If you could picture your emotion as a landscape, what would you draw? Where would you be? If you could place yourself in the image, where would you place yourself?
Mapping out your feelings can be a helpful exercise to sit with discomfort and embrace the message your emotion is trying to send. This is an art therapy technique to help express yourself. You can landscape relationships, self-talk styles, and communication patterns. You can choose to create your landscape with a writing utensil and paper, paints, or a simple photograph. Take the time to reflect on how the landscape makes you feel.
Teleport to That Place
If you are feeling angry and envisioning a volcano as a landscape, imagine yourself teleporting there. What’s the temperature? Where do you feel safe? How do you exit the space?
If you are feeling happy and envisioning a field of flowers, imagine yourself teleporting there. Which flower is your favorite? How were you able to arrive at this happy place?
If you are feeling sad and envisioning a vast ocean, imagine yourself teleporting there. Can you see anything in the water? Do you feel safe? Where or what could you swim to for comfort?
Draw Yourself a Guide
Make yourself an exit strategy from the emotional landscape and, thus, an exit from the emotion. Think of emotional landscaping like a trip you are taking to sit more deeply with your emotions. You can always revisit the landscape when you need to cope with that emotional experience again.
When you’re done with the exercise, reflect on how you feel. Do you have more mental clarity?
Emotional landscaping is a valuable tool you can use to understand your emotions better. It is an art therapy technique but can be used in any context. One of the benefits of Valiant Living is that it is surrounded by the beautiful terrain of Denver, Colorado. At our men’s only facility, you can find plenty of landscapes to map out your emotions better. Our expert staff treats addiction and co-occurring mental illnesses. If you are struggling with both or either of these conditions, we want to support you. Part of that support includes helping you address your emotions. Using the technique of emotional landscaping can be a great outlet. Tapping into your creativity is one way to recover from a traumatic past. To learn more about our services, you can reach out today at (303) 952-5035.
