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Mind Yoga: Painting for your Mental Health

August 4th, 2017 by

 

This second “Happy Mind 101” post was written to be the first one, but as I went rock climbing last week- it was only fitting that I post ‘Facing Your Fears’ first. In today’s post, I will very briefly touch base with the current status of social media in regards to mental health and also introduce you to my concept of ‘mind yoga’.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA – Instagram has gone health and fitness mad; have you noticed?

I think it’s great- don’t get me wrong. I definitely have my own little bubble of Instrgammers that I follow and admire- Zanna, Steph, Lee, Tally and Juli, to name a few. They’re super inspiring if you’re interested in having a healthier and more balanced lifestyle- so, go check them out. However, when it comes to mental health, and how to combat these types of problems- there isn’t a lot out there. There’s a lot about physical health, eating well and a few people talking about their own mental health problem (eating disorders, depression, PTSD etc), but not necessarily discussing different ways to actually get your mind happy. We’re all recommended the latest sports gear by affiliates and kept in the know about how to build a great booty, where to buy your summer bikini or how to level out your hormones– but what about how to have a happy mind? There are so many of us being influenced on this app right now, so I think that it would be really beneficial for a handful of us to discover (and be inspired by) people that are sharing their own ways of defeating their mental health problem/s. (Please feel free to message me your opinion on this and let me know if there are people out there that have inspired you- perhaps I just haven’t found them yet!)

Now, I’m not a therapist, a counsellor or a psychologist and I haven’t signed up for a career as any one of these admirable professions. The furthest I‘ve got in this field was studying 7 months of Psychology at university and then dropping out (great student). So, of course, I’m not one to be able to give the correct medical advice or brain training- and it’s not my intention to do that.

My intention is to just share with you my ‘mind yoga’, an approach that has helped me say goodbye to anxiety and depression- and helped me cope with the loss of my Dad. I’ve been down that hole.. the hole of not eating, not sleeping, not socialising, not caring about anything, at all– closing myself off to everyone that cared about me and essentially feeling like a wandering plastic bag on a fast motorway. It’s really frightening, and it’s discomforting to know that right now there are millions of people suffering just like I did and even much much worse.

I don’t want to say that I’ve cured or fixed myself because I know that once you’re susceptible to mental health problems, there’s ‘always a chance it may return’. Many things can trigger it- almost like an eating disorder- for me, whenever I hear the song that was played at my Dad’s funeral, I absolutely freak out; my heart races and I detach myself from the world for a moment. What I’ve learned is that this behaviour is fine- I mean, of course it’s going to happen, my Dad has died. Even typing that makes me feel a bit flustered- tummy butterflies appear and I subconsciously shake my head and close my eyes. Nevertheless, I’m coping a lot more now and I can honestly put most of it down to what I’m about to talk about: exercising your mind.

 

art with colour

 

MIND YOGA – These two words have popped up now and again over social media but I’ve never really looked into how/why other people are using them (perhaps I should). I use the term ‘mind yoga’ to represent exercises you can carry out and things you could consider to make your mind happy (or at least happier).

Forgive me, I’m generalising quite a bit here – people have their own ways to make themselves happier.. going on holiday, seeing friends, watching a movie, doing a workout etc. For many people these types of things are just what they need to top up their mostly positive life, which is great! Unfortunately, for some, these things only act as a plaster and the happiness they gain is very short-lived. So, if this is the case, what can you do to get a happy mind and keep it?

My “Happy Mind 101” posts talk about different ways to get and keep your mind happy. I can’t change your life and I can’t fix you, but what I can do is tell you about things that I’ve done and things that I take into consideration to keep my mind happy.

It’s mind yoga- where you keep your mind open, in tune and happy.

Come back next week for the next “Happy Mind 101”.

Read last weeks here.

 

Catch me on Instagram, where you’ll see my number one method of ‘mind yoga’ that I practice on a daily basis. (Hint: it’s my job.)

 

hand paint

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why You Should Face Your Fears

July 29th, 2017 by

 

Riding a bike.

Rock climbing.

Scuba diving.

Foxes.

Being an artist.

 

All of these scare me. What scares you?

 

The only thing in this list that I haven’t faced (or will face) is foxes. Absolutely not, nope, no, not going to happen- I can’t. It’s a phobia I’ve had since I was very small; even looking at photographs of them makes me cringe and hide away. No, thank you.

The other things on the list, I’ve faced or will face.

A while back, my mum told me that when I was little, and saw her in distress, I once said to her ‘face your fears, mummy’- how wise is that!?

In life, fear is an emotion that we can’t really avoid. There will always be something unexpected that scares us and we have to deal with it- anything from spiders in the bathroom or creepy messages on social media, to a medical diagnosis or the death of a family member; it’s life and we need to accept that.

