The pressures of college life can be really detrimental to both a student’s health and their studies. It can cause all manner of problems that often end up these days in some form of substance abuse.
The fentanyl crisis is a huge example of that with more young people than ever before struggling to cope and turning to the opioid as a method of doing so. However, that’s of course not a healthy way to deal with the pressure of deadlines, social life and financial worries. In fact, it’s a pathway to destruction that can be difficult to come back from without professional help.
There are lots of ways to aid with stress and addiction these days, all suiting different types of people. Banbury Lodge, a drug rehab Oxford based in the UK has found that many younger people suffering from addiction as a result of stress in their studies find a creative outlet useful, notably art therapy.
Art therapy can be incredibly useful for people struggling with mental health conditions, allowing people to express themselves and use the likes of painting, sculpture and various other forms of artistic endeavour as a method of releasing emotion.
But why is it so helpful, particularly among students?
Stress Reduction
Firstly, it does have stress reducing qualities that can help with those academic pressures, deadlines and social obligations.
It can provide a person with a focus as well as an outlet to release that tension. That can help take the mind off what’s causing them stress and have a new aim and goal within their art.
Self-Exploration and Identity Development
Our college years are a period of time where we find out a lot about ourselves. Art therapy offers a rather safe space to explore various parts of them, from values and beliefs to preferred styles and activities that relax them.
Much of that can be found through artistic expression, giving students a deeper understanding of themselves and who they truly are.
Emotional Regulation
College can often feel like a lonely place, and it’s often that which can lead to mental health problems. While students have friends in their dorms and in classes, it can take a while to develop a tight knit bond that will allow someone to reach out like they would a childhood friend or family member.
Art can be a powerful tool for managing and understanding their emotional states, with it often all coming out on a page. It can prove incredibly enlightening, unravelling emotions and feelings you never knew existed.
These can all help ease the pressures students are feeling, as well as encourage them to reach out and get help, feeling more comfortable with theirr emotions, which will hold them in good stead for the rest of their life during difficult periods.
