The Link Between Creativity and Trauma Healing
how trauma can BLOCK CREATIVITY
When we read the words “trauma healing,” the most common thoughts and images that come to mind are often ones that include deep pain and intense emotions. While traumatic events and the trauma healing process does often include acknowledging our pain and experiencing the release of pent-up emotions from our nervous systems, there are three other words that are very important to the healing of trauma: creativity, pleasure, and aliveness. Reconnecting with your creative self is a key aspect of trauma healing.
When we feel stuck in fight, flight, and/or freeze patterns, we are in a state of hyper-vigilance—feeling consistently “on edge” and on hyper-alert for external threats. Unresolved trauma activates our amygdala (the part of our emotional brain whose job it is to detect threats). The amygdala partners with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, whose job it is to flood our bodies with stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol to fight off, flee from, or freeze in front of an external threat. The amygdala and HPA axis are buddies, over-functioning to try to keep us safe.
While the amygdala and HPA axis are over-functioning, our prefrontal cortex (the part of our brains responsible for planning, problem-solving, and creative thinking) is under-functioning.
While trauma can create disconnection from our innate aliveness, self-expression, and joy, the good news is this: Those parts of you are never gone.
You are creative—because you are creation itself.
And you can revive your creative self-expression.
In fact, it is essential medicine.
how RECLAIMING YOUR CREATIVE SELF CAN HELP YOU HEAL
Healing from trauma shouldn’t be deep and heavy all of the time. A cornerstone of trauma healing is reconnecting with our creative selves. Healing trauma through creativity is not only possible—it’s well studied. There are many studies that have linked creative practices with trauma healing and resolution of PTSD symptoms. Bessel van der Kolk also writes extensively about this in his book The Body Keeps the Score. Here are some incredible studies:
This study of 423 participants during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that emotional creativity plays an important role in posttraumatic growth and mental health during stressful events. (PMID: 33746827)
This meta-analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in PTSD symptoms following creative arts therapy, and especially drama therapy. (PMID: 39799380)
This research study from The Open Journal of Nursing followed a 7-week, nurse-facilitated craft workshop series for women and noted significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and stress along with increases in self-esteem and self-confidence.
The science shows—and the soul knows—creativity is healing medicine.
connecting the creative threads of your childhood
Looking back on your childhood years, you can uncover threads of your creative self — activities, hobbies, and ways of expressing yourself that made you feel totally alive. As I reflect on who I was as a child, what activities totally lit me up, and what memories activate my felt senses of joy, pleasure, and aliveness, two childhood memories come to mind:
The first is 4th grade. I happened to really enjoy school that year. We had a project assigned to us to create our own pop-up book. We were given a blank, white pop-up book and were encouraged to use our imaginations to create and write our own stories and draw all of our own illustrations.
The second memory I have is me in my backyard, hanging out solo on my swing set. At the top of the slide was a small wooden structure. In the summertime, I would drape a big, thick yellow blanket over the wooden structure and read a book in a warm, cozy cave of my own making.
These memories represent parts of my creative self. I loved writing, designing, and reading a book in a cozy intentional setting. All three creative hobbies bring me to life—and I do them all today. I write blog posts (hi!), newsletters, and Instagram posts; I wrote and co-designed my very own oracle deck Your True Nature Oracle; I love to design mine and my wife’s home; and I make time for cozying up and reading my favorite novel every night before bed.
Some aspects of your creative self are purely pleasurable and personal (i.e. reading a novel before bed and designing your home) and others will be part of your calling, vocation, and/or professional career (i.e. Your True Nature Oracle, blog posts, newsletters, and social media posts). Regardless of the form, when you are creating time for creative hobbies on a regular basis, you will feel more whole as a person and more fulfilled on a soul level. And you will feel more joyful and alive—two indicators of trauma healing.
Guided Reflection: Reclaiming Your Creative Self Through Inner Child Work
Carve out intentional space to reflect and write on any of the prompts below. If you’d like, you can press play my Reflective Writing Playlist while you free write.
Reflecting on your childhood (and maybe your teenage years, too):
When did you feel alive and creatively expressed? What were you doing? Who were you with? Were you solo?
What hobbies made you lose track of time – immersed and present in what you were doing?
What did you naturally do, just for fun?
Are there threads of those creative expressions in your life today? If so, where?
If not, is there a part of you that longs to bring them back? If sadness, longing, or grief arises, what might that feeling be trying to tell you about a part of your creative self that is ready to be reawakened or reclaimed?
want to go deeper?
I work with sensitive, creative, and spiritually curious individuals who want to reconnect with their true selves—whether through holistic therapy or spiritual coaching. Together, we use somatic work, inner child healing, and intentional self-reflection to gently restore joy, clarity, and self-expression.
If you’re in Connecticut and seeking to work with a therapist who incorporates somatic work into their process, you can book a free 30-minute consult with me right here.
If you’re anywhere in the world, I offer 1:1 coaching and incorporate somatic work into the private coaching experience. You can book a free call with me here.
With care,
Heather
