Managing emotions is possible even while fighting cancer: expressive art therapy!

The moment we sense danger, a part of the brain called the amygdala begins working more actively. The amygdala plays an important role in forming and storing memories associated with emotional events. The brains of people who have experienced trauma can be said to have undergone a “struggle for survival”. Even if they do not subsequently face a genuine threat to life, whenever people who have feared for their survival sense stress or danger, their brain recalls that memory and reacts. When we remember our traumas or encounter a stimulus reminding us of the traumatic event, the “fight – flight – freeze” response activates instinctively. At that moment, the cortex, the brain’s decision-making part, may be unable to:

• Say in words whatever needs to be said
• Make a choice or decision 
• Solve problems

When we are stressed or anxious, our brain pushes aside many thoughts and plans. At this point, it is quite normal for our brain not to think clearly when we are afraid or anxious. In this situation, we can pause and ask ourselves: “What is going through my mind?” “What does the anxiety in my head look like right now?”

During extreme anxiety and fear, our brain experiences a kind of drowning under intense adrenaline, the hormone that increases heart rate and blood pressure. Almost all of us have gone through such experiences unconsciously. The good news is that expressive art can help us manage emotions by bringing our fears and anxieties under control.

1) Train your mind: The moment you feel this happening, remember that it is entirely normal and part of nature. Prepare yourself for an art activity of your choice; remember, nobody expects you to be an artist. Even artists have long painted with a freedom removed from reality. For example, the picture below:

A man seeing Picasso’s drawing of a fish says: “That does not look like a fish at all.” Picasso replies: “It is not a fish anyway; it is a painting.”

2) Listen to your body: Ask yourself where in your body you most strongly feel this anxiety and sense of drowning. The previously discussed Body Outline: a body template exercise could be a very useful exercise for this.

3) Take action: Even if you feel you have no energy, try to motivate yourself; you can simply make colorful scribbles on large sheets of paper. It helps to stand up, move your arms in large circles, let yourself go without thinking about what you are drawing or painting, and freely use whichever color appeals to you most.

4) Repeat: For examples and instructions for art activities, which provide more benefit when practiced regularly, see our previous articles .

In conclusion, expressive art activities are like a therapy that helps us manage our emotions during anxiety and fear and after traumatic experiences. For example, you may choose painting and want it to look like a “photograph” or something “real”. Unfortunately, we can manage our emotions only when we feel relaxed and free from anxiety about depicting things in this way.

It may help, then, to remember this short story:

On another occasion, a man again asks Picasso: “Why do you not paint things as they really are?” Picasso asks: “Could you explain what you mean by ‘as they really are’?” The man takes a photograph of his wife out of his wallet and shows it to him. Picasso then says: “Does your wife not look very small and a little flat to you?”