Art therapy is commonly used to treat various mental disorders. It can help you to control symptoms associated with psychosocially problematic behaviors, delay cognitive decline, and improve quality of life. Many types of illnesses, like schizophrenia, anxiety, etc., can also be healed with the help of art therapy.
In the last few years, many famous artists have battled schizophrenia in their lives. However, the art they produce can sometimes be harrowing for an outsider, but there is a lot of beauty to be found in their ability to create schizophrenia paintings from their pain.
In this blog, we will talk about the role of art therapy in treating schizophrenia.
What do you mean by schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is an illness in which you face your inner demons and demonize the world around you. It is a severe psychological disorder. Although hallucinations are the most talked-about symptom of schizophrenia, they are certainly not the only one, nor the most destructive one. There are two classes of schizophrenic symptoms: positive and negative.
Hallucinations, exaggerated perceptions, mania, and delusions are some common examples of positive symptoms. They are common experiences that neurotypical people may not have. These symptoms are added to the typical experience and include, but are not limited to:
Delusions or false beliefs about the world.
Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations;
Agitated movements of the body.
Inappropriate emotions in a situation.
Strange plans and ideas.
Psychosis or a break with reality.
On the other hand, negative symptoms are the opposite, an absence of something that neurotypical people take for granted. It can be both mental and physical. These symptoms are typically the most destructive parts of schizophrenia. Negative mental symptoms of schizophrenia include:
Anhedonia is defined as the inability to experience or express pleasure.
Avolition, or an absolute lack of motivation.
Lack of speech.
Inability to act on impulse.
A lack of interest in the world.
Social withdrawal.
Alogia, or difficulty speaking due to disorganized thinking.
How can art therapy help in treating schizophrenia?
When you have schizophrenia, you may experience several symptoms, such as hallucinations and distorted or false perceptions, which your friends or family often misunderstand.
So, in such cases, schizophrenia painting is helpful.
It aids in the interpretation of the expression of your emotions and feelings without the use of words. This helps your friends and family understand you better.
It helps you deal with the side effects of psychiatric medications, such as drowsiness and lethargy. It also helps you keep your mind active at work.
When you go through schizophrenia, art therapy helps you distract yourself from various symptoms, such as disturbing thoughts, hearing voices, etc. One or two-hour schizophrenia painting sessions help you to focus on the activity assigned to you and ignore the voices in your head or stop talking to yourself, apart from providing a forum for creative expression.
More about schizophrenic painting
Sometimes, when you go through the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, it is difficult to communicate about the issues, making talk therapy or any other alternative method for treating schizophrenia ineffective.
With the help of antipsychotic medication, you can quickly get some treatment, but it is impossible to remove all symptoms. Due to this, schizophrenia painting therapy is becoming increasingly popular alongside traditional antipsychotic medical treatments.
Conclusion
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe mental illness that affects day-to-day functioning. Art therapy can be helpful for you to address negative symptoms such as lack of motivation, social withdrawal, etc.
At Leya Marie Art, we offer the most superior and exclusive selection of Schizophrenia paintings by an emerging and award-winning glamor artist. Visit our website for a fantastic collection.
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