Do you know anyone who has been in a near fatal bus wreck in Mexico? Well, I know 2, myself and Frida Kahlo. My memoir, Frida and Me, refers to Frida Kahlo, my mentor for healing trauma through art.

My wreck was in 1977, hers in 1925. We were both 18 years old. I had 5 surgeries, she had 32. Infections hampered healing and complications lead to the inability to have children for us both. Mexico’s medical facilities were bare bones and rustic. Mental and physical anguish haunted us both. Of course, Frida’s struggle was much more difficult, but what I have learned is that pain is pain.
Many lost years of isolation and PTSD occurred after my accident. Trauma often isn’t spoken of among survivors due to the dissociation, emotional upheaval, fear and extreme changes in the psyche and body. This lack of connection can compound the trauma experience resulting in further damage. This was my case.
In the depths of floundering in 1984, a book changed my life: Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera, 1983. I discovered we were kindred spirits. Frida used art to express her feelings and identity in a real and graphic manner which spoke to me. Many of Frida’s images contained blood and guts….but she painted them beautifully! Her graphic images of death, loss, pain and confusion granted me the permission to express my own feelings through art, which ultimately provided validation and belonging necessary to become functional again.
I am an advocate for the arts as an integrative tool in trauma healing for fellow survivors and their support systems. The arts heal…that’s why Frida!

We usually run from every form of pain which often results in disassociation and dysfunction. Pain needs to be heard, respected and validated in order to be released from the turmoil of pent up emotions and destructive behavior. One effective way to release pain is through creativity. Let that pain have a voice through color, patterns, symbols, writing, music or other acts of making. Not only will that painful energy be released but you can then reflect on your work and appreciate what was experienced and build ground to feel more connected.
Frida Kahlo taught me this lesson and ultimately I used art to heal my PTSD. Being able to honestly portray my pain enabled me to be honest with myself and feel proud of what I survived. In making my pain beautiful, I stayed authentic in my tribute to the trauma that changed my world.

One of the most important aspects of healing with art is starting. It sounds easy but if those first steps aren’t right, it probably won’t happen.


The commitment to try is primary. More than likely there is trauma exhaustion and failed attempts to heal. Keep trying is your new mantra. Failure is okay, the success is… you tried. Figuring out what works and doesn’t is foundational to who and what you need. Rest, a new environment, conversation, a walk or book will be the link for the next attempt to try….commit to healing.
Establish a habit. Find 5 minutes, 15 minute, or 1 hour a day/week to start. Commit that time for your healing process and let nothing stop you. Establish this, because it is the most important step for success. Tell your friends and family what you are doing and make sure they understand it will benefit them if you feel better.
Create a safe place. Find a spot where there is privacy and you will not be disturbed. A table where artwork can stay out will help. Viewing work in progress provides insights and inspiration for the next step. It’s easy to ignore and avoid trying when work has to be packed and unpacked. Fill this safe place with objects and images that give you comfort and peace. Music, hot tea and a safe-place meditation, prayer or positive affirmation can help get into the mindset of healing. Protect this safe place internally and externally as it will become your best go to place when triggers abound.
Basic art supplies: box of crayons or oil pastels, watercolors, varied sizes of brushes, paper/sketchbook, acrylic paints, Sculpey (polymer clay) or clay, old magazines, glue and scissors. You don’t have to buy everything at once or spend much for results.
The art healing process is rooted in your intuitive senses. Trust your gut and listen to what you feel and are tempted to create. Go with that flow and if one material or design isn’t working, try something else. If watercolors feel uncontrollable, try clay or crayons, or cut pictures out of magazines. All work should be saved, dated and put in a portfolio (folder)….even the ugly ones you hate. Later in the process you will appreciate seeing how far you have come and EVERY WORK has its purpose and message.
 
Two ideas to start with:
1) Collage: Cut out magazine pictures and words (optional) that you like or speak to you and make a collage of ‘what is the problem’ or any other statement you feel.  

2)  Daily Check-in: Pick 2 colors of crayons and a piece of paper. For 3 minutes play with the crayons and express how you feel at that moment with scribbles or images. Then, turn the paper over, and for 3 minutes free write. Look back at your picture and see what related to your writing. Highlight the power words and do another picture related to those words. This exercise is very helpful to ground and feel the pulse of the moment.
                                  
