Healing Through Creativity

No one moves throughout life without experiencing emotional pain. Whether it’s a breakdown in your closest relationships, an experience that has rocked your world, or a harmful belief, these moments can serve your personal growth if you know how to heal and learn from them.

Forgiveness, of self and others, is the process of actively recognizing that you’ve been hurt and deciding to let it go. It’s most effective when you’ve validated your feelings and understood that finding fault rarely leads to reconciliation. Acceptance and compassion are the ingredients that transform you. 

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you have to forget, because difficult experiences bring important lessons. They show you your limiting beliefs and what changes are needed. When you forgive, you reduce stress, increase feelings of emotional freedom and improve your well-being. 

Self-love is built from self-acceptance, self-care, and self-respect. It allows you to accept imperfections, feel compassion, and set healthy boundaries. When you love yourself, you’re more resilient. It leads to improved mental health and more satisfying relationships.

Self-love and forgiveness are wonderful aspirations to have, but difficult to find. As Ray Bradbury reminds us, “you can’t have one without the other”. This means that if you want to love yourself, you’ll be embarking upon a journey of forgiveness. 

As a psychotherapist for the past 20 years, I’ve witnessed the incredible transformation that comes with using art to foster forgiveness and self-love. Art is a powerful form of communication. It helps you express with more ease because it’s not dependent upon words alone.

Let’s explore how art therapy helps you actively forgive and build self-love.

1. A gentle way to explore the pain you feel. There’s a protective mechanism in the brain that tries to avoid and repress pain, because it’s role is to not overwhelm you. If you’ve experienced notable neglect, trauma, or rejection in your life, your brain is more hyper-vigilant, because it has less reason to trust others.

When you use art to express pain, you’re approaching the experience more gently. Your role is to translate the inner experience through color, shape, and form. This helps you step away from your hyper-vigilant mind, as it’s less threatening to describe a situation compared to analyzing it. 

Instead, you’re curious, simply trying to accurately reflect your experience onto your paper or canvas. This subtle shift makes all the difference. You’re stepping away from the need to be critical or in control towards the power of self-validation. This is where compassion and acceptance lives.

2. Discharge the tension that’s inside and reduce rumination. Unresolved pain typically causes rumination, which can be triggered when your body releases a reminder of your unfinished business. I often tell clients that feelings are messengers. Once they feel like they’ve been heard, their mission is fulfilled and the tension dissipates. 

Art therapy meets that need because it serves like a reflection, mirroring the message back to your nervous system. The more you work to accurately translate, the deeper the impact will be. 

One surprising thing that I’ve observed is the inner peace that follows an art therapy session, even when complex anguish has been expressed. This release serves to reinforce that you are more resilient than you could’ve imagined, which strengthens your self-confidence.

3. Grow your self-awareness and creative problem solving skills. Being an observer helps you see life from a broader perspective. This invites new insight and curiosity, which enhances your mental flexibility. This improves your ability to respond, rather than react, to distress.

Art therapy helps you to step back because you’re moving from your internal world to the external, your artwork. You’re connected to what you see, feel, hear, and perhaps even smell or taste. Being united with your senses soothes your central nervous system.  

When you’ve felt seen and heard, you’re respecting your experience. You’re not being driven by a need for self-protection. This helps you to find creative solutions and improves your communication skills. 

To live a healthy and fulfilling life, it’s important to work through what you’re holding onto. Forgiveness and self-love serve to build a positive self-image while finding more grace for yourself and others. May these concepts inspire you on your path to wholeness. 

Stephanie McLeod-Estevez, LCPC, is an art therapist and a breast cancer survivor. Her unwavering passion lies in empowering women to embrace life boldly, through connecting to their innate creativity and resiliency. To learn more about her coaching services and story, visit  www.stephaniemcleodestevez.com. Subscribe to her free newsletter, "Spark Curiosity, Live Radiantly," for complimentary Art Therapy Guidebooks and exclusive access to enriching workshops.