On this episode of the Art with Soul podcast, which was recorded soon after a deadly second wave of the pandemic hit India, I share a simple yet effective creative art practice. Drawing from art therapy and somatic healing techniques, this practice will help you to move any charged emotions out through your body.
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India is currently facing a devastating second wave of the pandemic. I’ve spent the last few days in a blur, just trying to wrap my head around the scale of the outbreak, and the near breakdown of the health care system. I’ve been amplifying requests for help and trying to connect friends with the urgent resources and supplies they need to fight the virus.
Needless to say, this has had a serious impact on my mental health. It left me feeling overwhelmed, unable to focus or to disconnect from the grim news playing out on my twitter timeline, from my friends who had loved ones who had tested positive, and from colleagues who were battling the virus.
After a few nights of interrupted sleep and insomnia, I knew that I urgently needed to do something to snap out of the numbness and overwhelm – and fast. That is the only way I could maintain my sanity while still being of some help in my own small way.
For me, art is the gateway to healing, but needless to say, I wasn’t inspired to paint – or even to look at my art table. But I also knew that I was going to have act even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
Because when you can work through your emotions, moving them through your body in a tactile manner, you open the doorway to healing and change.
Tune in to hear about:
- The healing process that I used to overcome the numbness
- How art and creative practices help you to release trauma
- A simple exercise based on art therapy + somatic healing techniques
Disclaimer: None of what I’m sharing here is a replacement for therapy or medication if you need that. This is just one of the exercises that has helped me.
Related: Episode 14: Using art and creativity as touchstones to overcome depression and anxiety
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My writing does for me what your art does for you. It allows me to bleed my feelings on to the page.
Writing is indeed cathartic. I often write pages and pages in my journal when I’m the middle of a storm!
We need to have some kind of outlet to vent out our overwhelming emotions in the time of the pandemic. Artists like you are blessed to have a relatively easy clearance.
I’m keeping myself busy in writing these days.
It is indeed helpful to have some sort of creative outlet to process our emotions! Writing is cathartic too.