Final report

Stress is a word that is not only used, but also felt everyday. Stress can be defined as a mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression. There are many ways and studies on stress reducing techniques. Among many of the ways of reducing stress is art therapy. Art therapy is defined as psychotherapy that incorporates the production of visual art, such as painting or sculpture, in order to understand and express one's feelings. There are other types of therapy that are also just as common, if not more so than art therapy. Using animals to reduce stress is often used. This is often referred to as pet therapy, then there is musical therapy, behavioral therapy, play therapy, and psychoanalytic, just to name a few.
Stress is caused by many things. Financial threats, physical threats, like sicknesses or death. Self-abuse/ substance abuse can cause great stress and are very common situations. Family situations, such as divorce, or re-marriage are common in every household, although it doesn’t necessarily have to be a situation as extreme as divorce. Things like every day fights within the household can cause stress. School and work is an activity that everyone partakes in at some point, yet although such a frequent activity, it causes a great amount of stress. There are various levels or degrees of stress. There is a low amount of stress, which sounds fine, but when the stress level is to low one will become bored and performance at school or work may not be as high as it should be; although if the stress level is too high the anxiety will peak and also affect ones routine at school and/or work. So there is an ideal amount of stress, varying person to person.
Using art for healing purposes has been in practice all throughout history, although art therapy first emerged as a profession in the 1940’s. Early into the 20th century educators were taking note that their student’s art was reflecting their developmental, cognitive, and emotional growth. Psychiatrists became fascinated with the artwork of their patients with mental illnesses. By the mid 20th century art therapy was becoming a wide spread practice. Now the practice of art therapy is an important method of assessment and treatment not only in children but in adults as well.
Creating art, any form of art, can be helpful in several ways. One of the first ways that art can be helpful is because it creates a distraction. It absorbs your attention, then once your done you should have a clearer head. Another way art helps is because it’s relaxing; it engages you to a point where you’re almost in a meditative state. Art therapy also helps develop self expression, and can boost self-esteem and makes you more self-aware, giving you more insight. It is a way to show without using words what you are feeling, and as the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words.
Creating art is not the only way to use art to relax. Viewing it in an art gallery also helps reduce stress. There was a study conducted in the UK, at the University of Westminster. This specific study used twenty eight participants. Each of these participants was under an increased level of stress. It is found that one of the best indicators of stress level is the saliva cortisol level. Each participant had their cortisol level tested after viewing art. The levels were reduced by 32%. For cortisol levels to drop this amount traditionally it would take up to five hours. These participants viewed the art in Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London. The author of this study says that though cortisol is a very important hormone in our body excess amounts can be very detrimental. This study is an answer to all those people who are searching for an answer to reduce their stress levels. Although stress is looked upon as a negative thing some amounts of stress are not harmful. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine have found that when baby monkeys are subjected to a lot of stress, they become less clingy and more adventuresome as adults. This can be held true to humans as well, actually all primates. Art therapy can also be used in the medical fields with people who are physically sick. There was a study done at Northwestern Memorial Hospital with cancer patients. Fifty patients were part of this study. During this study the patients would work on some piece of artwork of choice for an hour. After working on their art it was reported that there was a significant reduction in eight of nine symptoms measured by Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS). This is a numeric scale used by patients to asses their symptoms. These symptoms include pain, tiredness, nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, lack of appetite, and shortness of breath.
Why does art help reduce stress? Well it has to do with chemicals in the brain that are released. Making art causes neurons to fire (mostly in the right brain), which stimulates the hypothalamus which sends messages to the whole body. That in turn stimulates the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Hormones and neurotransmitters (especially, endorphins) are released. This whole sequence can help with relaxation, stress reduction, and body repair and healing. Once this process occurs you will see changes in your body. The heart beat will slow down, blood pressure will lower, and breathing will become more relaxed.
Art is well defined in society and used often in clinics and rehabilitation facilities, and even in classrooms to help reduce stress. Sometimes you look at art and don’t think twice, or even create art and don’t think twice. But next time you do you should, it could help lower your stress level.