Remember, all works are saying something; intuition and listening will help you hear and see it. Try to do this daily as it is a wonderful way to establish a habit and connect within.
                                                                                                                
 
 

A picture says a 1000 words, especially when it comes to emotions. Emotions operate through the senses, so to be able to hear them best use sensory tools like art, music, aromas, tastes and touch. Once these feelings are 'heard' they are released, which can be intense but a relief.
Words can be incorporated also before, during and after to compliment the process but don't let your thoughts lead you away from hearing your emotions.
 

Healing with art is about materials and process, not about being a talented artist.
Initially trauma is etched in our senses and secondarily in our attempt to make meaning with our minds. Art allows us to access our base instincts and express the feelings no words can describe.

With colors, patterns and symbols we can honor and validate our unthinkable experiences and get it outside of our bodies to examine, communicate and evolve.

Scribbles help us to start connecting our internal to external world, thus grounding us and providing a sense of belonging. The artwork can be saved and provide tangible evidence of progress which is very helpful for trauma survivors who often struggle with concentration and memory.

Express...to let out.
Expression....to let out feelings.
Angry? Throw that red out.
Sad? Wash it with blue.
Confuse? Scribble black.
No words needed, mission accomplished!

Try or Not has been one of the most important lessons I've learned in managing my PTSD. When I drew this picture I was overwhelmed from triggers, medication and confusion. I thought there might be a magic pill that would help but my internist told me the options...try or not. Suddenly only having 2 options made my choices more manageable and totally my responsibility. I realized it was up to me to control my thoughts and feelings, no one else could reach those places except me. From that moment on I shifted and tried vs no. It has been difficult, of course, but very effective. Art helped me access those deeper impressions and release their hold on my PTSD symptoms.

 
I lost many years in struggle, overwhelm and hopelessness just figuring out where to start my healing. The tangled web of PTSD wraps around a person’s existence and strangles the ability to know what the first step is. Once that can be defined, sticking to the following steps, with forever forgiveness and flow, can lead toward a path of healing.
                               
#1 The Hope and Want
    
 I call it struggle exhaustion, when nothing fits and every action is neutralized and transformed into unhealthy life choices. Somewhere within a person MUST find the hope and want to believe there is a better path. It can be just a grain in existence, but needs to be there. One way to grow this is to commit to one daily act of healthy peace. Maybe it’s that nap you never let yourself have, listening to your favorite songs, a walk in nature, time with your pet, reading a book, doing or viewing art, whatever brings you relief and peace from the struggle. Create a daily habit of this self-care and commit to it as strongly as you can. The idea is to start creating a habit of this….practice, practice!



#2  Give Yourself A Tablespoon


The PTSD experience can be brutally cyclical, so the survivor and support systems need to find ways to interrupt that cycle. It’s unrealistic to think a person can stop the train of unhealthy worries and needs immediately. One must learn how to transition the habitual negative replay to break the repetitive track they are on.
 This is where the tablespoon comes in. The tablespoon represents the validation of the trauma survivor’s daily struggle and experience of what they have gone through. This experience, no matter how negative it may be, represents their reality and must be given honor and attention…..BUT only a tablespoon of it! After that, it’s time to let the glass half full get attention and the honor it deserves.
When my mother was dying she was in the struggle of accepting the inevitability of her death. All day, every day, she was worried and stressed to the point of making her health worse and fearful. I knew we needed to honor her feelings but also find a way to find peace within. I told her we would start ‘dosing’ a tablespoon of worries and fears, but then follow the prescription with fueling the good memories and relationships still with her. It worked really well because she felt heard and validated, but the vicious cycle was interrupted and redirected. Initially she got a tablespoon an hour but we were able to decrease it to 3 times a day.



#3 To Try or Not
  The direction of my path changed radically upon this one concept. I had been lost for years and on the verge of giving up. Medications, relationships and choices weren’t working when I met an internist to discuss my hormone rollercoaster after my hysterectomy at 20 years old. He informed me that no medication would change my experience and I had 2 options: to try or not.
Suddenly, the cloud and overwhelm of not knowing what to do, the tangles of PTSD, and bad choices shifted. Having only 2 choices cleared the field and gave me a simple starting point and I just had to remember ‘to try or not’.  That became my mantra and choices became more manageable so actions didn’t get frozen in overwhelm.



#4 One Step at a Time
  PTSD makes life a ‘gunkie mess’ and it is predictable the path to healing is stunted by overthinking and what ifs. Staying present is how the next step is revealed. Future thinking can sabotage a trauma survivor as many understand how fragile life is and in any moment can end. Focus on ONLY one step at a time. Once the 1st step is taken, it will naturally present the next step. No one can know until the results of the 1st step what the 2nd, 3rd and 4th steps will be. Slow down thoughts and be present.


