Recipe for Art: Meditation Drawing (Lichen)

Sometimes during a flare or especially painful lesions, those of us with HS are stuck in a loop of depression and inactivity. Art can help us to process our feelings and reprogram our brains, and help lift us out of our funk. Art is personal, not perfect. With this project, you are completely in charge of the shapes you make, and it's the easiest concept to follow! All you need is a piece of paper and a drawing tool that has a fine tip, like a pen, fine marker or pencil. A fine tip will give you better results as opposed to a medium or large tip.

An alternative to meditation

The most common challenge I hear from fellow HS patients is that stress is a major trigger for issues, and it's a never-ending cycle. Stress causes lesions, and lesions cause stress. Many people want to meditate but don't necessarily want to sit or lie still and fight to completely silence their minds.

Drawing to meditate is another way to shift your brain and lower your stress. This exercise forces you to slow down and concentrate on making lines, and even think about colors and shapes that nature creates when combining fungi and algae. I encourage you to look up pictures of lichen and see how different they can grow to be. We as HS patients are just as different in how our bodies manifest HS as well as how we process the treatments we use to treat our disease. If you are interested in more exercises in slow drawing for meditation, I highly recommend the book "Draw Yourself Calm: Draw Slow, Stress Less" by Amy Maricle.