Mainstream psychotherapy supplies many benefits, as testified to by millions of Americans who look for, and obtain, effective therapy treatment each year. At the same time, some alternative therapies (like hypnotherapy, pet-assisted therapy, and color therapy) are now incorporated into psychotherapy with measurable outcomes.

Art therapy is one such therapy that strives to relieve tension, enhance self-expression and self-awareness, and heal the emotional injuries of people who've experienced psychological trauma or abuse.

What exactly is art therapy?

The American Art Therapy Association describes art therapy as "an established mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight."

Most likely, at some time or another during your life, you've been through ordeals that were difficult to express verbally. Art therapy can help you relate and resolve confusing thoughts and feelings using drawings, paintings, collages, or other art forms.

To put it briefly, art therapy combines art and psychotherapy, and by using diverse types of creative expression, assists individuals with processing challenging thoughts and feelings, better understand their own lives, and heal from former injuries.

What are the advantages of art therapy?

Contrary to more conventional varieties of "talk therapy," art therapy clients are often able to more quickly present the issues and problems they're suffering by means of artistic types of expression, which often can speed up the treatment process as well as the time necessary to recover.

Additionally, because people in art therapy actively work with artistic materials when thinking about and discussing the internal conflicts facing them, they externalize these thoughts and feelings and therefore are provided a safe vantage point from which to analyze difficult topics.

Art therapy clients also benefit from:

• Personal Fulfillment – The activity of artistic creation, which requires both imaginative and analytic components, provides a sense of personal fulfillment and increases self-esteem and self-confidence.

• Empowerment – To be able to artistically relate difficult emotions supplies a sense of control and personal empowerment over these feelings.

• Stress-Reduction and Relaxation – Because artistic activities raise the levels of serotonin within the human brain, art therapy, particularly in combination with additional stress-reduction procedures, can safely and effectively lessen emotional stress, restore sleeping habits, and ward off anxiety and depression.

• Pain Relief and Physical Healing – While helping individuals identify and deal with conditions like depression, stress, anxiety, anger, guilt, and resentment, art therapy helps to promote physical healing and facilitates pain management for people struggling with physical disabilities or recurring health conditions.

As well as delivering relief from diverse physical and mental conditions, art therapy also can help individuals who are shy, withdrawn, or experience difficulties in public build self-confidence and improve their self-expression and interpersonal skills.

Can art therapy help you?

Through the course of human history, humans have used art to help make sense of pain, suffering, and anxiety, and, finally, contemporary health science is beginning to acknowledge the effective role art can perform in the process of recovery.

While art therapy has been used mostly with children – mainly for the reason that children experience more difficulties expressing themselves verbally when compared with adults – art therapy can be an effective treatment for individuals of every age group. Additionally, although art therapists are trained in both art and therapy, no creative talent is needed to employ, and benefit from, this kind of therapy.

Art therapy can be used to address varying conditions, from post-traumatic stress and bipolar disorders, to anger, anxiety, depression, and stress. Besides developing emotional and mental wellness, art therapy can help just about anyone seeking to decrease tension, increase their self-awareness and self-expression, enhance their cognitive abilities, or heal from traumatic experiences.

If you're wanting to enhance your physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual well-being and quality of life, art therapy may very well be right for you.

Tags: self expression, psychological trauma, therapy, bipolar disorders, Health, creative process, art therapy, psychotherapy

The cause of anxiety is well established. When enough stress is presented to the physical-mental-emotional body, nervous behaviors are likely to surface. Worry and excessive thought can interfere with preparation of rest and sleep. Internal organs deficient of energy will present with a long list of imbalancing symptoms such as high blood pressure, spasms, palpitations, restless leg and insomnia, etc. due to depleted energy.Regard yourself, eliminate waking activities during rest time, add exercise, allow only sensitive people in your personal space until you are sustain the challenges. Eat nutritious food and take natural herbs that don't add to the imbalance but rather help in re-establishing your center. Consider working with a counselor/pychotherapist to find alternatives to your current anxiety management strategies. 

Here is a key component to manage a comprehensive perspective. Food preferences known to minimize the internal environment of anxiety. 

ANXIETY FREE DIET 

Foods to Counter Anxiety: Apricot, Cherry, Date, Fig, Grape, Grapefruit, Olive, Papaya, Peach, Strawberry, Tomato, Beet, Button mushroom, Cabbage, Carrot, Celery, Chard, Cucumber, Eggplant, Kuzu, Lettuce, Potato, Shitake mushroom, Spearmint, Squash, Sweet Potato, Yam, Almond, Chestnut, Coconut, Sesame seed/oil, Sunflower seed, Amasake, stevia, Agave nectar, Ganoderm, Dill, Basil, Mulberry, Lemons, Brown rice, Oats, Ghee, Green tea

Foods to Avoid: Beef, Tofu, Tempeh, Soy milk, Spinach, Miso, Asparagus, , Millet, Salt, Seaweed, Tangerine, Pinenut, Persimmon, Pear, Honey, Sugar, Oyster, Clam, Mussel, Pork, Peanut

Processed Foods to Avoid: Artificial Sweeteners, Coffee, Wine (beyond 1 oz. per day), Baked Beans (sugar), Baked Goods (doughnuts, cakes contain excess trans fats, sugars), Breakfast Cereals (sugar, processed grain, low nutrition), Campbell's Condensed Soups (hi sodium), pot pies (hi calory/fat), Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) foods, Hotdogs (unknown ingredients, sodium nitrate), Luncheon Meats (too many additives, sodium nitrate), Margarine (highly toxic), Ramen Noodles (no nutrients, excess sodium), Refined Vegetable Oils (corn, cottonseed, soybeans, safflower seeds and canola), Saltines (excess carb & sodium), Sausages & cured meats (too many additives, sodium nitrate), White & Wheat bread (no nutrition), White Pasta (extremely hi carb & sodium), White Potatoes (solanine-calcium depletion & arthritic pain), Chips & French fries, Cocktails (excess sugar/liver toxicity), Fruit Juice (loaded w/ sugar), Fruit Smoothie (loaded w/ syrup, make your own), Dairy products except goat's milk (pure mucous), Sodas (removes rust from metal, excess carbon dioxide, imbalances digestive system), Excessive Protein (loss of calcium, damages kidneys)

 

When I had an anxiety attack, I didn't know about nutrition and herbology and at that time, I could not imagine that traditional Chinese herbs would have been effective with other modalities of treatment. With prolonged stressed, it is essential that people get access to effective and powerful aids. Longevity is founded on healthy foods, herbs and natural medicinal approaches to health and balance.

Individual Constitution will affect outcomes from all foods. For instance, a person that has a cold constitution should not eat foods that make the body colder. If a person does then pain will present in the place where cold is sensed. Sluggish body function continues in pattern. But in general the above selection benefits most people. To become healthy, it is highly recommended to meet with an Asian medicine-Master Herbalist who will provide a customized assessment. Notice I didn't say accupuncturist. It is very important to find someone who specializes in Chinese herbs or herbology  and food therapy regarding customized food and herb strategies.   

Anxiety relief can be found naturally with food therapy & traditional Chinese herbs.
  

Tags: food therapy, hyper, neurosis, mental health, alternative medicine