Trauma – PTSD

Question:

I discovered a cool set of books called the Anti-Coloring books, in the children’s section of the bookstore.  Each page lets you use your imagination to color something different.  Some are silly, some are serious–they have things in it like "You have just discovered a treasure at the bottom of the sea–draw it" or "Draw what flowers on Jupiter would look like.  I want them all. Some of us inside want to do art–in a therapy type setting if we can find one.  If not we’re going to take classes and then take the art to our regular therapist.  He said either way was okay with him, that doing art was a good idea. Sapphire of Jana et al.

Response:

I saw those Anti-coloring books and they looked really cool.  I think art therapy works really well.  I went with my friend to an Inner Child workshop and we spent a half day on arts and craft activities and we had so much fun.  It was good too because each part could contribute a little and express.  As we get older, we tend to rely too much on words to say things and art is a good way to get past that and give everyone a good time. Just for a suggestion, we did finger painting using pudding and food coloring.  It works just as well, but in between paintings you can eat the pudding. Cyn

Response:

In our area, some of the adult ed programs have courses that are aimed at real beginners–I wouldn’t take an art course otherwise. The mother alwys said that we were no good with our hands–that we could think things but we couldn’t do things.  I’m starting to believe she was wrong.  Some of the courses look like they are for people like us–who are terribly afraid that people are going to laugh at them because what they do is stupid or incompetent. I want to make pretty things. I want to show how the inside feels sometimes. Sapphire of Jana et al

Response:

I draw *lousy* and still it is a wonderful way to communicate with myself and some secret part of me. I always know what I *meant* to draw, soo it serves its purpose. Well, to give some credit – even though it was very childlike, the picture I drew for my therp to sorta ‘map’ the inner landscape, she says it really helps her understand what I’m talking about when I report on goings ons there. Wow!  Maybe I’ll take an art class too,,, but I’m not sure about feeling okay that my skill is so much less developed than the ’serious’ students. Oh well, enjoy! jodan inc

Response:

I just want to add that I just found out that for me drawing is a great means of communicating what I feel. So many times I feel like I just can’t explain what I feel. It is going around in circles.Round & round. It is so fustrating.  I always tell my therapist it feels like a messy jigsaw puzzule. Just the other night I felt like I wanted to tell her so many things in relation to how I was feeling but it just can’t come out through my lips. It is just to difficult. I write allot that helps to get my feelings out. I go to group therepy but no one in my group suffers from PTSD and dissociation so I feel like they never really totally understand so one day I dicieded to draw a picture of a tree and all the roots under my tree.It is all the trauma’s and feelings that I have experienced. It really helped. I think everyone does understand a little bit better now. Or at least they know where i’m comming from. I think even my therapist understands allot more now. I think I need to draw more now.  Thanks

Response:

I want to make pretty things. I want to show how the inside feels sometimes. Sapphire of Jana et al

Sapphire go for it and fly and have fun!!!!!! Let us know how it goes and where your first show will be.  I paint, I’m not very good, but I love to do it.  I don’t care what other people say, it gives me pleasure and the littles love it. Take care, Crisis

Response:

we do art stuff too.  sometimes, we used to go to an art therapist as well as a talking therp.  she was the first one to see that we dissociated.  and she was really nice too. we have an art journal as well as a writing journal.  it is one of those bound 11×17 art books (good quality paper).  we don’t use it all the time, just when we feel like it, and sometimes we do a lot.  we really like to use oil pastels cuz you can really get in and smear them and do all sorts of neat stuff with them.  lots of times, we just do abstract type stuff, cuz you don’t have to know how to draw stuff that looks like anything when you do that (and besides, it’s a better way to get out feelings that way).  sometimes we make pictures of things, and not just smears.  and certain colors mean certain things to us. and also, one time we got one of those blank puzzles from the teacher’s supply store (place like teaching tools), and we drew a picture on it and brought it to therp and gave it to her and she had to put it together and then she kept it.  we liked that.              pink bunnies                 /   ~ )    All conditions are temporary                                                     `o’_* — For more information about this service, send e-mail to:

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