IDEAS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE 1212Stop thinking,
start drawing
How do you shake off a bad
day at work? When someone’s
rude to you, or something
traumatic happens, how can
you stop thinking about it?H
arvard academics Jen-
nifer Drake and Ellen
Winner recruited 80
undergraduate students
and sat them in front of a trau-
matic movie involving torture and
murder. Later, the undergraduates
were handed a set of colouring pen-
cils and a white sheet of paper, and
were assigned to either one of two
groups: either they ‘vented’ their
negative feelings about the movie
by drawing something about it, or
they were asked to draw somethingcompletely unrelated to the film to
‘distract’ themselves. “Use the next
ten minutes to draw a house,” they
were told. Consistent with previ-
ous research, the academics found
that students who drew something
completely unrelated to the movie
were able to control and overcome
their bad mood faster than those
who used art to vent their feelings.
In fact, any activity that’s cogni-
tively demanding - such as doing
a difficult maths problem, learning
a new language, or playing music,for instance, will offer sufficient
distraction to halt obsessive rumi-
nation on negative events. Interest-
ingly, their findings run counter to
typical art therapy programs which
encourage participants to ‘vent’
their frustrations through doing art.
According to the Harvard academ-
ics, you’re much better off using art
to ‘distract’ yourself - focusing on
that lovely orchid, for example, or
your neighbour’s house. To increase
‘distraction’, make your study as de-
tailed as possible.NewsCopenhagen; Roofs Under the Snow by Peder Severin KrøyerIDEASTOCHANGEYOURLIFE 12Stop thinking,
start drawing
Howdoyoushakeoffa bad
dayatwork?Whensomeone’s
rudetoyou,orsomething
traumatichappens,howcan
youstopthinkingaboutit?H
arvard academics Jen-
nifer Drake and Ellen
Winner recruited 80
undergraduate students
and sat them in front of a trau-
matic movie involving torture and
murder. Later, the undergraduates
were handed a set of colouring pen-
cils and a white sheet of paper, and
were assigned to either one of two
groups: either they ‘vented’ their
negative feelings about the movie
by drawing something about it, or
they were asked to draw somethingcompletely unrelated to the film to
‘distract’ themselves. “Use the next
ten minutes to draw a house,” they
were told. Consistent with previ-
ous research, the academics found
that students who drew something
completely unrelated to the movie
were able to control and overcome
their bad mood faster than those
who used art to vent their feelings.
In fact, any activity that’s cogni-
tively demanding - such as doing
a difficult maths problem, learning
a new language, or playing music,for instance, will offer sufficient
distraction to halt obsessive rumi-
nation on negative events. Interest-
ingly, their findings run counter to
typical art therapy programs which
encourage participants to ‘vent’
their frustrations through doing art.
According to the Harvard academ-
ics, you’re much better off using art
to ‘distract’ yourself - focusing on
that lovely orchid, for example, or
your neighbour’s house. To increase
‘distraction’, make your study as de-
tailed as possible.NewsCopenhagen; Roofs Under the Snow by Peder Severin Krøyer