Art Therapy Can Help

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Art Therapy Can Help - from the Neuropathy Association

Your neuropathy may prevent you from doing certain things, but dig hard. Did you

love to crayon? Try art if your hands are not affected. Did you adore your dog

or cat? Adopt one for a while; save a pet's life and enhance your own. Maybe you

liked to write poetry for the school literary magazine. Did you organize your

life into collections of scrapbooks? Scrapbooking is very popular these days.

P., who has peripheral neuropathy, relishes spending hours creating 3-

or 4-foot model ships. If you loved whittling as a child, try woodworking. Take

a look at the following choices or think up your own:

1. Many art therapy books deal with therapy from a psychological viewpoint.

Dabbling in paints is not going to help your feet from a physical standpoint,

but if you paint, draw, or sculpt and it takes your mind off the pain, is there

value in that? Yes. Is it quantifiable? No. Measurable? No. Will your

neurologist take a tuning fork and find your nerves have more sensation? No. But

if your hobby helps you escape your symptoms, none of that matters.

2. More than books on theory, check out books on whatever medium appeals to

you. Watercolor? Oil? Ceramics? Your community cultural center and senior center

probably have classes you would enjoy. Jewelry making comes to mind, along with

de-coupage, tole painting, and so much more. If you're adventurous, think of

crafts such as batik, beadwork, decorative tiling, painting on boxes or trays,

or stenciling. Wander around the aisles of a nearby crafts store, and you'll be

amazed at things to do to keep you busy if you need to be indoors because your

neuropathy is being a pain.

3. The Complete Book of Home Crafts: Projects for Adventurous Beginners, edited

by Carine Tracanelli, is a beautiful coffee table book that might inspire you to

try something artistic. Well-illustrated and presented in easy-to-follow steps,

the book itself will decorate your table, even if you never get around to

putting your own handiwork on your tabletop.

4. Photography is another hobby that will provide you with hours of creativity.

Don't just think of photography as taking pictures of the family. Take shots of

the landscape, nature, birds, lakes, flowers, or animals. It can be a relaxing

hobby. Put together a scrapbook. Use a theme: goofy shots of your pet or photos

of the " changing-of-the-guard " of birds around a lake.

365 Tips is a weekly e-mail service brought to you by The Neuropathy Association

in cooperation with DemosHealth publications and author Mims Cushing. It is

based on and features excerpts from the new book, You Can Cope with Peripheral

Neuropathy: 365 Tips for Living a Full Life, by Mims Cushing and Norman Latov,

M.D., Ph.D