MANDALAS

Over the last semester, I have had the opportunity to participate in the Art Therapy Workshop. Though my major does not relate at all to psychology or the principles of art therapy, I was drawn to this workshop because I felt learning these techniques would be valuable to someone who encounters stress a lot. After completing this workshop and the coursework it entails, I am so glad that I chose to take it, and I believe that all college students should have a similar exposure during their college career. Each week, we have tackled a new method with dealing with our stress and other issues by channeling it into art. One of my favorite weeks focused on coloring mandalas, and that technique has become especially helpful for me in dealing with the challenging transition to online classes and the rest of the chaos surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. Times of uncertainty definitely heighten an already stressful college curriculum, so resorting to the methods I learned taking this course has definitely been helpful in maintaining a calmer attitude. The three pieces I have shown below were all chosen and colored at different times over the last month. Whenever I was feeling stressed, I would choose a mandala design that reflected how I was feeling that day and set aside some time to breathe and color it. Each of these pieces serves as a reminder for me that even though everything may seem insurmountable some days, there are little things we can do to help us recenter and keep moving forward, especially in times like these.