Art therapy activities are an excellent way to deepen the knowledge about yourself. Through fun activities, discover what moves you and what keeps you stuck. More importantly, remind yourself of your value.
We are too often stuck in a loop of negative self-talk, and we need a little kick to get us out of it and back on the right track. Most of our daily problems could be solved if we would only understand ourselves better.
You don’t have to be an artist to benefit from art therapy activities. They are specifically designed so that anyone can do them, regardless of their artistic abilities. And who knows, you may end up discovering your inner artist.
For most of these activities, you will need nothing more than pen and paper.
Art Therapy Activities for Self-discovery: Paint your emotions
How to paint emotions
Start by choosing your medium. Take whatever you feel most comfortable with or whatever you have on hand. You can also use different mediums. For instance, you can combine watercolors and markers. Just make sure you have at least three colors available. Take a sheet of paper, heavier or lighter depending on the medium you will use.
When everything is ready, take notice of how you feel. Maybe you will feel unsure of how you are supposed to do this, or you will feel excited for trying out this new thing. Whatever it is that you feel, try to bring it to the paper.
Don’t think about what you do; don’t choose colors. Simply let your hands do whatever they feel like doing. Put your conscious mind to rest and allow your unconscious mind to express itself through your hands. If one word or sentence pops into your mind, write it down. Maybe you will feel the need to change hands or close your eyes — do it. Do whatever comes to your mind without thinking, and especially without judging. Whenever the need to stop arrives, put down your pen or brush. That’s it. Your work is done.
Benefits of painting emotions
When you are finished with the painting, observe how you feel. Just observe, don’t give any opinion or judgment to your feelings. Now take a look at your work, again without judging — just look at it and take notice of what thoughts come to your mind while looking at it. If you wrote some words, read them and take a moment to think about what those words mean to you.
Repeat this activity once a week or when you feel strong emotions. Just observe, without judgment. If you really let your unconscious mind do the work, you should discover your deep thoughts, desires, fears, and maybe even blockages you were not aware of.
Create a clutter collage
How to create a clutter collage
Find pictures, or create your own, that represent everything that is cluttering your life. Clutter can be anything from things to habits, people whose energy is dragging you down, even negative thoughts.
Go through your life, and see what is taking up your space, time, and energy. Anything that is not bringing you happiness, peace, or growth is clutter. Glue all those pictures on one paper. This is your clutter collage.
Benefits of creating a clutter collage
Only by becoming aware of the clutter in your life, can you start to clear your life to make space for better things. Every now and then, take a look at your clutter collage and see what could go. By clearing out the clutter, we free ourselves of a big burden and open our lives to new things.
Create your life timeline
How to create a life timeline
Draw a long line across the whole paper. At the beginning of the line, mark the day you were born, and at the end, mark today’s date. In equal distances on the line, mark every year from your birth until today.
Now start writing in all the important moments of your life. This may be anything from graduations, birthdays of important people, job changes, achievements, beginnings and endings of relationships, new friendships, travel, illness, or a book. Really anything that was important to you at the time.
Choose different colors, write bigger or smaller words depending on importance, and think back on your life to remember as many memories as possible.
Now, if you wish, you can create a future timeline. Turn the page and draw another long line across the paper. This time, mark today’s date at the beginning, and there is no end mark. You don’t need to make year marks. Instead, place important moments you want to happen, all your dreams, and wishes for the future at random distances.
Benefits of creating a life timeline
This reflective activity makes you look back on your life and all that has happened to you. It should help you see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve gone through. It will help you put your whole life in perspective. If you decide to make a future timeline, it can serve as a blueprint for the future you want.
Draw yourself as a tree
How to draw yourself as a tree
Draw a tree with branched roots and a big treetop with lots of leaves (big enough to fit one or a few words). On each root, write down your virtues, strengths, skills, and good habits. On the leaves, write everything you would like to improve, all the skills you want to learn, and the habits you want to adopt.
Benefits of drawing yourself as a tree
We often think about our faults, but this activity encourages you to think positively about yourself and remember your good qualities, as well as the skills you are yet to acquire.
Mind map your thoughts
How to mind map your thoughts
Start by choosing a main theme, such as dreams, fears, or habits, or simply choose "my thoughts" if you want to organize various thoughts.
Take a sheet of paper, and in the middle, draw a circle with the chosen theme written inside.
You can fill out your mind map in one of three ways:
Level by level — Fill out all the first-level branches (direct links to the main topic), then fill out all second-level branches, and so on.
Branch by branch — Fill out one whole branch with all its levels before moving to the next.
Free-style — Fill out the mind map as thoughts come to you, without any particular order.
Benefits of mind mapping your thoughts
Mind mapping defined topics can help you discover more about certain aspects of yourself. Mind mapping current thoughts can give you clarity and order when life feels chaotic. This can be especially helpful if you have a big decision to make.
Now just pick one activity and start uncovering hidden parts of yourself. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to share it with your friends and spread the knowledge.
