Art Therapy: Drawing for Stress Relief

Art therapy has been widely practiced for many years, both formally in a therapeutic context and informally among those who feel better when they draw.

Decades ago, psychologist Carl Jung recommended coloring mandalas (circular designs that can contain intricate patterns or symbols) as a therapeutic intervention to promote psychological health, as he perceived that drawing mandalas had a calming effect on his patients while facilitating their processing of thoughts and emotions.

Since then, art therapists have long recommended this practice and reported positive results, though research did not demonstrate these results until later. While there is still room for many more studies on mandalas and drawing, in general, several studies have already shown us some important information about the effectiveness of using art for stress relief. Here are some of the most telling findings.

Creating Art Can Reduce Anxiety and Lift Mood

One study from researchers Chloe Bell and Steven Robbins had 50 random adults ages 30 and under assigned to either create artwork or sort a series of art prints. Before either group was asked to do anything art-related, they were asked to engage in the mild stressor of creating a 10-item to-do list of their “most pressing concerns and worries.”

Then, they were given assessments of their moods and anxiety levels. Finally, one group was provided paper, colored pencils, charcoal pencils, and oil pastels, as well as 20 minutes to create art. The second group was given a stack of 60 art prints and the instructions to sort them “based on their pictorial content” for the next 20 minutes.

After three measures of negative mood and anxiety were collected before and after each intervention, the results showed that the group who created artwork experienced significantly greater reductions in negative mood and anxiety compared with the art-sorting group. This showed that the mere act of creating art can significantly minimize negative mood and anxiety, some of the negative effects of stress.

Creating Mandalas Can Minimize Symptoms of Trauma

Another study by researchers Patti Henderson and David Rosen from Texas A&M University and Nathan Mascaro from Emory University School of Medicine was conducted with those suffering from PTSD. Thirty-six subjects were divided into two groups: those who drew mandalas for 20 minutes at a time for three days in a row and those who were instructed to draw an object for the same period of time.

Those who had drawn mandalas showed a decrease in symptoms of trauma at a one-month follow-up, whereas those who drew an object did not.

Also, in this study, participants were asked to create their own mandalas using symbols that represented their feelings or emotions related to their trauma as part of the design rather than coloring in previously created mandalas. Because of this, there might be some added element of catharsis here. However, the act of coloring mandalas is similar in that the choice of colors and the calming act of coloring are the same.

Coloring Pictures Can Relieve Anxiety, No Drawing Skills Necessary

Researchers Renee van der Vennet and Susan Serice conducted a final relevant study. In the study, they measured 50 subjects’ anxiety levels, induced anxiety in subjects by asking them to write about a past fearful incident for four minutes, assessed their anxiety levels again, and then divided them into three groups: one that colored mandalas, one that colored a plaid design, and one that drew freely on blank paper. Each group drew for 20 minutes using six colored pencils.

The researchers measured anxiety levels both before and after the drawing activities and found significant reductions in stress in the coloring groups. They observed that those in the free-drawing condition seemed to pause to think about what to draw, and some appeared to struggle with the open-endedness of the drawing assignment; perhaps there were too many choices with free drawing, where mandala drawing allowed for more concentration, focus, and present-mindedness.

This study is particularly relevant for those who aren’t entirely comfortable with their artistic abilities, but enjoy doodling and coloring (which is a large group!), and lends support for the stress relief coloring books that have become increasingly popular among adults.

Final Thoughts

The good news is if you’ve ever wondered if taking a few minutes to draw a picture can actually help with stress, now you know it can. (Perhaps that’s why many of us instinctively doodle on the sides of our to-do lists, or why teens often draw pictures in class.)

If you’ve wondered if a stress relief coloring book is worth a try (as I had), it appears they can be helpful, as the mandalas used in the third study were very similar to those in mandala coloring books sold in popular bookstores.