Use Creativity to Enhance Your Recovery

The value of creativity in the recovery process from substance abuse cannot be ignored. Many people with addiction disorders suffer from alexithymia, a condition in which they have trouble identifying and explaining their sensations. However, they can explore their sentiments and communicate difficult thoughts, memories, and emotions through creative activities such as art, writing, music, and drama.

Guilt and humiliation are normal sensations experienced by people recovering from addictions. Creative therapy will help to explore their feelings in a safe environment without relapsing. It allows them to communicate their pain without having to speak about it directly. Creative therapy also allows them to perceive their suffering through the eyes of another person.

Ways to Explore Creativity in Recovery

It can be frightening to explore artistic endeavors if you have never considered yourself a creative person. Always remember, creativity is about waking up a part of yourself that has been asleep due to active substance usage. No artist, musician, or writer was born to draw, play, or write. It is all about exploring the creativity inside you.

Here are some fun ways to explore creativity in recovery:

#1 Keep a Journal

Keeping a private journal is a great method to explore creativity. Even if you find yourself having difficulty with writing for an audience, journaling is a good approach to work through your fears and express your feelings and thoughts. This helps you organize and process your thoughts while getting in touch with your emotions.

#2 Take a Class

Perhaps you have always wanted to try a creative practice. Recovery allows you to examine abandoned projects. If you are a complete rookie at creating art, enroll in a beginner art class (drawing, ceramics, mosaics, etc.) alongside individuals who share your passion for creativity.

#3 Cook 

Cooking is a creative outlet. Cooking for oneself allows you to delve into creativity and is a terrific kind of self-care. Cooking is something you can explore at your own speed – and enjoy the results!

#4 Exercise 

Exercise gets your blood — and creative ideas – flowing. Dopamine and serotonin release can organically leave you feeling balanced and motivated. This may be just the small push you need to come up with that spark of an idea.

#5 Think Back 

Kids are naturally creative. What forms of imaginative or creative play did you enjoy as a child? Did you draw? Make jewelry? Build forts? Dress up? Do a house dance? Were you an outgoing or introverted person? If you do not think you were creative as a child, ask a parent or other adult who knew you then.

#6 Abandon Perfectionism 

Throughout this process, be kind to yourself. Remind yourself that perfectionism has no place in creativity; it is an inner investigation of ideas, thoughts, and emotions, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Creativity lets us showcase something we cannot talk about with anyone. Our goal at Avalon Malibu is whole-person healing. We treat the person as a whole, and not just the condition. Our treatment team of professionals delves beneath the surface of a presenting issue to identify the underlying causes. We help address the fundamental cause so that it does not appear in other ways. To find out more about our services, call us at (844) 857-5992.