Today, I shipped my first three art orders. Three pieces of art, discovered by total strangers on the internet, that have been crafted and hand packed with love and adoration, ready to adorn their new homes.
It feels serendipitous today being World Mental Health Day - I know a lot of us might know this day as a lazy day for corporations to make some performative social media posts then ignore the mental health of their employees for the rest of the year - but nevertheless today CAN provide a chance to raise awareness for mental health issues, reduce stigma and learn solutions.
I started creating art earlier this year after going sober. I went sober after experiencing the worst dip in my mental health for years. After two trips to the hospital, endless psych appointments and therapist after therapist after therapist, I was truly desperate for my life to change.
The problem was (if you can call it a problem) there was nothing wrong with my life. I have an incredible family, a great job, the best partner and the most wonderful friends. I live in a beautiful flat in my favourite city in the world, but I still didn't feel like myself. I felt like I was a fugitive, living somebody else's life that I didn't deserve. I drank to numb these thoughts and I hated being left alone with my feelings and thoughts.
When I discovered art, it was like my 8-year-old self had nudged me in the ribs and demanded "can we do more?"
Ever since then I've gained so much more energy, passion and creativity, pulling from all parts of myself. My inner child, my deeply sad self, my overenthusiastic hyper (previously drunk) persona... and I feel alive again.
I know that right now, all of that probably doesn't translate into my art, and people just like the look of it. But the truth is, every since piece I create has gone a little towards saving me.
Comments
Post a Comment