#5 Build Safety
Trauma healing is not easy so everything you can do to create safety is the only way the deep rooted fearful experiences will show their face to be healed. This safety must start in the deepest recesses of the psyche, then extend to a protected physical space and ultimately have like-minded and understanding support systems. When out in the triggering world, theses safeties must be accessible in a moment’s notice.
I started with a daily meditation/prayer to create a safe place within. Everything in this space is created to nurture safety and peace. My space is rooted in the mountains and thrives with animal protectors and oceans to swim in. Nothing is allowed in my safe place unless I have invited them in. I am heard, honored, understood and protected here NO MATTER WHAT. Fun, problem solving, recuperation, connection and love are in abundance here and I will protect it like a mama bear with her cubs!
Once you have a mind’s eye picture of your safe place, it can be strengthened by defining it in the real world through pictures and objects that help remind you of this place. Put them in a file you look at daily or collage them on a poster and have it readily viewed in your home space.
Seek out support systems in the PTSD/trauma mental health community whether it is in person or a social media group.
Until you have safety firmly rooted in your world, healing will be elusive and generally nonexistent.
 
                                                  These steps just might be the shift you are missing.
                                                                The choice is yours….to try or not!




 
 
 
 

When I tell people my story about healing PTSD with art, the most frequent response is….but I’m not an artist. Society’s message that art should be perfect and beautiful can cripple emotional expression as adults. This critical judgement blocks a basic instinctual relationship we all have within and prevents us from a wholeness enjoyed as children doing art with abandon and purity of self. Throughout my career as an educator and art advocate, that has been a reoccurring struggle as I try to inform about art as a tool to heal, not something that alerts critique, social standards and ‘shuts up’ our deepest relationship with self.
                                            
                                                   What Matters is the Act of Creating and the Process          
                                                             
The process of interacting with materials and expressing feelings is what’s important. Frida Kahlo helped me see the importance of making ‘ugly’ art….it represented my true feelings, therefore validated a very fragile part of me that usually hid or fled  in reaction to PTSD triggers and social attitudes.  My ugly art is what eventually freed me from my PTSD prison of fear and numbness.
I will not lie; this was a difficult journey and took great determination to unravel my ball of yarn. Well worth it though, as I am now able to live as a functional person in this wild and crazy world and successfully manage my triggers….most of the time. PTSD triggers are something one needs to learn to recognize and cope throughout the remainder of life and art is one of those tools that can help, along with other supports, such as exercise, nutrition, nature, animals, and whatever hobby rocks your soul! Building things, listening to music, dance, computer interests, community involvement, cooking, writing and style are a few ways that access our creative cord within and communicates our deepest relationship with our core self. 
                                                                    
The benefit of art making provides us a tangible reflection of intangible feelings that then build a thread to ground us- resulting in a sense of belonging. There is much information in artwork that can be studied and used to reconnect a dissociated spirit within and provide direction for the next step toward healing. Feelings can be an overwhelming mess, but through texture, color and patterns, those feelings can be represented with or without the use of words.
The key is to not allow these critical and judgmental attitudes to block the making of art. The goal is to allow creativity and materials to give voice to feelings. No matter how ugly or ‘unacceptable’ they are we need to listen to and honor them so that we validate and respect our expression, self-esteem and true identity, which then leads us on a healing path.
                                                             
 

When an individual experiences trauma, the first imprints come through the senses; sight, taste, touch, sound and smell.
For example, the sight of a vehicle flying off the road, the taste of an apple at the time of the event, the unwelcome touch of a predator, the sound of a song on the radio, or the smell of a burning fire can become future triggers for PTSD.

Next, the mind and thought try to interpret and make meaning of what just happened. Already, this interpretation has distanced the individual from the event. Over time, if the sensory piece has not been acknowledged, disassociation for the person is likely because they will live in the secondary imprint of the trauma, which can lead to PTSD .

Arts and creativity can put the individual on a healing path fast because the impressions, images, textures, abstract feelings and senses born from trauma's impact, help express and communicate the event more accurately. The art materials link the interior person to the exterior world, which helps the individual feel more connected and belonging in the world. The resulting art becomes a map of how the person feels and can help others have more empathy, understanding and connection to the survivors experience, resulting in acceptance and safety for the trauma survivor to help manage PTSD symtoms . 

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