Today I am sharing Amanda’s story with you in the hopes that you will understand the impact that self-connection through painting can have in your life.

Amanda, a stay-at-home mom, found it difficult to consistently find the time for her to take care of herself or even figure out what kind of self-care really met her needs.  So the question that Amanda had going into the program was what does healthy self-care look like for her in this season of her life?

She had anticipated being a stay-at-home as a great gift.  She knew she was stretched too thin because she wasn’t enjoying life like she had expected.  But she was glad to be able to be there for her kids.  But this usually meant she didn’t get to the amount and frequency of self-care that she would have liked.  She had tried getting up early or staying up later than the kids, but either wasn’t really working.  

She desired to be the fun mom, and wanted a self-care practice that would help her be open to see herself as she is without condemnation.  She desired to get off the emotional rollercoaster of feeling too much without not feeling at all, of having the space to take care of herself and show up how she wanted to be as a mom, wife, friend and as a woman.  She had a desire to write, and was struggling to start writing when she started with a blank page.  She was also curious about painting and how it might improve her life.

Amanda implemented a short duration, highly-focused painting practice, by painting for a few minutes at a time, she was able to fit her painting practice easier into this season in her life.  Having the clarity of what to do from preparing to paint to painting itself really helped her to protect the short time she had to paint, and gave her the courage to have those conversations with her kiddos about her taking care of herself by taking the time to paint. 

When Amanda was painting, she focused on the Painting Flow Effect process, primarily using painting to get into flow, and then address any thoughts or emotions as needed.  The result Amanda experienced was that she figured out how to prioritize her self care in a way that it actually happened even in the season of life she is in right now.  This therapeutic painting practice enabled her to shift from overwhelm to observe the emotions she was feeling, figuring out why she was having them & actually releasing them.  She has noticed a difference in her relationship with herself, with her kids and with her mom.  She noticed she is more connected and open in her relationships, that she is enjoying her life more, and is glad for the example she is setting for her kids about taking care of themselves.

The decision that made the difference was the commitment that she made to going on this journey of connection to herself, of committing to go on the journey to answer that question of what healthy self-care looks like for her now.  And she created a self-care practice that is tailored to her, that she can actually do with the demands in her life and that is meeting her needs and desires and bringing increased connection in her relationships. 

The lessons that she learned through her paint practice journey are: I am a fun mom, I can play with my kids, and I can paint.  I can write when I come to the blank page.  I can express myself in my paintings and in my writing.  I can be more open in my relationships and feel connected in them.  I can make decisions that support my self-care.  I can enjoy my life.