{"id":1362,"date":"2016-08-30T13:58:53","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T17:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/starr-commonwealth-new.local\/?p=1362"},"modified":"2023-02-27T13:54:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T18:54:24","slug":"bust-worry-anxiety-with-expressive-arts-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starr.org\/2016\/bust-worry-anxiety-with-expressive-arts-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Using Anxiety Art to Bust Worry & Toxic Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Benefits of Anxiety Art<\/h2>\n

Anxiety Art is a powerful strategy for building resilience in kids. Today, anxiety is one of the most prevalent children\u2019s mental health issues with the average age of onset for anxiety disorders being 6 years of age (Merikangas et al., 2010). Anxiety consists of many specific disorders including panic, OCD, specific phobias, PTSD, and social, separation, and generalized anxiety. When dealing with trauma we are often dealing with symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is an anxiety disorder.<\/a> Our treatment plans will likely, at some point, need to address issues of anxiety.<\/p>\n

Regardless of type of anxiety disorder, what matters in treatment is the process that happens, not so much the content of the worry. Whether the child is having worries about tripping in front of her class, seeing spiders, or needs to check the locks on the house six times before leaving, the mechanism at work is the same. The child is avoiding situations that: bring up feelings of uncomfortableness and uncertainty; is looking for reassurance; parents reassure and reassure again; it is not enough; and worries spiral out of control. We need to intervene to address the process, which is to empower the child to take charge of these worries. No one can do it for them.<\/p>\n

There are many resources available to clinicians and families who are supporting children with anxiety (see resource list below this blog). One of the first steps in dealing with anxiety is externalizing the issue and relabeling anxiety (Chansky, 2004; Clark & Garland, 2009; Peters, 2013; and Wilson & Lyons, 2013). This is where anxiety art comes into play. Everything from taming your worry dragons, to squishing your worry bugs, to standing up to your worry monsters, are identified as ways to help children take charge of their fears and worries that are often interfering with their day to day life (Image 1).<\/p>\n

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For years I have been working with children, their families, and anxiety. Early on in my work, a 10-year-old girl taught me about being a warrior rather than a worrier (Image 2). This is such a great idea and one that is now in book form (Peters, 2013). In keeping with this theme, we will explore further how warriors can be supported with the arts. The following section highlights a range of expressive arts-based interventions that can be combined with a comprehensive treatment approach to dealing with anxiety in children.<\/p>\n

Become the Experts – Detectives<\/strong><\/p>\n

Families are invited to rally against the worry by becoming experts in the tricks of worry. If we embody the detective we are not judging the child, but rather we are all on the same team supporting the child as cheerleaders believing in the power he\/she has in standing up to the worries. We are all detectives, meaning we are curious; we are looking for signs of strength; for times when the child outsmarts worry; and we are looking for what makes worry become smaller or the child become more powerful. This gives the child the felt experience that he\/she is not alone in what can seem like a very overwhelming world (Image 3).<\/p>\n

Show Me the Worry<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with any presenting issue, it is important to know how the child experiences the issue from their personal point of view. This is no different than inviting children to show us the hurt, the sadness, the trauma. We invite the child to make us witness to the experience. We can then begin to see and understand from their point of view how they live with anxiety day to day. We don’t need to label anxiety art. We simply need an outlet for children to answer our questions:<\/p>\n