Self-expression: what’s it, and why is it essential for everyone?

There are many ways to precisely express what’s authentic to you, whether through speech, drawing, singing, dancing, or maybe the way you dress.

Self-Expression

Self-expression is a display of individuality, whether it’s through words, clothing, hairstyle, or art forms like writing and drawing. Being self-expressed means, people will see your spirit and real character; they’re going to see the totality of who you’re. A UCLA neuroscientist, Alex, has even conducted experiments that show how the brain can benefit once we express ourselves. In an fMRI study, participants viewed pictures of individuals with emotional facial expressions. Then, their amygdala—the part of the brain that plays a primary role in our emotional reactions—activated to the emotions within the picture. Yet, when a participant named the feeling, it reduced the amygdala’s reactivity and lessened the emotion’s impact. The study even found that once we attempt to suppress our negative emotions, our inward stress and anxiety can get more intense!

By being human, we are filled with thoughts and concepts that inhabit us with energy. And if the creative life in our mind sits untouched, it can activate itself, and that we feel all kinds of anxiety and restlessness. To take care of our emotional well-being, we’d like to exercise our creativity.

Authentic self-expression may be a reflection of how honest we are to ourselves and the people around us.

It involves acting out your inner vision and desires without the fear of judgment, despite you knowing that there could also be possible adverse reactions from others. For example, spontaneous singing aloud or dancing publicly could also be frowned upon – though busking would elicit an unusual response.

Self-Expression and Creativity: Managing Feelings

When we put our process into a physical form, we feel more on top of things and understand them more clearly. Having a creative outlet where we will express ourselves means we will better manage those thoughts and feelings.

Now that I’m living a life in recovery, I still affect impulsive thoughts and overwhelming feelings, but I find how to manage them by expressing them. Self-expression seemed like tons of “Dear Diary” nonsense to me, but the creative arts are a tremendous outlet for our recovery.

We will transcend words and express them through paintings, drawings, doodles, and pictures. We will communicate through music, dance, and song. Self-expression involves any activity where we will transfer the energy from our thoughts and feelings into another form. And, usually, this makes us feel better.

The Power of Creativity

Once we put our process into a physical form, we feel more on top of our thoughts and feelings and understand them more clearly. We can’t always explain an emotion using logic. Creative activities allow us to externalize our thought process and observe it from a distance; then, we don’t need to act on our feelings impulsively.

The creative process allows us to merge our moving parts into one identity. It is often an essential step in our healing—to learn that what we expect logically might not match how we feel, and that’s okay. It’s a neighborhood of our process. Having a creative outlet where we will express ourselves means we will better manage those thoughts and feelings.