Art can heal

An account of a 17 year old girl’s recovery from depression and mental healthy with the help of ART.

On a personal note

When I was a university student, I was going through a lot of challenges and difficulties. Among many, I had to learn to study and to retain information; I had to sustain myself so I had a full time job along with my full-time school schedule; I had a boyfriend who was engaged to somebody else; and my family was too dysfunctional to give me any support.  I was under immense amount of stress and I could hardly keep my head above water. I was in love with a married man and I was depressed. Any familiar?

I was under immense amount of stress

I remember that I was back home with my family on a winter break studying for exams when one evening I started to vomit excessively.  I could not think straight and I was shaking uncontrollably. The next day, I was taken into hospital and was diagnosed with a nervous breakdown. 

I could not think straight and I was shaking uncontrollably

I was suggested to take time out but I did not want to do that because I was a late-boomer anyway so I started uni at the age of 21 instead of 18. It did not want to prolong my suffering.

My aunt is a therapist with whom I had spent countless hours as a child. She knew how much I used to love making art and so she suggested to use art to uncover my demons and terrors.

she suggested to use art to uncover my demons and terrors

As soon as I started, art-works of the most morbid nature started to flood out of me. I was lucky. I did not need therapy, I only needed to reintegrate ART into my life. ART became my Healer and Saviour.

art-works of the most morbid nature started to flood out of me