Exercising your imagination to deal with feelings

Feeling down? Panicked? Anxious? Scared? Not sure? EXPRESS YOURSELF!

A huge part of promoting and protecting your own mental health is to recognize your feelings and to express them…and Art Therapy is a great way to do so! Through focusing on your own creative processes, art can help you build your self-esteem, foster self-awareness, and reduce feelings of distress.

It’s important to remember that the goal of art therapy is not to create some sort of masterpiece. This is not about people judging your abilities or your feelings. This is about creating something that is by you, for you, and that expresses how you are feeling right now.

So whether that’s writing poetry or stories, drawing or painting, writing songs and music, or even just coloring a mandala, art can be a fun and positive way to work through your feelings.

Need some inspiration? Check out this page with 10 art therapy activities for teens, this artwork from international youth artists, and this story about a local young person who found her self-expression though art. You can also check out this whole page on Pinterest with ideas for art therapy for teens.

Click here to explore other Mental Health Resources.