A new therapy is being used to deal with mental issues like anxiety and stress.
By Riya Sethi
Bangalore, April 10, 2019
Over the years, art is being used as a method to calm our minds and deal with mental issues. Therapists have incorporated art in their techniques to help the patients. Zen therapy is now being used by people to help them deal with such issues.
Zentangle is the form of Zen therapy using doodling. This kind of art therapy was first used in 2004 and the therapeutic technique helps a person calm their minds and helps boost their confidence.
In Bangalore, this art therapy was brought in by Dilip P. Patel and Malathi Karpur. They are India’s first certified Zentangle teachers.
Anushka Mukherjee, a student of psychotherapy, said, “Nowadays, art used as therapy is nothing new. It is human behaviour which comes naturally. For example, when people get angry, they often scribble on a piece of paper to take their frustrations out. Zentangle is basically that, where you doodle and give your emotions an expressive outlet. It is being used to fuel the negative energy into creating something positive. Through this therapy, one can also control their anger. It is advised to start drawing random patterns and circles when they want to express something in a stressful situation.”
Ritika Dargan, an artist who doodles herself, “There are times when I get angry or frustrated. Those are the time when doodling helps me to express what’s going in my mind. One can doodle anything and give a shape to his or her expression. There are certain things that people do not want to share. So, one can always doodle and keep it a secret.”
Workshops and sessions are being conducted in the city to help people through Zen therapy. Recently, a session was conducted in Koramangala where many people gathered and participated in the ‘Zen Doodle workshop.’
For participating in the workshop, a person does not need to possess any kind of special artistic skills. Through this workshop, one can enter a meditative state and it also helps in better concentration. Mostly, adults participate in this workshop but nowadays children are also being encouraged by their parents to attend these doodle workshops. During these, one can doodle as per their liking and sometimes the teacher guides you on how to draw zentangles.
