Self-Directed Project Research

Anger Management and Art Therapy

Art Therapy has been known to treat a number of things including anger management.

When we suppress anger we push it away and ignore it. This overwhelms us and only makes it manifest into a force that can lead to become destructive and worse than the initial feeling.

I personally find this to be true in my own life experiences. I find that the more i try and contain how i feel when i am stressed or angry, the final outcome is everything i bottled up let out all at once. 

My work is to show how the feeling build up into one manifested reaction. 

While creating my paintings, i felt like i was letting out the anger i felt in a juxtaposing way. Painting is sometimes such a calm and well thought-out process that it counteracts the feelings of irrational behaviour. 

This works as we focus all of our energy and thought process by channeling the anger into one source. 

While creating my own work, i tried to paint while in a situation that angered me, people pushing past while i was working or if i was having a bad day. During the process of painting, i found that concentrating on only the direction the paint was flowing and watching it fall from the brush to the canvas, it was extremely therapeutic. 

By creating my work while experiencing the emotion directly, i feel that the work is more truthful and expressive.

It also proves the theory of art therapy in the way that it channels the emotion into something creative, ultimately creating positive energy.

ref:http://arttherapyreflections.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/using-art-therapy-to-release-anger.html