Weary Facade of Art Therapy

{Emotional Journey Series, Part III}

“To tell you that Warriors Heart saved my life would minimize what this place truly means to me. On these grounds I experienced a spiritual awakening that let the sunlight back in to my life.”

Think about what it means for someone to let sunlight back in their life. To fully understand the power of this statement, you must first picture a life surrounded by darkness, with an individual sinking in quicksand. Overcome by the power of their experiences and their past. An individual who has surrendered to chemical addiction or merely overcome with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

A disorder annotates the disruption of the systematic functioning or neat arrangement of some specific thing. In the case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it indicates the disarray of thoughts, feelings, conversations, actions or event concentration.  Although PTSD is labeled a mental illness, many who live this affliction take offense to this description. Like every experience in our lives, both good and bad, there is no chance of un-living those experiences. Our today is defined by the decisions and experiences of yesterday, while our tomorrow will be shaped by the actions, reactions and inactions of today. Post-Traumatic Stress is a fact of life for many veterans and first responders, but the disorder is a temporary disruption that can be overcome to live a normal life. The disorder of Post-Traumatic Stress causes an individual’s brain to be stuck in danger mode: fight or flight.Once the condition is dealt with and coping mechanisms are put in place, an individual can move forward with their life. But the experience remains.

At Warriors Heart, the unique situation exists for the first time ever where veterans and first responders are surrounded by others with similar experiences, strengths, difficulties, backgrounds and training. One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with Post Traumatic Stress is expressing your feelings. For our defenders of freedom, each is highly trained to compartmentalize their feelings to enable action in high stress environments. As a law enforcement officer explained to me last week, each emotion or stressor was like a waded-up piece of paper. To permit him to continue doing his job, he just threw each in the trash can. While this was fine for years, the can eventually overflowed and turned over…and all the crumpled up and ignored feelings fell out into his life.

The simply complex solution to this problem: Art! It has been proven the reaction to art is immediate, increasing blood flow in proportion to how much the painting was liked, and inducing a feel-good sensation direct to the brain.Not only does art reduce stress levels, but it also improves critical thinking, empathy and tolerance. And these are just the benefits of viewing art. Warriors Heart takes this one step further with Art Therapy. These protectors in healing, for the first time in life, have emotions that need to flow out and find a venue through their hands of creation. This expressive therapy can “improves a person’s physical, mental and emotional well-being.”  In essence, it enhances physical and emotional healing through theopportunity for expression. 

As I continued my emotional journey through the halls of the Warriors Heart Ranch, I looked to the art around the facility and began to question each’s origins. To fully understand the power of healing, one must experience the deep meaning contained in a piece. 

The simple words on the steel tag: Weary Fa?ade

In my inner psyche, this piece screams to me. The tree stump represents the foundation of my life, of my profession, of my everything. The tag that casually hangs on its front depicts the many labels society is determined to place on every aspect of society, of us of our lives. From the top of the wood emerges the masks we wear in every aspect of life. On the right, the mask of freedom. The one we proudly don as defenders of this way of life, depicting the highly trained and capable warrior we have become. My chest begins to swell with pride and honor as my thoughts grow to think about the many who have come before me in this role and the continuation for generations yet to come. Then a darkness sets in. The mask on the left represents the one we fight, the one we do not want to wear. The scars of battle, the emotional toil of brutality witnessed and locked away in an effort to cope. From both emerge our flag. That for which we have dedicated our lives. Through this piece,the flag represents freedom. It is a symbol of our home and all we believe in...here, it also represents freedom from addiction and affliction.

Continuing my moment of awe and inspiration, and with emotions forming in my eyes begging to be released, I have to know what the artist felt when as this piece was developed. What followed will forever remain one of the most emotionally inspirational points of my life. The artist was Cole. When Cole develops an art piece, he takes to the workshop with no preconceived notion of what will emerge. Instead, hepours himself into whatever he's working on and lets the emotion work through him. According to Cole, for most of his life art was his only form of emotional expression, and it was always done in secret. No one knew he drew or painted. He had never attempted a sculpture like these before now. With words straight from the heart, he explains his art represents the truest words he has never been able to say

Cole’s explanation of this work:

Weary Fa?ade demonstrates the fatigue of hiding the scars. Scars from war as represented by the flag from our pasts. The gleam of the helmet is our fa?ade, our armor, hiding the scarred skeletal figure beneath.

CALL TO ACTION: Join me over the next few articles as we continue to examine the power of art therapy, and how the warriors on the Warriors Heart ranch create art to represent the truest words they have never been able to say.

This art represents the truest words I have never been able to say

OPERATION WARRIORS HEART FOUNDATION was built to unite the power of social responsibility, sustainability, and the healing of our warriors, servicemen and women and first responders.

“Courage is our ability & willingness to overcome our fears” 

If you know a veteran or first responder struggling and in need of a helping hand, contact the 24/7 help line at (888)439-8670 or text (830)200-0134. At Warriors Heart, we have created a treatment facility and program from the ground up with a specific target. We mean to help Warriors in every walk of life. We offer a variety of treatmentsfor those undergoing the damaging effects of PTSDas well as chemical dependency. For those who have fought battles to defend our country and our citizens, fighting the battle against addiction and depressiondoesn’t need to be done alone.

When you die, they put two dates on your tombstone…and we know what they mean. But all that matters is the dash between.

Air Force Colonel (retired) Chris R. Stricklin is a Combat-Proven Leader & Fighter Pilot, Award-Winning Leadership Author, Member of Forbes Coaches Council, Renowned International Motivational Speaker and Change Management Expert. He serves as a member of the Operation Warriors Heart Foundation Honorary Board of Advisors.

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