Long before I found myself spending late night hours at the library studying physiology and neurobiology, I spent my evenings drawing and painting. Art has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember; I entered art competitions as a kid, although I never quite saw myself pursuing a future career in the arts.
In high school, I fell in love with science—in particular, the visual diagrams in these heavy, wordy textbooks that made understanding difficult topics much easier. I was drawn to the prospect of medical illustration and if it wasn’t for that peaked interest, I’m not sure if I’d be on my pre-med journey today.
There was a certain art to the parts that made a human body whole, and I became encapsulated by the visual framework of our biological systems. That’s how I knew art would always be intertwined with my journey to medicine.
However, apart from the parallels I drew between art and medicine, I discovered the cognitive effects of doing art just for fun: I found art therapy.
If you’re not familiar, creating visual art has been shown by research to reduce stress and promote relaxation in people who are hospitalized due to a chronic illness, struggling from mental health, facing trauma or addiction, and/or living with a disability. There’s a benefit to expressing oneself creatively to improve mental, physical, and emotional wellness.
Art therapy* isn’t the same as an art class. Instead of being focused on teaching technique or creating a specific finished product, art therapy has less rules: it’s about expressing your inner experience through a non-verbal outlet. It’s about expressing what words may fail to.
This summer, finding myself with more time than I had expected, I wanted to return to my passion for painting. As a pre-med student, stress and isolation is something I’ve experienced often, and sometimes it’s difficult to find time for self-care or a mental health outlet during the school year.
So, I decided to do something to bring together my love for art, medicine, and helping people. This summer, I explored fluid art and created pieces for local hospice patients. I hope to bring art therapy to them once it’s deemed safe to do so, given the pandemic situation.
While I’m preparing for the MCAT, painting each weekend brings me such joy and peace. I enjoy having this hobby to destress, all while hand creating something that I know will bring others happiness and hope.
To another pre-med reading this, I can’t stress enough the importance of having some sort of mental health outlet. Whether that looks like music, video games, hanging out with friends, or blog writing (sorry, I couldn’t control myself), engaging in some form of self-care is valuable.
I decided to create pieces of art that illuminate my creativity and share them with patients because I’m passionate about the effect art has on healing and medicine. I’ll share videos below of my few favorite pieces from this summer!
A White Lagoon
The Ocean's Eye
Mermaid Marble
Tiger Cloud
What are hobbies or forms of self-care you like to engage in? Share and comment below!
*If you’d like more information about art therapy in general, here’s a link to a great article: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/art-therapy-another-way-to-help-manage-pain-2018071214243