Most hospitals plop crayons and paper in front of a patient and call it “art therapy”. But there is more to it than that. Art therapy was officially developed in the 1940s. Aside from drawing it can include dance, theater, music, and writing. Performance and writing a poem are just as therapeutic as painting a picture. A variety of mediums can be used in art therapy from clay to collage to photography. Anything that has the words “create” branded across it, pretty much. So here are ten suggestions to do next time you feel yourself spiraling into adepression or getting worked up into an anxiety attack:
1) Take a jar, whether it be glass or plastic (such as a plastic peanut jar). Decorate it with cloth or collage materials from magazines. Then cut out small snips of blank paper. There are several ways you can complete this project. You can put in stubs of paper of things you are grateful for. You can put in positive affirmations and draw one from the jar every day (“I am beautiful” “I am strong” “I am courageous”). You could put positive memories that you could reflect back on when you are feeling down. Leave this jar on your nightstand and put a fresh piece of paper in it every day. After a certain period, open it up and see what you have.
2) Take a turn at the pottery wheel. I dabbled (briefly) in ceramics the summer after my grandma died. I was the only kid who signed up for ceramics, so it was very peaceful. It was also dark and the feeling of kneading clay between my fingers was soothing. There is something so powerful about creating something from scratch.
3) Design an album cover for a fantasy band you would like to put together. There are many computer programs for the tech-savvy (I remember we actually did this task in computer class once) but for the less technically inclined, there’s always paint, markers,or collage materials (or a killer combination of all three). Of course, you’ll also have to name your band and every song on the album. And even if you really want to go far, you can try your hand at writing one.
4) Stand up: Think you’re funny? Do your friends tell you you are funny? You probably are funny. You can cultivate humor by watching comedy or reading cartoons if you aren't. Stand-up comedy is not something you do overnight. It’s something you build up to by accumulating jokes and routines. The key to stand-up (as said by someone who has never done it) is to observe. There you will find your material.
5) Poetry slam: I have competed in many poetry slams (and won four!). They are fun, exhilarating, and challenging especially for anyone who wants to combine words with performance. Usually (in my experience) eight people (more or less) compete by reading one poem. Half of that group will advance to the next room. The final two will move on to the final round. Who moves on can be determined by judging from a select few or whole room voting (everybody gets to cast an anonymous vote). Whether you are competing for money or merely glory it is a very rewarding experience.
Here are five more you can do specifically in the hospital:
1) Write a one-act play. Even for the most seasoned writers this can be a challenge. And that’s what’s fun about it. You have several scenes to introduce a problem and characters and then just as swiftly wrap it all up. You can recreate real-life scenarios and characters in your play, then give it the ending YOU want.
2) 72 Hour Poems: In the hospital, if you are committed against your will, they legally can hold you for 72 hours. In my experience, you will likely be there longer (sorry). But that planted the seed for this ambitious project. Every hour you will write a poem. You don’t have to write them every hour the hour (for example you may be sleeping) but there is no shortage of time in a mental institution so you can catch up. If I ever end up back in the hospital (God forbid), I’m definitely doing this.
3) Sing in the shower (but not too loudly). The showers in the hospital are less than ideal. You usually aren’t able to adjust the temperature and the showers usually time out every other minute. Plus, there’s always the possibility you are on CO (constant observation) and someone is watching you. But singing can relieve stress, especially in a place where there really isn’t much music (iPods are not permitted and obviously cell phones aren’t either). So take your favorite song and put it to music in the shower where you are (hopefully) hidden by the curtain and uninhibited by meds.
4) Listen to music whenever you can: In my last hospital (which was a really nice hospital despite the indignities of having to poop in front of someone), there were Ipads embedded in walls. There were two Ipads in the community room that you could sign up to use or snag if one of them happened to be free. I usually used them to check my email, but occasionally if I needed a dose of Shinedown, I would cue up “If You Only Knew” and drown my sorrows in music.
5) Stress balls are very therapeutic. So is creating a stress ball. During an outpatient program, I met with my therapist to make one. We made a hole in a sturdy balloon and filled it with flour. Then we put that balloon in another balloon and tied it shut. That stress ball functioned very handily until it popped about five years later, making my room look like a cake exploded.
Did I miss anything? I’m sure I did. There are so many forms of art therapy and so many projects to embark on. If you have a personal favorite, please leave that in the comments. Who knows? You might be helping someone out.
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