Art Therapy, Desire and Creativity

Written by Samantha Davis

As humans we all have needs, urges and desires! Some are healthy and some are not. Some are easy to fulfil, while others are more challenging. Some are urgent, some are risky and some outright dangerous. Learning to manage desire is part of normal human development.

For me the greatest dangers arise when desire is associated with addiction. Addiction develops when the harmful desires go unchecked and one cannot control or prevent the desire from growing.

I believe that we all have addictive patterns of behaviour. Alcohol, drugs, medication, cigarettes, food and sex are the usual suspects, However being addicted to work, sport, exercise, Netflix, computer games, spiritual practice, negativity, being in control, healthy eating, shopping, co-dependent relationships and being a victim are also examples of addiction. Caroline Myss, in Sacred Contracts, questions how much of our lives are consumed by addiction.

I can say, with love and consciousness, that I am addicted to healthy eating. Growing up with a father with Type 1 Diabetes (hence simple plain food and no starch, spices, sauces in the early days), and a mom who was making bran muffins way before they became ‘in’ and who gave us dried fruit as a ‘treat’… was my start to my relationship with food. This could have gone either way, but after decades of research and learning about healthy eating I now follow a plant-based food choice which for me is creative, simple and extremely easy. I actually get really excited by new plant-based healthy recipes, products and plant-based restaurants.

So why am I sharing this? Not all needs, desires and addictions are simple, easy and healthy. Some are intense, difficult, and painful, lead to impulsive behaviour and are risky. They can be harmful, get out of control and have negative impacts on the self and others around them. I often find that many addictions have a strong familiar underlying feeling attached to them. It’s these addictions that I believe are shouting out to be seen, heard, acknowledged and understood. These feelings are often unknown, unconscious and feel uncomfortable, overwhelming and even scary.

How does this relate to Art Therapy and creativity?

Okay, so you are craving something – whether it be alcohol, chocolate, sex, pills… close your eyes and ask yourself, ‘What am I feeling?’ Allow a feeling word to arise — maybe sad, lonely, angry, confused, overwhelmed… then ask yourself “Where am I feeling this?” and place your hand on that area of your body that holds most of the sensation.

Note that there is nothing or no one to fix, solve or rescue here. We are practising noticing and not reacting. We are showing curiosity to ourselves. This is a practice which means that it takes time and practice. Once a feeling is identified and named, take out some paper and pens or art materials. You may wish to first explore and write down what could help to support or manage this feeling. Very often we need an outlet for stored-up feelings such as a friend or therapist to vent to, or exercise and creativity.

One of my favourite and regular outlets is cold water immersion in the sea. When my whole body including my head is immersed in the cold water – a freshness and a tingling sensation spreads through my system like a refresh button. This is what works for me. Freud calls this ‘sublimation’.

Freud and sublimation

As Freud suggested, sublimation is usually considered a healthy and mature way of dealing with desires and urges that may be undesirable or unacceptable. Rather than act out in ways that may cause harm to the self or to others, sublimation allows us to channel that energy into things that are beneficial.

How do you sublimate desires?

Try any kind of creativity to sublimate your desires. Journaling, painting and drawing, cold water immersion and exercise are just some of the ways that people channel their unwanted feelings and emotions into a more positive and beneficial place.

A Practical Art Therapy Exercise

Draw or paint the feeling. Ask yourself what it looks like in terms of colour, shape, patterns, and size.

Use your imagination and remember there is no right or wrong way to depict a feeling or a sensation. If you don’t know where to start or if this feels difficult to imagine then you are welcome to google it. Seriously! I tried this recently – I was feeling lonely and wanted to make the feeling go away… I remembered to practice what I preach and decided to do some art. Feeling uninspired - I googled ‘How to draw sadness /loneliness’ and I immediately spotted a picture on google that spoke to me… I then drew my interpretation of the picture using art materials that felt relevant – charcoal and coloured chalk. Drawing my version of the picture without worrying about good or bad/right or wrong, enabled the feelings of sadness and loneliness to get drawn out of my body and into the page (excuse the pun)!

Instead of reaching for that drink/chocolate/fix - here is where we can do some work of exploration and reflection – in order to try to build capacity firstly for awareness and insight of our self and our feelings and secondly tolerance of feelings. This can really be a healthy way of noticing, naming, feeling, expressing and embodiment of emotions in order to work with what is coming up and to find an outlet by moving through them.

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An introduction to the process of Art Therapy including theory, case studies, experiential art making, exploration, sharing daily plus journaling. Less intense, lighter, shorter and cheaper than the 5-Day Intensive Course.

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Art Therapy, Desire and Creativity

How does this relate to Art Therapy and creativity?

Freud and sublimation

How do you sublimate desires?

A Practical Art Therapy Exercise

Curious about Art Therapy?

Art Therapy Courses / Workshops in South Africa

Art Therapy Courses / Workshops in South Africa

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