Participants who spent the time drawing reported greater improvement in negative mood symptoms than those who simply looked at art.

They then spent 20 minutes drawing or sorting through art prints.

In a small 2007 study, participants listed 10 of their most significant worries.

There’s also some research to back up the stress-relieving effects of art: While focused on the creative process, you aren’t giving energy to your anxiety. You decide what to draw and what colors to add to your design. Putting pencil to paper allows you to give yourself some space from unwanted, often uncontrollable, thoughts and engage in an activity you can control. This can start to affect everything from your sleep schedule to your appetite. Here’s how art can help: It can help reduce stressĪ constant undercurrent of anxiety threading through your day-to-day activities can leave you in a regular state of unease. This is particularly important for people who feel out of touch with their emotions or sense of self.” “Art uses metaphor, symbolism, and dynamic thoughts to represent the human experience in a way language cannot.

“The creative process promotes new perspectives that lie beyond the structure of language,” Lynch says. Kelly Lynch, a licensed mental health counselor and registered art therapist in Seattle, WA, explains that art therapy can help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself - both through the creative process and the resulting artwork. Since its introduction in the mid-1900s, art therapy has helped people address a range of mental health symptoms.

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