Art therapy will be an ongoing presence in my life. It has already helped me and continues to support me in my mental health battles as well as my physical and medical challenges.
Whilst I was in hospital we did touch on art therapy in various forms and I loved getting involved.
At first I was too ill to contemplate participation in the optional classes on offer. As I recovered from the initial stress and started to look after myself again I found the classes a relief and also took away the time I spent doing nothing. Many others were not so keen but some had been there months and the timetables had not changed or utilised any skill in progression in the classes.
They were run by the staff and volunteers. I experienced pottery, meditation, yoga, colouring, freedom to express through art in painting, drawing and flower arranging. This I carried on after leaving the ward in a bid to keep my mental health on an even quill. It made the day go faster but gradually I gathered the concentration and enjoyment so that I could last out the entire session. Initially I would go in and out and sometimes only last a few minutes and then want to go back too the ward.
Once home I also used to do dance therapy and this has lapsed but I want to re-start this and this course has encouraged me to do this. I have recently been to see a Cirque du soiled show and was inspired by the dance that went with truly unique music. I have that CD and I am now encouraged to utilise this and the story of each piece to create some dance that I am capable of, even if it is sitting in my wheelchair!
There are so many opportunities within art therapy that can help a person overcome anxiety, achieve, make themselves feel better and enable them to overcome fears such as leaving the house. I love some of the ideas from the course. Including the whole family and creating visual and written journals is a favourite of mine that I would like to add to the to try list. Building a website was always something I wanted to do. I didn’t realise how much time it took in order to maintain the site but this is something else that I now wish to devote more time to. I am hopeful that the art therapy I complete will enable me to function at a higher level in the future. It brings expression, ideas for blogs and understanding. Not to mention the high of completing a beautiful colouring book or turning an assignment like this into a blog.
This course has enabled me to continue to improve my own mental health beyond the hospital. I had slipped backwards in the amount I can do but thats because I am now able to push myself to get up and work on my physical health and put into place essential logs and day plans. I can clearly see from this course how I need to structure my life in order to get me to the best possible place with my mental health and my physical health.
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