“Every man has his secret sorrows which the
world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”
Being
able to say “I’m doing well”, and actually mean every word, is not something we
all can do. According to CAMH, in any given year, one in five Canadians
experiences a mental health problem. If we think about it, Canada’s population
is 35,540,419 - that is about 7,108,000 people that are having a hard time
getting up and facing the world every morning.
Depression
is much more than simple unhappiness, it is not a temporary change in mood or a
weakness, contrary to some misconceptions it is not a character flaw. Clinical
depression, sometimes called major depression is a complex mood disorder cause
by various factors, including genetic predisposition, personality, stress and
brain chemistry. Depression is not something that people can “get over” by
their own efforts, it takes time, hard work, determination and help of
professionals to be able to get better.
East is a local singer-songwriter
I’ve met while doing research for the article, she was kind enough to talk to
me about her journey through depression and how expressive art therapy helped
her go through the toughest time of her life.
“ I realized, I found it difficult
to function at my regular speed, had a hard time getting up in the morning, wasn’t
able to attend classes, had social anxiety and was only able to feel safe in my
bed” she says, “I was overwhelmed with sadness and couldn’t control my
emotions”.
The
most common ways of treatment for depression are talk therapy as well as
medication, for East expressive art therapy was very effective. The therapy is
founded on the belief that all people have the capacity to express themselves
creativity. It promotes self-awareness, emotional wellbeing, healing, and
empowerment and is mostly used for people who are having trouble expressing
themselves through talk therapy or children. Expressive art therapy was
suggested to East by her therapist one day and she decided to try writing
first. One journal entry after another, by the end of the month she ran out of
pages to write on, it was evident this was a great outlet for the feelings she
could not express to anyone. Simple journal entries over time became poems and
poems transformed into songs. One day while talking to a friend, East mentioned
she had a few poems she wanted to share, little did she know, that particular
friend was also writing music and had a few songs for her to experiment with.
The pair collaborated on a first song and it felt great. After a while “It felt
like the only way I could express myself” East remembers, “it made me feel okay”. Over the next couple of months she stayed in
her room, writing, singing and recording.
Being able to create music allowed her to completely open up and be
herself.
Music was the first
thing East turned to considering it was a part of her life since early
childhood years. She started singing in the kindergarten choir, participated in
few different talent shows and festivals, later on she was accepted in to a
visual arts program at Cawthra Park Secondary School, also known as Cawthra
School of the Arts.
Besides music East found a few
other things helped her with depression, things like changing location, trying
to be outside more helped her focus on something else beside the deep dark
thoughts. Having a great support group is very important, even if it is just
one or two people that are committed to making you feel safe and secure. The
artist shares that she had to learn how to let people take care of her and be
that light she desperately needed during dark days. Physical activity is extremely important,
something as simple as a walk around the block could make your day better, just
by finding a distraction from your thoughts could provide you with a enjoyable
day. She also explored painting,
drawing, making collages and scrapbooking, she found different colors and
textures helped the mind take a much needed break.
At the moment East is proud to share her debut EP-Embrace
the Wave with the world, it is filled with raw emotion, which can be heard
through every sound of every song. It took a while but the artist is finally
able to say she is on the road of recovery and is extremely happy to be able to
use her talent to get herself here.
To the rest of the people going through something similar
East would like to let you know… YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are millions of
people going through the same thing, be your own best friend and never shame
yourself for your feelings and emotions.
To find Expressive Art Therapy workshops or sessions please
visit www.therapytorontotherapist.ca
Or The Mood Disorders Society of Canada and The
Mood Disorders Association of Ontario
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