Bringing the light back

Big shout out to learner, Amelia for kindly sharing how using creativity helped bring light back into her life….

“Hi, I’m Amelia and for a long time I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression, but in recent years it got significantly worse. It reached a point where I couldn’t cope anymore. I was self-harming multiple times a day, trying to end it all, wanting the thoughts and negative emotions to go away. I thought no-one understood, and that I was the problem. I thought people would be better off without me – that I’d be doing them a favour.

I’ve always been a creative person, constantly building, drawing and making new things but when my depression and anxiety got worse, it all stopped. I found even doing these things I enjoyed to be too much effort. I tried pushing past this by doing little creative things, knowing it would make me feel better. By doing this and allowing and trusting myself to start feeling better, it helped me express my emotions in ways I couldn’t talk about or put into words. This would come in the forms of scribbled doodles, throwing paint around, anything to get my negative thoughts and emotions out.

These struggles and difficulties have influenced the jewellery that I now make and allow me to better channel my emotions into wearable art. It’s meant that I’ve been able to become passionate about what I do again. I’ve even opened my own Jewellery Shop in Slaithwaite Gallery; all my pieces are influenced by my recovery. It has shown me – and hopefully will show others that it does get better, something I didn’t believe myself for a long time. It all seemed too dark, but with the help of people around me and allowing and pushing myself to be creative again I realised it was true. Anyone can be creative, and anyone can use it to channel their emotions.”