A Creative Resilience Toolkit and Support For Hard Times
When life becomes overwhelming, our first instinct is often to retreat inward, to numb ourselves, or to wait it out. However, throughout history, people have turned to something else during life's challenging moments: creativity. Art helps us metabolize pain, make meaning out of chaos, and reconnect with ourselves.
This blog post introduces the Creative Resilience Toolkit—a collection of simple, accessible practices that anyone, regardless of their artistic abilities, can use to navigate grief, anxiety, stress, or burnout. All it takes is a willingness to explore. If you are a mental health professional, these tools may be helpful for your clients.
1. The Emotional Color Wheel
Choose colors that align with your emotions, and let them be your guide.
Select a few markers, crayons, or paints and a blank piece of paper.
Close your eyes and ask yourself: What am I feeling right now? Choose a color that matches the emotion.
Without 'worrying' about the result or "making something good," pick up a marker and allow your hand to move freely across the paper. If you want, add other colors.
Reflect: What emotions came through?
This tool is especially beneficial for individuals struggling to articulate or verbalize their feelings. Let the body lead.
2. Six-Word Stories
"Brevity is the soul of wit" - Shakespeare.
Embrace brevity and write a story about your current experience using just six words.
For example:
"Some days, grief wears my shoes."
"I breathe. I stretch. I begin."
Write different versions and notice which ones feel most true.
This journal prompt or warm-up exercise can be used independently or in therapeutic settings.
3. Create a Soundtrack for your emotions
Build a playlist that reflects your emotional journey
Make three short playlists:
Where I Am Now
Where I Want to Be
The Bridge (transitional sounds that connect the two)
Music helps regulate the nervous system, can evoke catharsis, and guide emotional movement.
Bonus: Dance to at least one song from each list.
4. Letter to Your Future Self
Use narrative to invoke self-compassion.
Write a letter to your future self
Acknowledge what you are experiencing, what lessons you have learned, and what you hope to carry forward into the future.
Seal it in an envelope to revisit it later.
This exercise shifts your perspective from present pain to long-term hope, helping you witness and acknowledge growth over time.
5. The Ritual Object
Create a symbolic item to hold emotional value and healing intention.
Ritual objects can anchor us, especially when words fail to convey our emotions.
Gather natural materials such as stones, feathers, leaves, or household objects like string, fabric, and beads.
Assemble them into an object that represents your intention for healing and protection.
Place your creation somewhere meaningful, like an altar, your desk, or a window, or keep it in your pocket.
6. Scribble + Shape
Let your hand move before your brain takes over.
With your non-dominant hand, scribble for one minute.
Look at your scribbles and outline shapes or images you see hidden in the chaos.
Reflect: What did your subconscious draw out?
This process helps access intuitive insight and release stress.
7. The Witness Circle (for Groups or Solo Reflection)
Combines drawing and shared witnessing.
Draw a circle and divide it into three parts:
What am I carrying that no longer serves me?
What do I want to release?
What do I want to create?
Fill the circle with words, colors, symbols, or images.
In a group setting, each person can share the meaning of their circle. If solo, reflect in writing afterward.
The witness circle is a powerful closing ritual for retreats and group work.
Creativity can be a lifeline. These tools have the potential to facilitate integration, self-love, and survival. Consider incorporating them as daily practices, in therapy sessions, or during life's inevitable rough patches. Let your creative spark be the medicine that guides you forward.
by Dr. Amy Vail and Alli Fischenich