Tag Archives: Stress Management

The Power of Art Therapy for Stress Management

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Regular art therapy sessions offer a creative, gentle way to reduce your stress and boost mental well-being. By focusing on the process—not the outcome—of creating art, you can experience:

🧠 Mindfulness: Engaging in creative activities naturally promotes mindfulness, helping you stay present and release worries about the past or future.

✨ Emotional Release: Art provides a safe outlet to express feelings that might be hard to put into words.

💪 Increased Resilience: Reflecting through art helps you process emotions, building inner strength and resilience over time.

There’s no artistic skill required—just a willingness to explore! Art therapy can be a powerful tool for reducing stress and nurturing your mental health.

Spending Time in Nature

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Listen to the whispers of your soulSpending time in nature can have numerous benefits for refreshing body, mind and soul.

Being in a natural and tranquil environment is conducive to reducing stress and anxiety. There is growing evidence that the sights, sounds, and smells of nature are likely to lower cortisol levels (a stress hormone) and promote a sense of calm and relaxation. This can lead to an improved overall mood and a refreshed state of mind.

When you take a break from the constant stimulation of modern life by being in nature, you allow your mind to unwind and recharge.

Time in nature has been linked to improved cognitive function, enhanced creativity, and increased attention span. It provides space for you to experience a mental reset that helps you think more clearly and problem-solve effectively.

Furthermore, spending time in nature fosters a sense of connection to your surrounds, which can be spiritually uplifting. This also promotes feelings of well-being, contentment, and happiness.

tiny flowerMany people find solace and a sense of purpose when they spend time outdoors, whether it’s hiking in the mountains, strolling in a park, or simply sitting under a shady tree. As an aside, exercise also helps to lower your cortisol levels and manage your stress.

There is always something to observe.  You may find yourself cloud watching or following an insect as it goes about its business. Perhaps even the tiniest flower or an intriguing rock may take your interest. You may even find yourself listening to the various sounds, such as the rustling of leaves in a gentle wind or nature’s orchestra – the birds.

Overall, spending time in nature offers a valuable opportunity to disconnect from the demands of daily life, reconnect with yourself, and refresh your soul, leading to improved mental and emotional well-being.

Emotional Intelligence

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Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as to perceive and respond to the emotions of others in the moment.

It involves being aware of one’s own feelings, being able to regulate those emotions, and using that understanding to interact effectively with others. This  is especially important when working with teams – either in the workplace or in a volunteer capacity.
Emotional Intelligence has been shown to be an important factor in personal and professional success, as it can help individuals communicate effectively, build and maintain relationships, and navigate complex social situations.

It is also associated with better mental health outcomes and can help individuals cope with stress and adversity.
There are several components of Emotional Intelligence, including self-awareness, stress management, teamwork and collaboration, empathy, and other social skills.

These can be developed and improved through practice and training, and as a Certified Social and Emotional Intelligence  coach I offer regular workshops and presentations to help individuals and organizations build their emotional intelligence skills.

 

Art Therapy and Stress Management

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Art therapy is a form of therapy that involves using art to express oneself and explore emotions. It can be a helpful tool for managing stress, as it allows you to process your feelings in a non-verbal way and can provide a sense of relaxation and mindfulness.

One way art therapy can help manage stress is by providing a creative outlet for you to express yourself. Creating art can be a way to release pent-up emotions and reduce feelings of anxiety or tension. The act of making art can also be calming and meditative, allowing you to focus your attention on the present moment and let go of worries about the past or future.

Art therapy can also help you to gain insight into your feelings and thought patterns. Creating art can be a way to access and explore the subconscious mind, which can lead to new insights and a greater understanding of oneself. Therefore the process of creating and reflecting on art you can learn to identify and manage sources of stress.

Finally, art therapy can be a way to connect with others and build a sense of community. Participating in group art therapy sessions can provide a supportive environment where you can share experiences and feel validated and understood. This sense of connection and belonging can help reduce feelings of stress and isolation.

Overall, art therapy can be a valuable tool for managing stress and promoting overall well-being. If you’re interested in exploring art therapy, consider reaching out to me and I can guide you through the process, helping you to develop a personalized plan for managing your stress through art.

Art Therapy Workshops

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The past few months I have had the opportunity to be presenting lots of workshops, including Art Therapy workshops to a variety of organizations and audiences. The Art Therapy workshops have been face to face, whilst the Emotional Intelligence workshops have either been online or hybrid.

For participants in a group Art Therapy Workshop it can be challenging to know just how much to “share”. At each session I set the boundaries – what is said in the room, stays in the room  and only share if comfortable. Some of the activities are designed to encourage mindfulness.

One activity that springs to mind is “Going Dotty”.  This is a nod to the artistic works of Georges Seurat who created amazing masterpieces using pointillism. My own example of a sunflower shows how solid colour is not necessary to create an image. Taking the time to create it  kept me “in the moment” or mindful.

After it was finished I took some time on reflecting why I chose to create that image. It reminded me of the time I flew across the country  to have a last visit with my mother in hospital. During a break I went to the local shops and there were buckets of sunflowers. I bought a bunch, took it back to the hospital and used them as a focus for a meditation and Reiki session. Something shifted, as my mother recovered and we were able to have a conversation and another visit a year or so later.

