Emotional Overwhelm: How Art Therapy Can Help

Sep 15, 2021

What is Emotional Overwhelm?


We all experience emotions in different forms. During a typical day, we experience a wide range of emotions. Some are positive, some negative. Some are pleasurable, some painful. All the while, we are making a conscious effort to repress and control these emotions. But if unchecked, the effects can be devastating. You feel exhausted even when you don't feel tired. You feel helpless even when you have the power to change things. The thought of not being able to control your emotions is paralysing. And that's how emotional overwhelm can feel.


Emotional overwhelm is the inability to control the emotions you experience. It's a state of physical and mental exhaustion that can take a severe toll on your health. It causes sadness, anxiety, depression, difficulty concentrating and more.


Emotional overwhelm makes it very difficult to focus on the most important things in your life — your relationships, career, and well-being. It can even affect your physical health.


Emotional overwhelm looks like extreme emotional reactions to minor situations. It can look like the inability to focus or complete routine tasks. You may feel more disconnected from family and friends, and daily activities feel immense and trigger intense emotions. As a result, your physical well-being declines, and you feel unwell and get sick more often.


Why do we feel emotional overwhelm?


Feelings of overwhelm come from the nervous system. When we have a high level of anxiety, the electrochemical activity in the brain increases.


There are three main reasons why we feel overwhelmed:


  • Feeling out of control (confusion)
  • Feeling like we need to take action (anxiety)
  • Feeling like there's no way out (stress).


When we feel overwhelmed, it's natural to want to do something about it. If we can find a way to reduce our symptoms and relieve the stress, that can help us feel better. But not everything we try will help, and sometimes it's necessary to face the reality that sometimes things are out of our control, and the only choice we have is acceptance.


Understanding the cause of specific emotions and understanding the connection between emotions and physical feelings can be an essential step toward overcoming emotional overwhelm.


How to manage feeling overwhelmed?


The causes of emotion overwhelm are diverse and can be triggered by just about anything. Thus, there's never one cause, but rather a variety of triggers that a variety of things can activate.

It's essential to understand what the triggers are for you. Understanding the causes of your emotions will help you identify the best way to handle them; finding ways to refocus and regain control over your feelings will help you remove negative emotions from your life.


How art therapy can help?


Art therapy is an excellent exercise for anyone who wants to deal with feelings of overwhelm. It's an activity you can do alone, or in a small group.

It can provide an outlet for emotions and reduce stress. Writing, drawing, painting, and more can help get those overwhelming feelings out of your head and onto paper. Art therapy can help you face past issues without affecting you in the present and can provide reflection and insight into contributing factors that exacerbate your difficult emotions.


Creating symbols and metaphors through art can help explore emotions outside of verbal communication, digging deeper into the underlying causes of your emotional overwhelm to find the triggers and allow you to work through the thoughts and feelings that come up for you in non-verbal ways.

Through working with a trained Art Therapist, you may reflect on your artwork and uncover insights and methods to help you to self-regulate emotions through art.


An individual art therapy session with Jacqui can be a powerful way to address your feelings of emotional overwhelm. In our individual art therapy sessions, as you make art, you may explore what you have created and how it makes you feel. With Jacqui's experienced guidance she can assist you to express your emotions and gain insight and healing in the process.


Our Sunshine Coast art studio in Currimundi provides a private and safe space for you to explore your emotions through art and find relief from your symptoms.


Freestyle Arts provides Art Therapy and Group Art Classes on the Sunshine Coast, Australia.


Blog Thumbnail
15 Sep, 2021
Research suggests that art therapy may help kids with ADHD improve attention span, and social skills, and manage their emotions better.
Blog Thumbnail
15 Sep, 2021
Art Therapy may provide insights into treating anxiety. Art's unique and powerful ability to evoke emotional responses can help overcome anxiety disorders.
Share by: