Art Therapy For Chronic Pain – How I Use Art To Thrive With Illness

Art Therapy for Chronic Pain – How I Use Art To Thrive With Illness

Art therapy wasn’t on my radar when I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis over a decade ago. I’ve always been an artist, but I didn’t realize art would become a lifeline for me.

No one told me what to expect with my first diagnosis. All I knew was immense pain. I experienced a sudden halt in every activity in my life when I got sick. I lost everything I loved doing to illness.

In retrospect, AS took me down fast. 2009 was a very bad year, but once the medications kicked in about eight months after my diagnosis, my quality of life improved for a few years.

In 2012, I was out of remission for the first time. My doctors adjusted my treatment. I excelled in athletics and LOVED running up that year. Giving running up was hard, but if giving it up meant I could stay on my feet and walk, I was willing to do it.

Things progressed quickly in July 2014. I found myself in wheelchair and house-bound more often.

Suddenly sports were no longer an option. Without sports, where could I turn to relieve my stress and anxiety about being sick all the time? 

ART SAVED ME

At first I locked myself away with bitterness. Subconsciously, my brain was already turning towards things that my family will tell you has been there since I was a child.

Music and art are great passions. When I was done grieving for what I had lost with sports, I turned to my love for art.

Art is where I redirected my focus and all my attention in an effort to alleviate some of the stress and heartache I was going through with these diseases

Illness and disease may have robbed me of my abilities to run or dance the way I used to, but my artistic side has always been there. It has sustained me through childhood, even through bouts of childhood bullying.

Art is where the answer to building strength and resilience was found in dark days of sickness.

I relied on art for zen moments and it allowed me to express my feelings and emotions.

The best part about this is that I have many outlets for art, and I can always find something to do to fill a flare day.

Even better, in October 2023, I started fundraising for a power wheelchair through my art and I’m so pleased to say that I finally got my new wheelchair in April 2024.

I’m beyond thrilled that I raised enough money for my wheelchair through art!

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

– Pablo Picasso

I’ve created My Several Worlds: A Coloring Adventure for Spoonies and it appears to be the very first coloring book of its kind – created by a Spoonie for Spoonies! I started working on this coloring book during a life-threatening medical crisis with blood clots last year. This book is the result of my attempts to turn a chaotic period of my life into something beautiful and positive! I’m so thrilled with the results!

How Different Forms of Art Therapy Have Helped Me Cope with Chronic Illness and Pain

Writing and creating art allows me to cope with my pain and it distracts me from what is happening with my body.

The pain is still present, but the process of creating overrules the signals that my body is sending to my brain.

Below, I’ve listed the various forms of art and modes of creativity I’ve used to get through difficult times.

WRITING

I’ve been writing professionally for many years. MSW was originally an Asia travel and culture website that was launched in early 2007. I’ve worked in the publishing industry and have published numerous books in addition to contributing to countless magazines and anthologies.

When I got sick, I turned it into a chronic illness and disability site rather than starting a new site, which is what so many other writers do.

The result is that I have a travel based website that dates back 17 years with complete sections on my transition from full time travel writing to full time writing about chronic illness.

I started writing through journaling when I was quite young. Journaling is still an important part of my life to this day. The stacks of journals at home in my parents’ basement and the journals I have from my travels through Asia tell some interesting tales.

This site is a dedication to my craft.

T-SHIRT & PRODUCT DESIGN

Last year I started creating my own t-shirts and product designs to help support my increasing health expenses. I launched a MySeveralWorlds RedBubble shop and my creations have taken off.

It makes me happy to see other people wearing my awareness designs. Now that I’ve got my Western market shop going, I’ve just started working with a printing service here in Taiwan.

COLORING

I got into coloring simply because it’s a mindless activity that helps distract me from pain. I’ve colored over 50 books since I started coloring in 2015. After a while I had a large stack of completed coloring books and I had no idea what to do with them, so I up cycled them.

Sometimes I keep these books as they are. I shred the rest and use the pages as cards or for wrapping paper.

To date, I’ve completed 50+ coloring books from front to back.  Each book represents 2-4 months of flare activity.

Let me tell you that I’ve learned unexpected things with coloring. I can tell instantly if the paper is good or not. I can also tell you that it doesn’t matter if you color with cheap Crayola markers or with high-end Faber Castell markers. Although I prefer working with Copic, Faber Castell, Sharpies, if someone gives me Crayolas, I still use them!

MY COLORING BOOK!

In July 2023, I started creating my own coloring book. I finished it in Oct 2023 and published it on August 1, 2024. Thrilled to say it has been a hit!

Publishing my coloring book brought me full-circle in the world of publishing. There’s not much I don’t know now. I plan on opening up some slots to working with clients who want to publish their work. I have a strong background in publishing after working for years in a publishing house. And I now know the ins and outs of indie publishing.

Let me help you edit and format your book, create your book cover, and help you with publishing it and launching it!

COLLAGE WORK & PAPER CUTTING

As an artist who has worked in many mediums over the past 30 decades, I should’ve seen collages and paper cutting in my future. But I didn’t until I picked up a pair of scissors and started cutting out shapes from the numerous coloring books I have stacked here at home.

I have no idea how I came up with the idea to start making collages. I just remember being desperate to try something new. As someone who keeps everything from ribbon and buttons to different types of glue and colored paper, I ended in my art drawers and dug out a whole bunch of things that had been collecting dust.

