Art Journaling for Anxiety

Welcome back!

It's not a secret that I suffer from anxiety.  I share it openly in hopes to heal myself as well as inspire others, even though there is a stigma attached to it. Yes, it can be ugly, but it's me and what I have to deal with.

I turn to art as a way to help me cope, to help keep my mind quiet.  Even with art I still find myself battling illogical thought patterns.  My biggest issue seems to be procrastination.  I don't do something and therefore feel bad, because of that I still don't do it and feel worse.  The anxiety builds up more and more each time I think about it, which holds me back from completing it.  It's a vicious cycle that I have been struggling with for years and in many cases has paralyzed me.

I am beginning to use lists in my art journal, to make baby steps toward accomplishing things and removing the anxiety, but it's a daily struggle. I have committed myself to a cognitive thought based process to help alleviate the paralyzing fear.  I want to get better.

Welcome to my journey.

I appreciate each and every one of you that have continued to support me through the good and the bad, and regardless of whether I have a mask on or not. 

Much Love xo

Happiness Equals No Stress Art Journal Pages

Welcome everyone!  I just had to add this cute picture of Annie.  I was taking pictures of my journal and she wouldn't move.  She loves heat and sitting in the sun.

It feels so great to almost completely finish this little journal.  The only pages I have left is the huge 4 page flip out in the center.  I LOVE this paper, you can get a journal of your very own here.

I love how soft and light this page is.  Just a bit of spray ink, stamping and collage.

This fish is from a fauxphemera pack from K&Co.  At first I didn't "like" this page, I didn't think my lettering was big enough, but adding the fish just made me smile.  Fish have always been a calming source for me.

I had some fun using an entire sheet of rubons from the dollar bin for this page.  No journaling, but the images speak louder than words for me.

More fun with spray inks and rubons.  These happen to be 8 year old rubons from Making Memories, which is why they look imperfect.  I really love how it turned out.

I really love this quote, but am not happy with the overall page.  I post it with the thought of telling everyone that not all of your pages have to be "perfect", and I assure you that you will not "like" all of the pages you create.  When this happens I honour it, learn from what I didn't like, and move on.

I spent some time arting on the couch while watching the finale of Survivor (yay Rob!!).  I was working in my Moleskine and completed these pages:

I hope everyone is having a great week!  I am dealing with a migraine, but am resolved to find out what's causing them.  It has been raining since I got home from Colorado last Friday.

If you haven't subscribed to me over on Youtube, I would love it if you did!  I have 2 videos planned for this weekend that you won't want to miss!

Much Love my friends!  xo