Art Therapy

A little over 10 years ago I started seeing my therapist. I was suicidal, I had been for a while. Despair has pretty much taken over my life, but I knew ending my life wasn't the answer. When I started therapy it was mainly just me doing a review of my life, going over traumas and triggers and trying to understand how I got to that point. At some point I started journaling, or more like scrap booking my life. The book contained joys, positive affirmations, sketches, and paintings. It turned into a chronicle of positive emotion. I decided that I wouldn't allow anything negative to enter that space and leave the rest for therapy. The more I expressed myself through words and art, the more I started to feel joy again. The more I released my anger and understood the root of my unhappiness, I could see a way to navigate my world a little easier.

The trauma's of my past are still there, they will never really go away. But I created a different narrative around them, found outlets, coping skills, a different way to talk about them. My art has become a way of taking back my joy and celebrating who I am. I found I could love myself again.

If you find yourself in a place of worry and doubt. A place where you feel you need to end it all. Go and find someone to talk too. There is always a way out of your suffering. It's a long journey, and a journey you have to bear, but it's worth it all in the end. You find that you can love that part of yourself that you wanted to destroy.

Be well.