How art therapy helped me heal from addiction

It came to a point when addiction was all I ever knew, but it wasn’t always like that.

When I was a kid, my parents took my brother and I to America to have a better life. We were born in Colombia, but in the ‘80s the drug cartel and civil unrest made it impossible to live peaceful lives. Growing up in SoCal, I was a happy kid. I was well taken care of, I was loved, and my parents did everything they could to give me everything I needed to succeed. The problem was that I always wanted more. I was shy and awkward. I felt pretty uncool. I just wanted to be a grown up.

With this mentality, I got drunk for the first time when I was 9 years old. I snuck a big cup of Aguardiente at a family party when everyone was dancing. I loved it. All of a sudden I was laughing, dancing and having a good time. But when the buzz was over, I felt like my regular, awkward self. I needed to feel cool again. I soon moved from alcohol to numerous other substances as each one ceased to have enough of an effect on me.

In my 20s, I landed myself a 2 year prison sentence for drug and alcohol related charges. I did try to stay clean when I got out, but I went about it in all the wrong ways without seeking the help I needed. A relapsed and even tried to take my own life.

Thankfully, I was admitted into an incredible rehab facility in Idaho. For the first time I was not only acknowledging my problems, but I was given actual solutions and methods to live a happy life. This is when I found art therapy, and it changed my life.

Here are the top 5 ways that art therapy has helped me become a truly happy person in recovery:

1. Words can be difficult

I don’t know if it’s a Colombian thing or a me thing, but I always had a hard time expressing myself. Even though my family was really loving and caring, we never talked about our feelings, especially the not so happy ones. So when it came to AA and NA meetings, they could never really help me because I never talked about my situation.

When it came to painting, sculpting, drawing, and music, I could express myself in a more abstract way that took the pressure of using words off. And yet the therapist was still able to understand me and help me understand myself.

2. Emotional release

I never realised how much negative energy and emotion I actually had built up inside me until I started art therapy.

I still can’t quite explain it, but there’s something about putting brushes to canvas, molding clay, and even playing instruments in the company of someone whose only intentions are to help me get better and better myself, that brings everything to the surface. I can literally move through my emotions in my artwork and release them. I had never felt that kind of freedom before.

3. Self-confidence

I know, this one is really cliché, but it is 100% true. At least it is for me.

One of the biggest reasons I didn’t commit to art therapy when I was first introduced is because I felt I wasn’t good enough. I didn’t coin myself as an artist to begin with so I figured there’s no point in trying. But when I actually immersed myself, I started to feel pretty good about myself. I had never created anything before in my life. Now, I was painting, I was sculpting, I was making music, I was doing all this stuff that I didn’t think I was capable of.

I’m a lot better at it now than when I first started, and that makes me feel good too.

4. Introspection

This may seem like a given, but hear me out. I think anyone, battling with addiction or not, can be guilty of being out of touch with themselves. In this society everything is so fast paced that we don’t really focus on who we are, why we are, what we feel, and many other very important questions we should know the answers to.

We’re always looking to blow off steam or let loose but do we ever stop to think about what is going on inside to make us feel that way? Not really.

Art therapy has really helped me with that. I know myself better and I am more accepting of myself than ever before. This kind of understanding and acceptance has been a huge factor to my ability to leave my addiction and other self harming habits behind as well.

5. Purpose

This is my favourite part.

Art therapy has improved my quality of life so much that I want to be able to share that with other people. I want to help other people feel better about themselves and lead better lives.

I started volunteering at a local senior’s centre in their art program and it honestly makes me feel so good inside that I’m thinking about taking it a step further and becoming qualified as an art therapist.

If you’re not sure as to what art therapy is and what it entails, or even if it’s right for you, you can probably find some of the answers to your questions here. I feel that if you’re even the slightest bit intrigued, you shouldn’t think about it too much. If you really immerse yourself in it, chances are that it could change your life too.