Drawing as a coping mechanism

My whole life I knew I was always art-oriented. However I was never clinging to only one type of art. Since I can remember, I´ve always loved literature, reading books and sometimes even writing short stories. Also, on numerous occasions, I caught myself doodling in my books during my classes at school and later at uni. And, every time there was something that needed to be drawn, I knew I could do it... I didn´t know why, I just did. It never turned out to be perfect and professional, but I didn´t mind because I simply loved spending time with a paper and pencils. There was always something soothing and relaxing about sitting down, not thinking and just letting the pencil glide on the white paper.

Recently, I´ve been so busy I didn´t have time for anything other than work. Plus, my work life has been made difficult by some individuals, which I don´t want to talk about, because (as I´ve learned in the past few months) they might be very familiar with me writing this blog (as they are very familiar with browsing some of my social media handles). Needless to say, it caused a lot of nerves and stress, which I can´t cope with well. I fell ill (I swear it was caused by all the stress) and needed to stay at home for something over a week. I was lying in bed, trying to relax and even then, I just couldn´t bring myself to stop thinking about work. I was constantly thinking about the events that made me so restless and, while trying to find something to watch, I stumbled across a YouTube channel where a girl was recording herself while drawing. Nothing less, nothing more, just that. I watched it all, video after video, loving what I saw and that´s when an idea entered my mind; I could try it, too.

I remembered that some time ago I bought myself a notebook with a paper that people use for drawing. I took a pencil and just started drawing a face. Than a figure. Than another face, only this time I added some lines with a black marker. My head started flooding with images and fictional characters I could draw. I found some old markers I had lying around; nothing special, just my old school supplies and some stuff my little cousin uses when she comes around. Days have passed and I didn´t even realise. I just drew and drew and then it hit me: there wasn´t one single thought related to work. I felt happier and relaxed and, despite the fever, I felt okay coming down the stairs, talking with my family and letting the days pass.

I am back to work now, I still feel pretty stressed out from time to time, but every time I find a few minutes to spare, I take my notebook and start scatching. Or just doodling mindlessly, that does not matter. The only thing that matters is that I feel more calm. And that drawing became something like my coping mechanism. A barrier that guards me from all the bad stuff trying to get to me. Plus, I like the outcome; I have so many cool drawings now, I could use them as a wallpaper for my bedroom.

Here are some of them:

And just to remind you, everyone can feel down sometimes. There´s nothing to be ashamed of. You just need to find the right way to cope with it and relax. And the important thing is to always remember that everything be okay at the and. As one wise man said, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.

Until next time,

čauko, Lenka :)