothing or describe chemical reactions. Having a mindset that drawing must produce "art" can inhibit us from getting started. 

In a TEDxTUM talk, How drawing helps you think, by Ralph Ammer, (Youtube), we are encouraged to look at drawing in a more open way - it helps us imagine and be more intuitive about seeing patterns, and it can help us communicate complex ideas. Grab a pencil and join in!

• Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
• The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a service for locating a nutrition counselor near you at the website eatright.org: (eatright.org/find-an-expert)