Can creativity boost emotional wellness? Therapist explains the power of healing practices | Health

Healing happens through the process of wanting to connect with your inner self and then with every else around you. However, like any other life processes, the journey of healing is not linear. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Esha Bhardwaj, therapist and life coach said, “Healing is not just about fixing what’s broken — it’s about reconnecting with what’s real, present, and alive within us. It’s the art of returning to wholeness. Emotional healing is the process of understanding, expressing, and integrating what we feel. It’s tender, personal, and deeply creative.” Also read | Healing responses that we might be going through

What is healing?

Explaining the process of healing, Esha Bhardwaj added, “Healing is rarely linear or logical. Like any art form, it moves in waves — intuitive, expressive, often wordless. It involves listening to the body, creating space for emotions, and allowing experiences to flow through.”

How creativity can shape emotional wellness:

• Activates the right brain, which governs emotions, intuition, and imagination.
• Boosts dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin, the brain’s natural feel-good chemicals.
• Reduces cortisol, helping the body feel lighter, calmer, and more grounded.
• Enhances self-awareness, allowing buried thoughts and emotions to safely surface.
• Stimulates the vagus nerve, promoting deep nervous system regulation.

The power of healing practices:

Humming or chanting: It stimulates the vagus nerve and calms the mind.

Dancing freely: It releases stuck energy and reconnects you with joy.

Grunting or toning: It helps discharge tension from the jaw, throat, and chest.

Somatic shaking: It eases stored trauma and resets the nervous system.

Singing: It integrates breath, voice, and emotional flow.

Drawing, painting, or journaling: They externalise feelings into safe, creative expression. Also read | Signs of growth and healing: Therapist explains

Types of healing:

Emotional healing: It invites safe expression, compassion, self-awareness, guided support, and consistent reflection with accountability.

Somatic healing: It requires mindful movement, intentional breath, and nervous system attunement.

Creative emotional healing: It encourages play, sound, movement, and non-judgmental self-expression.

Energetic healing: It focuses on the subtle body, intention, stillness, and energetic flow. Also read | The healing power of positive thinking: How optimism can transform health and well-being

Relational healing: It is rooted in trust, healthy boundaries, safe connection, and mutual space-holding.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.