However, what about the things that scare us that we don’t necessarily have to face? For me, riding a bike was a huge elephant in the room during my entire childhood, teenage years and the start of my twenties. I tired to learn a few times when I was very young but apparently I just ‘didn’t get it’; being a cyclist obviously wasn’t for me. For years and years, I refused to get on a bike and I’d avoid any weekends away, excursions, holidays or clubs that involved riding one. My friends and family would joke that I should ‘just use stabilisers’ but no chance was I going to be a 15 year old (trying to look cool for the boys) using stabilisers!? Anyway, it didn’t bother me being left behind, so I never had the drive to want to learn; I put it right on the back burner.

Until last year, 23 years of age, I got on a bike and fricking did it; I learnt how to ride a bike. I couldn’t really get away with it any longer, seeing as though my boyfriend is super keen on outdoor activities.

Riding that bike through the forest, with smells of flowers up my nose, the sound of rustling leaves above and the butterflies whirling around in my stomach.. it felt exhilarating. I couldn’t believe that I deprived myself of this for so long; how fricking silly. I’ve now got my own bike, I’ve been on numerous cycle rides and I’m now confident to get from A to B on a bicycle- awesome, box ticked!

Another fear I’ve now faced is rock climbing (another activity I always avoided at school and ended up pony-trekking instead). I hate heights, I hate feeling restricted, I find it hard to trust people and I’ve never seen the point in climbing up some rocks. But one day, I tagged a long with Jon (boyfriend) to indoor rock climbing. I’d been acting like a real bore, refusing to go because I was too scared, or too full from dinner, or too tired- enough was enough, I’m trying to better myself, so I’m going to go rock climbing.

OK- it was scary and I wasn’t crazy keen on the first experience but you know what? After a few times going, I’ve started to realise that it’s fun, challenging and a good workout. So, yet another thing gained from facing a fear!

(When I read this post to Jon he told me to tell you that on my first rock climbing experience I climbed to the top and totally rocked- pun intended.)

 

 

As you know, I’m also an artist. This is scary every single day, but it’s a good scary. Challenging your creativity is super hard and to then put yourself out there, showing the scary world your artwork is really terrifying. What if people hate it? Does it look like a 5 year old did this? Am I charging too much/too little? Why is my website not getting as much engagement? How come my orders have slowed down? There are so many things to worry about and to be scared of- but it’s not stopping me. Be scared, be worried, be a bit self-conscious.. all of these feelings make you push harder and ignite ambition. I very much acknowledge these fears I have day to day in my job and if anything, they make me more confident- they enable me to push boundaries, work super hard and most importantly, believe in myself. (Read more about how I became a full time artist here ).

Facing fears makes you feel really good. It makes you feel proud, strong and confident. Obviously, there will be fears you face that aren’t enjoyable at the time, like when I had to look after my Dad when he was sick or when I went to see a therapist; these were really tough- but, I’m so glad I faced them.

I like to think that there will always be some type of positive outcome after facing your fears. Whether it be more time, a new hobby, a new friend, earning some money or just the feeling of not being scared anymore- it’s worth it.

To have a happy mind, you need to have an open mind. So, make sure you open your mind up to things that may scare you- try rock climbing, do a sky dive, call that friend you’re avoiding, take care of the next spider yourself, go to the doctors, paint, write- anything! Do an activity that is totally not you, listen to music you totally don’t think is you, face those fears that you’ve been avoiding for days, months or even years, like me.

I keep saying this to everyone I know- life is too short to not do things, see things and hear things.. make the most of it, even if it scares you.

The dark sea scares me, the feeling of seaweed swishing against my feet makes me feel ill and being surrounded by fish fills me with terror- so, guess what I’m doing in September? Scuba diving.

 A happy mind is a confident mind. So, just fricking do it.

 

Follow my journey as an artist and adventurer on Instagram.

Welcome!

March 3rd, 2017 by

It’s been a long time coming, but coding geek Jon Munson and I have finally put our heads together to create my new portfolio and blog page! I’m not just here to promote myself as a working Artist. I’m also here to inspire and motivate, as a person who (after many many years of setbacks) is finally hitting goals, fulfilling dreams and sustaining happiness. You can do it too. As Dale Carnegie said, “if you want to conquer fear, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy” in this book.

If this is your first time here, let me introduce myself..

My name is Emma and I am an Artist, a Designer and a Photographer from the UK. You’ve reached my portfolio website, where I will be documenting past, present and future creative projects in:

  • Drawing
  • Painting
  • Photography
  • Graphic Design

I will also be providing you with regular blog content that splits into 3 categories:

#Art

#Design

#Lifestyle

Cue the cliché: I’m a true believer in a balanced life (aren’t we all nowadays), therefore, I find it important that you don’t just see my work life; I want to let you in on the other parts that make me.. you know, a real person. So, in addition to arty things, I will be writing about various aspects of my lifestyle that generally relate to food, fitness, mental health, travel and other ‘normal’ life things.

