An Alternate Approach to Combating Distress

The Power of Clay Offers Therapeutic Benefits to Last a Lifetime

May 1, 2009

Prolonged stress can work havoc on the body and mind. Learning to reduce stress might be found in a ball of clay.

An effective alternative approach to increasing eustress for all ages can be done without the use of spoken communications---an uncommon theme in many forms of traditional psychotherapy. The method discussed here is clay therapy, which offers tremendous therapeutic power by allowing people to tell stories without saying a word.

Stress is a part of contemporary life. Neither the young nor old are immune from it because stress permeates populations without regard to individual differences, values or beliefs. Stress affects men, women and children and is often responsible for diluting one's quality of life in terms of health, safety, hope, relationships and aspirations. Stress or more specifically distress is a form of suffering that offers dire social, psychological and eventual biological consequences if left unchecked for too long.

Balancing distress involves learning to react differently to specific situations. One method of learning more productive behaviors during difficult times is to seek moments of eustress---the opposite of distress. Eustress is deemed a healthier form of stress because eustress is associated with feelings of achievement and self-fulfillment. Although it is a stretch to think distress can be eliminated entirely from one's life, consciously seeking out brief moments of eustress can bring about harmony, inner peace and relative happiness.

The healing powers of clay can bring about eustress. Clay therapy gives participants the chance to produce story-telling-artistic-sculptures in a relaxing environment designed to promote creativeness, peace, confidence, camaraderie, enjoyment and a sense of well-being without pressures that lead to distress. In other words, clay therapy is an effective alternative channel to communication that is open to anyone interested in participating and learning more about the positive aspects of self. Other benefits of clay therapy include:

Individuals seeking an alternative approach to improving life quality might find that working with clay has the power to change lives. Stressful events are a fact of life especially during critical times. The key is in how individuals react. Clay therapy offers unique solutions to people interested in learning to improve their lives through artistically nurturing experiences.

For more information about the healing power of clay and its benefits for people including those with special needs such as autism, please visit the web at Say It With Clay: A Therapeutic Approach.

The copyright of the article An Alternate Approach to Combating Distress in Health Field is owned by DE Stanelli. Permission to republish An Alternate Approach to Combating Distress in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.