Column: Stress-relieving creativity

It’s easy for everyone to tell students to calm down and not to worry during exam season but, to be honest, when those passive aggressive Tabula deadline emails keep popping up and the reality of only having a four days to revise a whole module kicks in, they just become empty words.

I’ve found that the impossibility to just switch stress off, whatever the cause, has led me to seek comfort in artistic distractions and channel any chaotic emotion towards a creative outlet. Consider it a metaphorical beta-blocker if you will, but there is nothing more therapeutic than getting lost in an hour of sketching, painting, or even making a James Franco Pinterest board, (I have not done this, I swear).

The impossibility to just switch stress off, whatever the cause, has led me to seek comfort in artistic distractions and channel any chaotic emotion towards a creative outlet.

Psychologically speaking, art therapy is often employed by therapists to help individuals process life trauma or self-actualise in times of compromised wellbeing. The ability to visually process negative emotions and express them in an external space is something especially useful for those who are more reserved when it comes openly expressing the problems that they face.

The wider success of this is made clear by the recent rise in Rangoli adult coloring books that are marketed as ‘stress-relieving art therapy’. Perhaps we can appreciate how physically transforming a colourless page of intricate patterns into a vibrant image can evoke feelings of satisfaction.

Consider the sense of productivity and pride that comes with having a tangible representation of your catharsis. It’s the perfect blank slate you need to complement your study mode.

Even the university’s library seems to have clocked on to the therapeutic relationship between stress levels and artistic release. While I can’t say that trying to stay within the lines of a pre-drawn Pug has the same effect as personal art, to be able to focus on something completely external can create some much needed distance from internal thoughts.

If you aren’t already seized by the desire to visit your local Hobbycraft and would much rather engage in a self-pitying Netflix binge to wind down, consider the sense of productivity and pride that comes with having a tangible representation of your catharsis. It’s the perfect blank slate you need to complement your study mode.