I’ll be telling you how it is; there will be no fakery here, nuh-uh. I’m a person, like you. I eat, sleep, cry, laugh and burn toast regularly. I pick my spots when I know I shouldn’t, I still have teddies on my bed, I hate it when plans change and I’ve watched all of The Big Bang Theory three times over.

Know me a little better now?

Here’s more: I don’t particularly care about what I wear, I hate wearing make-up and I ironically spend an obscene amount of money dying my hair, despite it being a frizzy mess most of the time- but that’s me, so it won’t be changing anytime soon.

More: My lovely Dad passed away last year from metastatic cancer; he was a quiet man but an incredible musician (the best in fact) and he will always be an inspiration to me. His passing was actually one of the reasons why I’ve restarted a blog, redesigned my portfolio and found my creativity again.

On a lighter note, I have a top class Mum, everyone tells me; she’s the life and soul of a party and will sing you Dancing Queen whenever, wherever. I have an older brother; he has a foul mouth and an Oreo tattooed on his a*se, but he’s alright. His wife (my new Sister-in-law!) is a forever-smiling, smoothie-making and powerlifting champ, who we all call Saint Hannah. Lastly, let’s all take our hats off to the geek behind this awesomely built website, the guitar-noodling, head-banging and adventure KING, Jon Munson, my boyfriend. (If you find any glitches, let me know, he’ll sort it out.)

Now, some of you may be wondering about the previous blog posts listed on my site.. They’re all mine and they’re all honest, but they are not current. They were written as part of my University course and I’ve left them here to remind me of how far I’ve come. By all means, have a read.

Anyway, welcome to my new portfolio, my new blog and my new attitude. Thank you for being awesome and checking me out, I really appreciate it.

 

Speak soon.

 

-Emma  

 

Motivation and Positivity

September 26th, 2013 by

So yet again.. I’m guilty of being a bad blogger.

On a non art-related note.. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had a lot on my plate; Started a new job at H&M (whilst continuing my job at the Ale House), said goodbye to my beautiful bestfriend who moved to Florida, travelled to Greece for a quick holiday, managed to miss my flight home through sheer disorganization (costing me my whole summer savings) and welcomed a new puppy (Rambo) to the family. Currently, I am running the Howell household, as my parents take a 2 week trip abroad- so I have the joys of picking up mountains of puppy excrement, extracting numerous foreign objects from a certain mouth (rulers, stones, plastic chunks, newspaper, moss- you get the idea..)- as well as having the responsibility to care for,medicate and take wee samples from our 16 year old lab, Barney (who Rambo cannot help but nose dive and launch himself at constantly- leaving Barney not impressed at all.) Anyway, as well as having this huge responsibility, I’m juggling two jobs and conveniently starting my second year of Uni.. So, I’ve been very busy, too busy to be a fantastic blogger- heck, I can’t even think to be witty or correct my grammar/punctuation mistakes.

Anyway, lets talk arty things- I’m now beginning my second year.. It’s finally arrived- despite the fact this feels very much like I’m starting my 4th year of University (due to previous wrong decisions..), I’m actually excited. I’m starting to feel the want to paint things, print things, write things- I even said the other day that ‘I CAN’T WAIT to write an essay!’, it sounds crazy.. but I’m itching to get my brain into gear- because lets face it- I’m fed up with the backache of retail and the beer stench that comes with pub work (yes I will still be working for now, but hours will be reduced..). I want to actually THINK and use my brain, not be in robot mode.

Over the summer, the task was to come up with a proposal of what ideas we have for our projects this year.. My previous blog post stated my initial thoughts and ideas- I still very much want to create a project which is personal to me, something that reflects my personality and what things I’m passionate about.. So, I thought maybe I could create motivational pieces of art which give messages to others about the things I think are important in life, like exercise, well-being, health, happiness, positivity (these are all things that I am working on personally in life right now, so it would be great to show my peers my progression and perhaps even persuade them to step back and think about what’s important to them). Right now, it looks as though I want to develop this idea through the means of photography, painting and screen-printing in an ‘advertising’ style. Andy Warhol has inspired me to use bright colours, text and printing to emphasise the importance of the messages I’m trying to put across. To put my own spin on things, I might take photos of people exercising, paint the scene in an abstract unique style (that I developed from first year), then screen print something on the top… not too sure what yet. Obviously my thoughts and plans are slightly clouded now.. things may change.. it’s early stages! Baby steps.

That’s all for now.

Key things are- to keep motivated and stay positive