How can painting relieve anxiety?
Painting a picture uses a part of your brain which is associated with the Salience network. This is where the amygdala lives amongst other things (but probably the most well known). The amygdala is associated with problems of anxiety and emotional lability because in some people a heightened state of alertness exists. It actually exists to tell you when danger is afoot, get ready to fight. It activates the fight or flight response when a bear suddenly appears in your broken doorway. Unfortunately it also sends out the alarm in people with a hyperactive fear response, causing panic attacks and physical discomfort even when there is no bear. Any perceived threat can trigger it: public speaking, agoraphobia, an upcoming job interview and a multitude of other things. You may have an abnormal heightened state of alertness constantly if you have been exposed to too much trauma in your life.
When the brain is occupied with the kind of intense focus you use when painting, the amygdala is calm and the Salience Network is getting a workout. In other words it is being strengthened. In the manner that meditation strengthens the brain pathways for clearer thinking and calmness, painting and creativity has been shown to have a similar effect.
Weakness of the frontal cortex of the Salience network is linked to higher levels of natural anxiety in adolescents (www.frontiersin.org). You can choose to paint for fun or as a purposefully chosen treatment against the frustration of anxiety. The results are the same: you feel better. Your grey matter is stronger. Before and after MRI’s have shown that a brain that is exercised in a particular manner will increase the density of the grey matter. So it’s true, being creative is a good treatment for anxiety or depression. The amygdala and the rest of the Salience network will be healthier.
What does painting do for your emotions?
As you paint you are focussed, quiet, your breathing is calm and you are engaged. If you want a magic pill to help control mental health issues, ignite your creative self-expression.
There is no one other than your own self to judge you, and you have the absolute freedom to put onto your canvas or paper, whatever you want. The longer and more often you spend in this frame of mind, the better it is for your brain. Just like a regular session of meditation has been shown scientifically to improve all other aspects of brain function. Because of this, painting is a natural antidote to stress, and there’s never been so much stress in our world as there is now.
Does it matter what you paint to relieve stress and anxiety?
If you are a perfectionist and have never painted before, I recommend choosing a free-flowing expression that does not follow hard and fast rules. You will enjoy it a lot more if your painting is allowed to be a bit messy, colorful and rough. If your whole purpose is to relax and have a break from your anxious, busy mind, don’t try photo-realism straight off.
Buy some coloring pencils and a big sketchbook first. Start with any simple subjects: like daisies, circles, random shapes for example. You can mix mediums and do whatever you want. Paint, pencils, crayons, charcoal, you can use them to your heart’s content. Don’t feel like you have to finish it in one go, in fact having a project which takes you longer gives you something to look forward to and think about.
You are the boss of your own creation.
Can you imagine how boring this planet would be without creative people who wanted to have a go? It would be bland, uninteresting and culturally very lackluster. When the eye perceives colors it affects our mood. So much of what we see affects our emotions. Your painting or creative work of art can be an authentic outpouring of a part of yourself that you may not even know is there. It is your signature in that genre, and we all express it differently.
That means it doesn’t have to be some perfect idea you have in your head to be worthy of the effort.
Everyone has some creativity in them, but many people put themselves down, and say they’re hopeless at it. It was probably a bad experience at school. How sad if this prevents you from exploring an aspect of yourself that can actually do your mental health a lot of good. Or if you don’t want anyone to see it, keep it in your sketchbook. Watch yourself improve. Notice how your body and mind relax when you open that book and start working on it. There is no right or wrong, you are the boss of your own creation.
How is painting like meditation?
Creative work and meditation are two friends on the same path, each helping the other and interconnected. People slow their busy thoughts down while meditating. Artists focus on their work with a similar level of detachment. Anxiety is reduced with both, even alleviated entirely during either activity. Meditation enhances the painting effort and vice versa.
Other negative aspects of human behavior like sadness, anger and grief also recede in the midst of painting or meditation.
So give yourself a treatment every now and then. Get out your colors and brushes, clear a space on your table (and in your diary!) to have a bit of fun and enjoy the healing aspects of painting.
