Sculpting the Heart: Surviving Depression with Art Therapy - Joyce White, Author

Sculpting the Heart – Surviving Depression with Art Therapy – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

A quote from Author Joyce White, “poets and artists… we make everything a game. We play connect-the-dot with words and feelings, paying close
attention to the sound and flower of our memories, as well as their
arrangement on the page. I play connect-the-dot with sentences, images
and/or word pictures.”

Author Joyce White puts her own life on paper as she explains how Art Therapy actually became her lifeline to survival. Being an author as well as an artist, Joyce uses writing as a way to deal with depression.
“Writing is kind of like capturing what you know, what you think and
what you have to say altogether in one place.” “Writing is sort of like
talking without being interrupted.” Through any form of art, we’re
relating to the world around us, past, present and future. And just as
petting an animal is said to bring down the blood pressure
and stress levels in our lives, Joyce teaches that art reduces stress,
ill health and depression as it keeps us busy doing something we love.

Art can take us back in time by allowing us to be a child again. Whether it be writing in a journal, as we did when younger but calling it a
diary, doodling pictures on a piece of paper or even on the computer, to
just taking a box of crayons and drawing, all will take us back to a
peaceful time and actually make us feel young again, which in turn will,
make us feel good.

I’ve given some of Joyce’s ideas a try. I’m not an artist but I do remember enjoying coloring with my kids in their coloring books. They are grown now so I had to go out and buy a box of crayons and a coloring book. I took the box of crayons, put them to my nose and took a deep breath. Memories! I opened my coloring book to a page and started coloring. Memories! And when I looked at my finished picture. Memories! All of
these memories took me back to younger days in my life and I did feel
like a kid for a few minutes and I noticed something else. I felt
relaxed. I felt as if every stroke with the crayon took a bit of stress
out of my body and I felt good!

No matter who you are nor what you’ve been through in your life, I have no doubts that you will be able to relate to at least one situation and/or
set of feelings that inspired Joyce White to write her book Sculpting the Heart – Surviving Depression with Art Therapy. I also believe that you, like myself, will find help in her Art Therapy.