Art as Therapy

[Kizzie]

I posted this under "Resources" but thought it might be good here as well.

http://ourhealth.org.au/stories/complex-ptsd-breaking-silence-fringe-dweller

This article "Complex PTSD - Breaking the silence of the Fringe Dweller" is by an Australian woman Jacqueline King, who suffers from CPTSD and found her way out of the storm through art, in her case glass art and sculpting:

I came to glass as a form of therapy and never having showed any meaningful creative talent in the past. It taught me to breath, to be still, to develop patience, to see beauty in and around me. It offered me peace and meditation, a sense of the power of the present moment. It ultimately became my obsession & my salvation.... My arts practice offered playfulness, imagination, colour and ultimately the reformation of a new identity, a new me...a mosaic from all the shattered parts of me...from business executive to glass artist who is even brave enough now to speak as an advocate for others with CPTSD.

[globetrotter]

Art can be a very helpful therapy tool. There are a lot of good sites out there with ideas.

One of my favorite recent projects was drawn from a photo of my young self sitting on the floor and my father on the couch, his foot pushing against my shoulder (he was a bully in that way, poking and provoking.) I cut the photo apart, lengthened the couch to put a great deal of distance between us, and had a great white shark coming out from behind the couch, Dad's head in his mouth...

Photos provide good subject matter - you don't need to be an artist and there can so many emotions involved in the subjects.

[Kizzie]

Oh that is so good GT!  And you're so right, those of us who aren't 'artists' can certainly do something like that with photos. 

I'm seeing a blown up photo of me as a child towering over a picture of my dad shrunken down to mouse size.  My Dad was a bully too and I always felt small so time to put the shoe firmly on the other foot! 

[pam]

Globetrotter, that was a great idea!!!

[globetrotter]

Thanks. It was kind of fun and cleansing at the same time. l'm starting a project next week based on Layers. Walker refers to peeling the onion and lately my T has been referencing my layers...the inner child, the HSP, the adutlt, the traumatized one, etc. I'm mulling on how to.create a photo of my self or a symbol representing each layer on a separate sheet. Hoping my printer will work on a thin paper like rice paper or.vellum. I'll illustrate.on each layer symbols and drawings that represent that layer and color them. I'll then stack them up and put some kind of soft cover on it to .represent a blanket of comfort and safety.

I'm spending some time thinking about all of my layers what defines them. I'd love to hear from others if you're willing to share.

[Annegirl]

Really brilliant, i love the creativity, and idea.

[globetrotter]

Thank you! I haven't started it yet, but plan to soon...as the days grow shorter I'll be driven back to the drawing board.

[pam]

Thanks. It was kind of fun and cleansing at the same time. l'm starting a project next week based on Layers. Walker refers to peeling the onion and lately my T has been referencing my layers...the inner child, the HSP, the adutlt, the traumatized one, etc. I'm mulling on how to.create a photo of my self or a symbol representing each layer on a separate sheet. Hoping my printer will work on a thin paper like rice paper or.vellum. I'll illustrate.on each layer symbols and drawings that represent that layer and color them. I'll then stack them up and put some kind of soft cover on it to .represent a blanket of comfort and safety.

I'm spending some time thinking about all of my layers what defines them. I'd love to hear from others if you're willing to share.

Oh that sounds great too. I did something similar once. I just did simple pencil drawings of the different parts of me and then taped them on a bigger board. Not a work of art--just kind of put myself in order so I could see myself all at once, lol.

If you could somehow attach the vellium onto a regular piece of paper temporarily just to print it, that would work. I have seen you can print on fabric like that too.

[globetrotter]

Thanks Pam. I appreciate the tip!

[Annegirl]

I wrote and recorded and uploaded a new song last week and am in the middle of one now. I love the responses of people listening and when they tell me it helps them heal, and even if they don't say anything when they listen over and over I know it must be healing for them too.
I also wanted to add it's kind of bittersweet for me at times as I have a famous brother who's songs have been used in movies etc he is also a GC of my mother now including my younger sister who has done a tour in Europe already and she is also a GC. So it's healing for me to just respond to the creativity coming out of me but I also get depressed sometimes b/c I feel they don't support me musically in fact I feel that they secretly mock me as I don't have the professional recording equipment they have and they have never offered to help me and they help each other.

[Butterfly]

Ok so I've been on and off for years using an art program on my tablet. An artist friend of mine who happens to be a very damaged person herself suggested that perhaps I need art mediums that I can actually tactically touch. I dug out from a storage box some of my art supplies and stopped at a craft store yesterday to pick up more supplies. Last night I sat down and it actually is quite therapeutic to get my hands dirty. In fact the girl at the craft store suggested that getting your hands dirty in art medium and really getting in there is a wonderful feeling.

[schrödinger's cat]

I agree. Maybe it's to do with this "grounding" thing I heard of? Isn't there this theory that CPTSD captures you inside your own head, and if you're grounding yourself in your actual, physical reality it helps a bit? Interesting - I never thought of that before.

[selfcompassion]

"So it's healing for me to just respond to the creativity coming out of me but I also get depressed sometimes b/c I feel they don't support me musically in fact I feel that they secretly mock me as I don't have the professional recording equipment they have and they have never offered to help me and they help each other. "

People who swing narcissist, instead of enabler or scapegoat, will always find fault in you; but it is nothing but their own crap, and they are projecting it on to you. They will always go after what is the worst, or the best in you. So, if you cut great chops, or write wonderful tunes, they will attack that first, then add a few more cuts by addressing things you truly are bad at. They like a good mix of insults, as they are the most effective ways to keep you down.

I have been a musician and songwriter since 1968. I have 6 full length albums, as well as several hundred songs not recorded. I work with the best musicians in my area, and began in the studio in 1976. I have gigged the west coast, and played when I lived in europe; but never a nod of approval from my family members. In fact, any comment they make is always part criticism: they have been known to tell me what my problems are in music. What is highly amusing is the fact that none of them can play a note.

You don't need pro sound gear to cut great tunes -- to touch people's hearts. Some of the most famous songs out there were recorded on bad equip. In fact, you do not want to mix family in your creative life at all unless they are supportive. You can go on you tube and check out the recordings done by the team at Music Fog. They use Pro Tools on a mac, and have two great mics going. Their work is wonderful. People are not going to criticize your work because of your equipment. Most listeners cannot tell the diff between 100,000$ in gear, and a mac Pro Tools set-up.

Don't write music for your family, write it for you, and those people out there who will feel a connection in your musical honesty. That is what they are looking for: a song written from a place so honest, that it rips at their heart just a little when they hear it. 

[globetrotter]

Im not sure what it is about art/creating, but it's almost an altered state close to meditation, but not - focused, somewhat removed from reality. That's one thing I love about it.

Completely irrelevant, but - my cat loves sitting on my art table and watching me draw. Whenever he sees me go into the basement, he's down there, too, and sometimes goes over to the table and meows. My fur muse.

[Butterfly]

Pets as therapy most definitely! 😊