Love what you do

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love what you doWhen you love what you do and are engaged in the activity, hormones such as Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin (happy hormones) are released and stress is reduced.

As stress is reduced, wellbeing is increased. When you love what you do, you may discover or rediscover something that  you yearned to do as a child but put aside due to societal or cultural expectations.

What dreams did you put aside?

Pursuing what you love to do will bring you  a great sense of satisfaction and completion. The joy in creating has immense benefits. It could be cooking, woodwork, pottery or another craft.  Not only crafts but writing or art can bring great joy to both creator and observer.  Have you noticed that when someone is engaged in their passion, their inner energy is apparent and they radiate that out to those around them?

If you need help in rediscovering your dreams let’s have a chat.

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Workplace Art Therapy

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Why Workplace Art Therapy?

A workplace art therapy program has benefits for both the employer and employee in that for the employer, it can fulfill their workplace health and wellbeing criteria, lower stress in employees as well as increasing productivity, creativity and performance.

Art therapy in the workplaceParticipating in a workplace art therapy program encompasses relaxation techniques and can be described as a preventative measure in addressing employee stress.

Staff and management alike can experience art therapy sessions as a part of a “Wellness in the Workplace” program that actively encourages mindfulness and creativity which has benefits beyond the session.

As the participants focus on any particular exercise, their conscious minds can be distracted from their daily tasks and demands of the job. When stress is reduced  with a tailored art therapy and EI program,  you can look forward to increased performance and achievement, better decision making and productivity.

How does it work?

Firstly, it would be necessary to discuss the length of a session or sessions; how many participants; their physical needs; and finally the venue itself. When working in a corporate environment, it is taken into account if the venue is most likely to be unsuited to having paint or clay used. It is also necessary to ascertain that there are no materials that may have an adverse effect (such as glues) on the health of the participants. Introductory sessions would include a guided meditation followed by doodling or Mandalas where there would be no prerequisite for artistic comparison.

For more details contact me via the form below:

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Reiki Support Program

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Reiki for Stress managementHave you been attuned to Reiki?

Too often practitioners neglect themselves, so I’ve put together a Reiki support program for practitioners at all levels. With stress levels at an all time high, it is vitally important that practitioners look after themselves.

What’s in the program?

ReikiIt’s a private group  where you will receive Reiki once a week at a set time and you are also invited to attend a monthly online group discussion and guided healing session. This is a safe place where you can re-focus your intentions and connection to the energy.

Open to all levels of practitioners from Level 1 to Teacher and from any lineage.

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Hexagon

The hexagon

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five day challengeDay 4’s shape  for the Five Day Challenge is the hexagon. A six sided figure, the hexagon is found in nature from bees to bubbles.  In man made items such as nuts and bolts to tessellated tiles it is used.  Snowflakes are based on the hexagon and perhaps the most easily recognizable group of hexagons are to be found on soccer balls.

Even items we use on a daily basis are constructed using the hexagon.  Most pencils will have six sides…. go ahead and count if you doubt me! Modern use of the hexagon can be found with mobile phone towers constructed  in a hexagonal grid – hence the term “cell phone”.

Today’s shape took a while to come together

I dusted off my compass and protractor and set about to construct a hexagon.  After a couple of tries and much rubbing out of pencil lines, I eventually got the shape right. Then to fill the shape….. pleased with the pattern that emerged, I then allowed my conscious mind to take over. Big mistake. I thought that I would “improve” the pattern by colouring in using the chakra colours.  From simple to dreadfully contrived in just a few minutes.

HexagonTake two…. now that I had the hang of constructing the hexagon, it was much easier to stay with a black line marker and see what transpired. With the addition of some compass work and very simple lines and shapes the following emerged.  Perhaps I could add colour, but it was relaxing not to have to think about which to choose.  It would be interesting to construct a series of hexagons and see what evolved from that.

From an Art Therapy point of view the benefits of “doodling” are that there are no preconceived ideas as to what the finished product will look like. It is a free form of expression and the shapes emerge from deep within the one’s psyche.

As it is a non verbal form of expression, the doodle literally can help you to “connect the dots”. It allows you to engage in sustained attention to a task without needing to create perfection or a recognisable image and is a useful tool for stress reduction. This is helpful in using art therapy as a means of unconscious expression.

 

Five Day Challenge

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A five day challenge for the fifth Melbourne lockdown…. five day challengeArt therapy is a great way to reduce stress. This five day challenge is designed so you can take five minutes or so to focus on a shape and change it with simple lines and colours.

When we are engaged in doing something that we love to do, hormones such as Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin (happy hormones) are released and stress is reduced. As stress is reduced, wellbeing is increased. You may discover or rediscover something that you wanted to do as a child and put aside due to societal or cultural expectations. The pursuit of this activity and the joy in doing it will often bring about a great sense of satisfaction and completion. Not only that, when you are engaged in your passion, your inner energy is apparent and you will radiate that out to those around you.

The challenge is on my Facebook page if you would like to contribute your creation.  I used Yellow for happiness & positivity; green for renewal & energy ( full moon tomorrow); blue for intuition, imagination and understanding, and a spiral path to lead inward and outward.

Day 1 challenge