 Free Online Articles Directory |
|||||||
Home Page  Self Improvement Psychology Art as Therapy: Coping With Feelings of Grief During the Holiday Season |
|||||||
 |
Art as Therapy: Coping With Feelings of Grief During the Holiday SeasonRelated Videos
How to do Guided Imagery in Tai Chi
Feel the stress melt away as you explore transformational movement therapy, qigong,...
Symptoms of Stroke
Without immediate medical attention, a person having a stroke may suffer memory...  The holiday season can be a challenging time for most anyone as the stresses of finances, increased demands of time and tasks, and unrealistic expectations show themselves in a grand way. Furthermore, if you are a person that is working through feelings of grief at this time, everything can become compounded. The holidays can create feelings of depression, loneliness, and anxiety for the bereaved as they remember past events. Holidays by nature are filled with nostalgia, tradition and ritual, but for those grieving, this can bring up conflicted feelings of both comfort and distress as the absence of the deceased becomes more apparent. As the rest of the world is celebrating, it's important for grieving individuals to acknowledge their emotional pain and get through the season with a minimum amount of stress. Being able to express ones grief verbally can be difficult. Art expression, as a non-verbal modality, can be an effective way of working through and containing grief when words fall short. Throughout history, art making has been a means by which humans have expressed their grief. Whether through burial ceremonies, shrines, or memorials, the symbols that represent loss have been important for coping and relieving emotional distress. Creativity can be a way to feel the sadness, anger and loss as well as the remembrance of times past in all their imperfections and grace, while taking time to understand oneself in the context of the whole. Overwhelming thoughts and feelings can be captured in the images thereby creating a new sense of control, organization, and containment. Focusing on the images or symbols enables a person to express stressful emotions without having to refer directly to details surrounding the loss. Art making as a healing process allows for many positive effects to happen physiologically. The promotion of feelings of joy, peacefulness, and calm come about because of the release of the pleasure inducing chemicals called endorphins, the mood enhancing neurotransmitter serotonin, along with the lowering of heart rate and respiration. Alpha brainwave patterns are also initiated which are the patterns that present themselves during moments of prayer and meditation. The process of making art also provides a kinesthetic release that enables a person to channel her emotions and physical energy outward rather than suppressing and tightening within. There are a variety of ways to use art and imagination as a tonic in the recovery from loss and grief. One of the ways that is helpful is by keeping a feelings art journal. This can be an excellent way to track what is happening within on a daily basis. Experiment with color, lines and shape to follow emotions, being aware of body sensations rather than focusing on thoughts about the current emotional state. For example, if you are feeling sad, try to sense where that sadness lies in your body and express this sensation as spontaneously as possible. Another way that is helpful in containing grief is by using imagery to soothe and restore the spirit. Gather objects and images (photos, magazines, calendar photos) that bring forth feelings of appreciation, pleasure, compassion and gratitude and use these as inspiration for your own art. While this art making is meant to be enlivening in the moment of making it, it is also meant to remind and inspire you when times feel challenging in the future.
Rate this Article:
Current: 0 / 5 stars - 0 vote(s).
Article Tags: Loss, Holidays, Grief, Coping, Art Therapy Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/psychology-articles/art-as-therapy-coping-with-feelings-of-grief-during-the-holiday-season-603416.html About the Author:
Tanya Vallianos, MA, is a psychotherapist who practices in Fort Collins who specializes in art therapy, mindfulness, and body-centered practices. Tanya can be reached here: Good Therapy & Therapist Coral Springs
Related ArticlesDealing With Loss at the Holidays Surviving Widowhood: My First Year Dealing with the Unbearable Grief of Losing a Child How To Survive Losing A Spouse Starting Over What We Widows Want from Others Divorce Recovery and your 4 Hidden Strengths Dancing With the Demon of Loneliness Got a Question? Ask.Ask the community a question about this article:Frequently Asked Questions Who is the artist? My Facebook depresses me Please help me find out some information on an ... Prom Crown for King How do I go about reproducing an original drawing ... Do you have any traditions for Thanksgiving ? Q&A Powered by:
 Latest Psychology ArticlesWhat Do You Do When Your Spouse Goes to Jail? Everybody Can Turn Into a Monster Viewing Aura Colors Through Biofeedback Got Persuasion? Adolescent Childbearing Factors as Determinant of Safe Motherhood in Abeokuta Metropolis of Ogun State, Nigeria What the Egyptian Sorcerers Said to Pharaoh Before He Has Killed Them? A Blind Doctor? The Power of not Accepting What You Experience as Reality More from Tanya VallianosExpressive Art: Bringing Home the Inner Healer Drawing From Meaning: Finding Self Through Art |
|
|||||
|
Article Categories
|
|||||||
 Sign up for our email newsletterReceive updates, enter your email below
Use of this web site constitutes acceptance of the Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy | User published content is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Copyright © 2005-2008 Free Articles by ArticlesBase.com, All rights reserved. (0.56, 17) |
|||||||
