Pottery as a form of mediation is an excellent tool

Compelling data shows that the chemistry in our brain changes as we engage in art forms that allow us to lose ourselves in the work. The change is similar to the changes that occur during the rest and restore phase  (Parasympathetic phase) of our Autonomic Nervous system, which opposes - shuts down our stress response, also known as fight or flight (Sympathetic Phase reaction) re-establishing homeostasis within the stress response.

Similarly meditation and mindfulness has been shown to have similar benefits. The work of people like John Kabat-Zinn, Dave Potter and Tara Brach have hundreds of scientific studies showing enhancing effects on reducing anxiety, improving our sense of well being, self-awareness and self compassion when combining mindfulness, meditation and yoga in some form of daily practice. Creating a sense of harmony with engaging in art and mindfully being present in the activity itself, with your body and breath can be integrated into this process. 

Consider each separately

It has long been accepted that being creative is a wonderful way to ease stress. It gets the mind to focus on something else aside from whatever it is that is worrying you or stressing you out. If you look closely at therapy for stress around the world, then you will notice that art therapy is widely used, and it is because of the positive results that it can generate for those individuals that are taking part.

Creativity engages a different part of your brain compared to when you are merely sitting there stressing. This shift in focus allows those issues fade into the background. The ability to get lost in the moment where time is not accurately measured and focus becomes solely on the process is called sometimes "the zone" or "flow". This is an excellent state of mind to be in. Pottery is a wonderful example of this approach in action. Your mind needs to focus on the task at hand; from creating the idea in your mind, preparing the clay, working & feeling the clay, and eventually bringing your idea to life.

Mindfulness, and meditation, in general, has a number of actual benefits to both body and mind. It is known to bring down your blood pressure and heart rate. This act of focusing your mind leads to a reduction in anxiety as well as the level of hormones and chemicals that are released by the brain when you are stressed. It's no coincidence that you notice your adrenaline starts to decrease when you allow yourself to become lost in some other activity. Just stop and think about this for a moment. How nice would it feel for you if being creative led to you having a greater sense of peace of mind mixed in with a real feeling of tranquility at the same time. Compare that to how your mind feels when you are stressed, and you will begin to really understand why something such as working with clay can be so beneficial.

Stress and Meditation

Chances are when you think of any sort of meditation, we think of sitting down with our legs crossed, saying “ohm” and not doing anything else. While yes, that’s one form of meditation, that’s actually not the only one to use. Meditation can be guided, it can be sensory, and centered in its focus. for example some forms focus on breathing, while others guide through self awareness of our body in space. We will learn other forms of meditation and mindfulness to gain mastery over our stress.  Enhancing our repertoire and improving our comfort with these practices will increase benefits.

Social Connection 

Brené Brown's work and that of researchers around the globe have shared that being connected and engaged with others on a social and meaningful level improves our quality of life. As busy clinicians finding times to nurture friendships may not always happen. Covid made that worse. A long period of isolation with this pandemic and extra work hours didn't help. The term social distancing itself contributes to this mindset. In hind sight it should have been termed physical distancing. Think of social skills like a muscle. if it isn't used regularly it gets out of shape and needs practice to get back up to speed.  When dissecting relationships and how they are formed, often they are initiated based on common interest and convenience. This program lays the ground work for those friendships and meaningful experiences to occur. 

Stress is something that many people struggle with, and it’s not easy to deal with. Stress can happen cause of the following situations:

• Work

• School

• Home life

• Family

• Children

• Financial reasons

Navigating this pandemic has impacted all of us in different ways and for many has created various levels of strain in our relationships with the items listed above. The rates of anxiety and depression have increased with the coronavirus globally. Those exposed to the impact it has on people directly are at higher risk for worsening anxiety. That is people who had covid related complications, their family members and their care givers (US). 

Life without the pandemic in our world can be stressful, it has compounded the problem. And the numbers are there. There are a lot of stressed-out people out there, in fact, research shows that stress is one of the most prevalent conditions people suffer from. Burnout is at an all time high.

But, here is the problem: stress is good for you to a degree, it has the potential to energize, motivate and activate us. Clearly it got us to where we are today. Successful physicians, or women professionals and leaders in our communities but if you’re too stressed, it actually can cause a lot of problems, including the following:

High blood pressure

Higher cholesterol

Heart disease

Weight gain

Irritability

Anger

Anxiety of any level

Insomnia

Decreased concentration

Memory changes

...the list goes on

Art therapy, including pottery, with a mindful and meditative approach, can enhance the benefits of other stress reducing and relaxation based techniques. MBSR has been clinically proven to be effective. CBT is the gold standard for treating anxiety. We will review some of these techniques in our time together. We will practice these skills to manage stress, enhance self-care, improve engagement and social connection,  relieve anxiety and improve quality of life. Let's get a handle on stress and reduce the impact it has on our bodies, our minds and our relationship with others.