Art Therapy: How Creating Art Heals the Mind and Brings a Community Together
Every drawing has a story.
Have you ever been given a picture drawn or coloring by a toddler?
To you, it looks like a colorful masterpiece of chaos and madness. But the minute you ask that child what his drawing is about, a world of creativity and imagination erupts. He can tell you every detail of the picture, the story behind the colors, and why he drew it.
To you, it’s just a paper filled with color, but to him, it is the expression of his soul.
In the words of Aristotle, “The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
In other words, art speaks where words are unable to explain.
It’s a proven fact that engaging in art actually activates parts of our brain that are responsible for emotional well-being, happiness, and the overall feeling of success. Art actually has the ability to enhance brain function.
It’s pretty incredible–Art has the ability to change a person’s outlook and the way they experience the world.
The Art Room
The Art Room is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art studio that provides people who have mental health issues with a safe, creative, and educational space in which to create art. Understanding the incredible impact art can have in a person’s life, their mission is to encourage healing and recovery through expressive art experiences for people who face mental health challenges. They aim to promote art as a means of coping and as a method for creating greater resilience in managing emotions and stress.
Art speaks where words are unable to explain.
Art therapy is a scientifically-proven method of helping people strengthen their mental health, and The Art Room utilizes this research-backed method to help people become strong.
Here are 3 ways art helps your brain:
1. It activates the reward center of your brain
As humans, our brains are wired for rewards.
A researcher by the name of Kaimal stated in a scientific article that, “engaging in any sort of visual expression results in the reward pathway in the brain being activated, which means you feel good and it’s perceived as a pleasurable experience.”
While her participants engaged in coloring, doodling, and drawing freely on a blank sheet of paper, an increase in blood flow to the brain’s reward center was measured.
Happy brain = happy life.
2. It helps you imagine a more hopeful future
I think we can all agree that life is full of challenges.
People are constantly bombarded with the demands of making decisions, solving problems, and making it from one point to the next. But what many people fail to see is the artistic undercurrent that flows through each of those decisions.
The creation of art utilizes these same exact processes, but in a way that re-frames the mind.
When creativity is sparked, it allows our brain to imagine new possibilities and better, more effective ways of managing those possibilities.
Which leads to the next point …
3. It lowers stress and anxiety
Art has an impact on brain wave patterns and emotions, and the nervous system, including the production of serotonin. While low levels of serotonin are often associated with many behavioral and emotional disorders, an increase in this essential hormone helps regulate your anxiety, mood, and overall well-being.
It is for this reason art has been used as a therapeutic agent for people of all ages and backgrounds.
And more specifically, it is for this reason that The Art Room, a local Denton nonprofit, was created.
Every so often and for special occasions (such as North Texas Giving Day), they organize and complete a collaborative art project, where various community members contribute art to make a unified piece, commemorating the spirit of giving and interdependence.
Most recently, in honor of NTGD 2019, they created a community collage and asked participants to creatively divulge what community meant to them. Upon completion, it was featured at the UNT on the Square shop for some time and attracted a lot of positive attention.
This incredible piece of artwork now has a new home.
Just last week, Serve Denton was selected to be the recipient of this unique donation. This piece’s theme of community, unity amongst diversity, and collaboration is the heartbeat of Serve Denton.
As it is true with art, true beauty comes through the process of creating.
In other words, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” – Edgar Degas
Bringing the Community Together
Serve Denton’s dedication to the community through its partnership with various agencies helps amplify the resources in the North Texas community and help turn the community’s potential into power.
As displayed in this piece so generously gifted by The Art Room, Serve Denton is an organization that sees that every individual is part of a greater group.
Just as The Art Room offers art as a therapeutic agent for people to work through struggles, and gain new skills and perspectives for a healthier and more enjoyable life, Serve Denton offers help and assistance for people in need through the collaborative strength of its partners.
People weren’t created to survive on islands …
Communities weren’t created to survive in isolation…
People need people. People need the opportunity to connect with other humans and experiences in order to grow.
When you feel your problems are too great, and your ability to overcome them too small, it is easy to get discouraged.
But you no longer have to feel powerless.
If you are struggling with mental health issues, contact The Art Room to see how they can guide you in the therapeutic process of reducing stress, promoting self-discovery, and providing a positive means for emotional expression.
If you are looking to see a ripple effect from your contribution to the community, contact Serve Denton to see how you can turn your potential into power. They understand that it is discouraging to see problems in the community in which you feel powerless over which is why they have created a community of caring professionals to help amplify your contribution.
The time to promote healing, both individually and communally, is now.
Recognize your potential, utilize the resources available to you, and be the power for long-term change.