Art is one of the gifts to the world. Pablo Picasso, a Spanish painter, (sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer) said, “Art washes away the dust of everyday life.” Art encourages and activates an individual’s creative thinking, emotional intelligence & well-being and civic participation. Spending a little time doing anything related to art has a greater chance of decreasing your worries, sadness or stress. As a person whose life and emotions are mostly supported by art, I would like to highlight art’s impact on an individual.

     Art is composed of various human practices and human forms. Some of the common practices and forms are storytelling, music, dance, painting, craft, etc. A human is always connected to art in some way, whether it be telling what they did the last day (storytelling), singing a part of their favourite song, moving their body to a rhythm, or doodling. Doing these activities is likely to give you the feeling of happiness. Keeping this in mind, think about the time when you engaged in an art-related extracurricular. What did you do? How did you feel before, during and at the end of the process?  

     A report by Middle Earth has shown that teenagers who are emotionally weak but have access to art are more creative, self-confident, have better academic results, etc. Middle Earth is a non-profit youth organization that guides teens to learn about their behaviours, develop their leadership and improve their academics.

Impact of Music:

     The notion of music being an emotional and a psychological aid is a prime topic in the psychology of music. Music has the potential to arouse strong emotions in a person.

     I interviewed seven students belonging to the same school as me who are girls and three of my male cousins, around the age group of 16-18. All the teenagers that I interviewed, collectively agreed on music having psychological benefits and they tend to rely mostly on music.

     Music is their source of comfort, relief, solace and motivation. Music is said to be the universal language. Where words fall short, music speaks for people. This was depicted from the responses I gathered. One said “Music is a part of me. If no one understands me, there’s a song that replicates my feelings at the moment.”

     Music improves cognitive performance. Studies show different types of music like upbeat helps in memorizing information whereas slow, lo-fi and classical music helps in sleeping. Music reduces stress, pain, and improves mood. Music is not only a source of entertainment but has major mental benefits.

Art Therapy:

     Art therapy is therapy without any therapists involved. It mainly covers colouring, doodling, finger painting, painting, photography, listening to music, writing, etc. Art therapy’s main motive is to manage behaviours, reduce stress, anxiety, process feelings and increase an individual’s self-esteem. People who considered art therapy showed a significant improvement who were dealing with “addiction, anxiety, attention disorders, grief and loss, dementia, depression, eating disorder, physical illness, PTSD, trauma and relationship issues.” The USA’s most famed art dealer Mary Ann Cohen encourages the idea of the use of art therapy in her art galleries. She said “Anyone who feels overwhelmed or pressured by the hectic world we live in should try art therapy. Creating art will give you a chance to slow down and explore any issues you may be having.”

     The study has demonstrated that while working on art, a chemical called dopamine is released; a hormone or chemical substance that our body makes and works as a neurotransmitter. Dopamine is released when we are pleasant. High levels of the release of this chemical are very helpful if you are battling depression or anxiety

     On the other hand, this isn’t the same for everyone. The success rate of Art Therapy is 70%. Failure with art therapy happens when people think they are not creative enough to be in the process and keep on being doubtful about the whole process and themselves. It’s actually not necessary to have a high level of creativity for therapy but the sceptical thinking of some humans results in this.

    Yet looking at the positive side, even experts and therapists admitted to the fact that art therapy has many positives that highlight and aid us to improve ourselves. 

       When the national lockdown was announced due to COVID-19, I hadn’t expected it to last for years. As an outgoing person, I found it difficult to accept the practices of social distancing and quarantine. Little did I know that the quarantine period would be so atrocious to my mental health. I suffered through mild anxiety and the repercussions were restlessness, sweating, sleep deprivation and nervousness. I remember searching for ways I can manage this emotion without worrying my parents. As a result of the search, I found a way that completely involved art (drawing, painting, listening to music, dancing, etc). It is said to be involved in your hobbies and doing what you love. This helps in distracting our minds from this tense emotion. 

       I tried out doing all of this each day a week. In the beginning, I felt like this is not going to work but when anyone says to trust the process, you should. Slowly, this helped in calming my mind and started to grow the positivity within me. Now, though the anxiety waves strike back, I automatically switch to art. It’s one of my comforts and I can rely on it to be emotionally stable.

      Like Pablo Picasso said earlier that “Art washes away the dust of everyday life,” I would like everyone to at least try out any way related to art to be a little stress less and enjoy the little moments to the fullest.