Authentic connection
to life
How art therapy can help people experiencing existential distress
in response to illness and other life events.
Hearing that you have an incurable, life limiting illness or experiencing an unexpected loss can shake your whole world, and may cause feelings of considerable fear and sadness. Art therapy can provide an outlet for people who are suffering from existential distress, often expressed as anxiety, depression, isolation or demoralisation (Kissane).
People who are suffering anxiety and restlessness may find benefit in the relaxing, immersive and pleasurable activity of art-making. It can also empower them to explore and express difficult thoughts and feelings in a safe, symbolic way while in an emotionally supported space with a trained therapist. Making contact with hard-to-articulate feelings can provide some easing of tension and relief from suffering. Exploring and affirming a person's values, strengths and sense of self can restore a sense of wholeness (Saunders).
Healing, a new discovery of wholeness has come through honesty unleashed in this way (Saunders, 1998, p. vii).
Connecting with one's own innate creativity is resourcing and can help people to find new ways of seeing and experiencing life. The process of art-making can provide a sense of control, achievement and agency for people who may be experiencing multiple losses in other ways, art-making can feel like an antidote which restores their dignity. For those who are grieving about the thought of leaving loved ones behind, art therapy offers the chance to create an artwork that may represent their enduring connection to each other (Neimeyer??).
In response to existential distress, the pleasurable and relaxing qualities of art-making can help soothe the nervous system and relieve anxiety, and the meaning-making aspects can help a person connect to what matters most to them and will provide their most authentic expression of life (Kissane). In these ways, art therapy can encourage people who are suffering from existential distress toward a greater sense of wellbeing in their life.
References:
Kissane, D. (2010). Psychospiritual and existential distress. The challenge for palliative care
Saunders, C. (1998). Forward, Art Therapy in Palliative Care, Pratt & Wood.