Expressive Arts Carnival No. 11: Coping

Welcome to the May 2011 edition of the Expressive Arts Carnival. This month's theme, see announcement, was to "create an image about mechanisms you have used to cope when you thought you could not."

This month's activity came from contributor Kerro. Thank you Kerro! She made a blog post with her submission talking about how she came up with the idea and how her coping has evolved. You can read her post at: Expressive Arts Carnival 11 - Coping (at Kerro's Korner).

Here are the entries in the order received. Only if there is a blog or a post to accompany the entry, the artist's name will have a link to it.

Entry 1: Tai

Tai wrote: "I use fantasy all of the time to escape my life and sometimes it's how I get through something that seems unendurable. Of course many times, I end up in the hospital so I could have done that as well."

Entry 2: Catherine

Catherine wrote: "I have been cutting as a way of coping since I was 13. I started when my life felt out of control. I like having at least a little bit of control over my body. Later I came to love my scars. I felt that they were the only way I could show how much pain I was in. Now I write on my arms instead of cutting. I tell myself 'you are safe now.' I am learning to express myself in words and art instead of scars. It feels good."

Entry 3: Wantstorun

Wantstorun wrote: "Ways I use to cope include: Imagining myself not falling to pieces in a time of crisis, but remaining put together; counting/writing out numbers, because I have been told that the most intense of feelings can only be sustained for a maximum of 10 minutes, so I will literally sit and count/write out numbers 1 through 600 to get through those 10 minutes; I will try to imagine soothing colors about me, to calm myself down."

Entry 4: Kerro

Kerro wrote: "I wanted to capture not just the range of things I've done to cope, but the progression in them as well. When I first started out on my healing journey I turned most often to those maladaptive strategies I'd used in the past - cutting, getting drunk, etc. As my healing progressed, I became more able to seek out things that weren't just about "coping" but also about soothing and helping myself. I've used a spiral to represent this, as many times I returned to the old ways of coping, though less so as time has gone on."

Entry 5: Castorgirl

Castorgirl wrote: "Last year I underwent a psychiatric assessment to determine my level of impairment.  I knew that this was probably going to be difficult, so put in place some safety plans ahead of time.  One of those plans was a trip to the beach.  The emotions stirred up by the assessment were intense.  After a particularly difficult night, I forced myself to pick up my camera and go for a walk.  This photo is one I took while on that walk.  It's not my best photo, and if I'd been more present, I would have chosen a different angle and camera setting. But as it is, the photo shows my attempts to connect to the environment around me."

Entry 6: Kylie

Kylie wrote: "For me, losing myself in music has helped me cope with so much. I often find music that reflects my mood. Drawing to is another way for me to cope, I actually drew this one night when I was not feeling very good. Music and drawing have become my two biggest sanctuaries."

Entry 7: Bay

Bay wrote: "Just some of the things we use to cope, some of them healthier than others. Like to think we use more of the healthier ones these days, though I have to admit, when things get bad they're hard to see and it's the unhealthy ones that have the power to keep us from falling over the edge."

Entry 8: Paul

I wrote: "There is a particular image that I tend to draw or paint that helps me reconnect. They are all variants of showing many colors as a patch quilt of sorts. This is what I did last night. I represent parts of me as colors, and sort of take a "snapshot" of where all of me is. It is sort of like a check-in. I find it helps in the moment. We will see if it does longer term."

Entry 9: Leslie (blog)

Leslie wrote: "The doll is from my childhood. I chose her because she represents how fragile I feel some..ah...most of the time these day. As I pondered this project, I realized that writing (either journaling or blogging) has been my main coping mechanism. The color red in the dress, the pen and the background represent the pain that I am trying to free myself of by writing."

That's all folks! Thanks to all those who contributed, especially those of you who are new. Thanks for taking a chance! If you think this Carnival is worthwhile, then let others know about it and we can continue to increase the contributors for future months.