Soon enough, I had new art pieces to offer and people were interested in buying it. It was so successful, I was able to fundraise for my power wheelchair in three months. During that time, I honed my craft and figured out the best ways to frame my art and ship it overseas.

Getting ready to mail art to customers!

IKEBANA & FLOWER ARRANGING

These days, I do a lot of flower arranging. I like the idea of working with living art by creating Japanese flower arrangements that change each day.

This form of art has been in my family on my mother’s side for many years, passed down from my grandmother to my mother and finally to me.

Stay tuned for a very special art project happening in the lead-up to Christmas 2024. I can’t wait to show you!

PHOTOGRAPHY

I’ve honed my photography skills over the past decade and I still earn money from selling my prints and from freelance writing. I took some lighting classes and really got into a lot of photography before my DSLR gear got too heavy to carry.

People might be surprised to learn that my photography has been featured on sites like Travel & Leisure Asia, CNN, USA Today, and many more. It’s also featured on many Wikipedia pages and across many Western news outlets who have featured my travel photography extensively.

JEWELRY DESIGN

I’m been making jewelry for over 20 years. Many of my readers probably don’t know that I worked in the jewelry industry for many years.

I taught classes for many years and even worked with a haute couture bridal salon in the Byward Market. I created custom made tiaras and bridal jewelry. My jewelry sales in my artist guild in Lanark Valley funded my move to China. In China, I was able to continue with my jewelry design and was my work was featured on Beijing TV during Lunar New Year 2004 and on Changchun Television.

I still make jewelry when my hands are ok and allow me to work in fine detail.

PAINTING

Chinese watercolor painting is a lot of fun. It taught me so much about shading and layering color. I don’t engage in painting much anymore as most of the art I do is from bed. (I do paint rocks in bed, though!)

MUSIC

I was classically trained as a child and sang professionally on stages in Canada and across Asia for more than two decades. I’ve done album work, radio work, live television, reality TV shows, award banquets, festivals, and more.

Although chronic illness, specifically fibromyalgia and ME, have affected my voice, I still love to sing.

Here’s a link to a video I did in China that showcases my music and me singing in Chinese just six months after I started learning Mandarin.

A new health crisis in 2023 birthed a new art business!

In the summer of 2023, I received a new and devastating autoimmune blood disorder called APS.

My first trip home to Canada in four years resulted in sticky blood. I was by myself for a month and giving myself daily injections to prevent further clots. Moving enough to break up the clots without pushing myself over my energy envelope was a constant challenge. It was an utterly terrifying time for me. I still haven’t fully processed or unpacked what has happened to me.

Art was a way of ignoring/distancing myself from the awfulness of my life, but it let to my new portfolio website.

Visit my portfolio site at CarrieKellenberger.com

I’ve also got a thriving Art Shop online that serves customers all over the world.

My handmade 3D MSW Art Collages are crafted with precision and passion through the delicate art of paper cutting! Each of my unique mini posters is a masterpiece in miniature, meticulously designed and cut by hand to bring joy and wonder to every recipient.

I feature all kinds of things in my art, from sugar skulls and fairy tales to sea creatures, dragons, butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and all kinds of flora and fauna.

As things move forward with illness, I feel that my work is going to become more and more unsustainable. I hope I can use my artistic abilities to generate some income.

You’ll also find Freebies in my Ko-Fi Shop.

What is Art Therapy?

Art therapy for pain helps patients to cope with the enormity of what is happening to them, allows them to express their emotions or pain, and helps patients by distracting them from pain, which allows them to cope with their daily challenges with chronic illness.

There are days we might not be able to do much, but the satisfaction creating something always creates some joy and happiness. I use art for mental health, distraction, and it is a great mind and body technique that helps immensely with chronic pain.

Raising awareness by sharing the art of chronic pain is something we should all try, whether it’s good or not. I hope it brings you some joy and some inspiration to be creative and let your pain go for a while.

Read my full article about it on my art portfolio website: What is Art Therapy for Pain Management?

Last but not least, My Several Worlds has featured global artists since 2007!

MSW GLOBAL ARTIST INTERVIEWS

ARTIST: Karen Swank Fitch Interview

Art Therapy for Chronic Illness – Ankylosing Spondylitis and Fibromyalgia

ARTIST: Rachael Nicholson Interview

Art Therapy for Fibromyalgia

ARTIST: Jennifer Walker Interview

Art Therapy for RA, Fibromyalgia, Osteoarthritis, Depression, SPD

ARTIST: Jeanne Trend-Hill Interview

Art Therapy for Crohns, Colitis, and Osteoporosis

ARTIST: Amanda Ingrassia Interview

Migraine Awareness and Hemiplegic Migraine

ARTIST: Cameron B. Auxer

ME, Cancer, Fibromuscular Dysplasia

ARTIST: Allyria

Fibromyalgia, PTSD

ARTIST: Rachel Barclift

Fibromyalgia

ARTIST: Julia Espinoza

Chronic migraine, hidradenitis suppurativa, anxiety

ARTIST: Dale Rockell

Fibromyalgia artist, photographer, and musician

ARTIST: Kimm Moekotte The Pencil Queen

Fibromyalgia Pencil Artist and Pencil Portrait Commissioner for Nick Carter and the Backstreet Boys

ARTIST: Merlin Gibson, The Happy Heathen

Fibromyalgia Artist and wire bonsai tree master

Would you like to join my art therapy series to showcase your art? If yes, drop a comment here and I’ll get back to you! I love hearing from other artists.