Art to Heal the Wounds of Mental Health Disorders

New works have been exhibited at the Shawinigan Arts Center since the end of November. The artists are all Impatients, people struggling with mental health issues who learned to express themselves on canvas with the organization of the same name. The exhibition is a way to discover the impact that Art has in the rehabilitation of the participants, who saw their well-being greatly improve.

After several hesitations about participating in therapies, Yves Lessieur walked through the door of Impatients a few months ago. The creative workshops have a real impact on him.

Yves was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Their emotions can be like a roller coaster, with very high highs, and on the other hand, very low lows.

Hell, I know her. The descent into hell, I know that.

He felt the illness recede further and further since his involvement in therapy.

He says his life journey was difficult. It is with great emotion that he speaks about his journey since he began his healing process through various therapies.

Dressed in a colorful shirt, his eyes sparkling and proud of his achievements, he is the reflection of his canvas; full of brightness.

I learned again, I think, to put color back into my life, to get out of that period of darkness.he says, in front of one of his creations, filled with life and colors.

Nancy Cayer can also see the progression she made from one work to another.

She says that when she arrived at the organization, her first drawings reflected her condition, caused by generalized anxiety disorder. It was a darker side I would say.

Six years later, his works are completely different. Now I want a landscape. It’s more of a freedom, the landscapes, it’s a space of grandeur in the backgroundshe describes.

Les Impatients became another family for her, her heart family, as she describes it. They bring me a lotconfides Nancy. We feel that we have value with this team and our group.

Yves felt the same way when he joined a group for the first time. I felt that I was not alone in what I was experiencing.he shares.

It’s magnificent, I met some superb people. It developed my creativity and my openness towards otherstestifies Charles-Mathieu Gagné, who lives with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder.

The organization’s workshops were not his first encounter with art. Charles-Mathieu was initially passionate about literature and poetry.

He has been writing poetry since he was around 18 years old. For me, it’s an outlethe said.

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Not only do these workshops allow him to meet people who may experience a reality similar to his own, but they also allow him to maintain his well-being. It ensures my mental stability.

Every week, Les Impatients come together to embark on a creative activity, led by Christine Tougas and Céline Hanna.

However, they are always free to achieve what they want and to let themselves be guided by the brush.

It’s only the CIUSSS who can recommend people to these workshops, where the term patient is then deconstructed.

All the participants who come here are not patients and we do not consider them as patients, but as people impatient to be able to heal.explains the organization’s representative in Shawinigan, Céline Hanna.

Since working there, she quickly noticed the benefits of art and workshops on the people who take part.

Breaking isolation is part of it. There are contacts and I sometimes see extraordinary affairs, friendships being createdshe reports.

The exhibition, whose works are, for many, a reflection of their personal work, is overflowing with color. It’s as if the artists managed to dissipate the black cloud that darkened them, to reveal their true selves. It’s like a rebirthimage Yves.

This exercise, which requires courage, brings them confidence and greater self-esteem in return.

I’m proud. Very proudassures Yves, his gaze filled with sincerity.

This feeling is shared by the other eager people, who were able to share another side of themselves with their families.

Nancy, Charles-Mathieu and Yves realize today, looking back, that they have already come a long way.

They are impatient to continue their approach; impatient to get out of it.

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