Grief and Art: A Universal Language of Healing
Image Courtesy of the Author
Morgan Anderson
Feb 18, 2025
Navigating the Complex Journey Through Creative Expression
Grief sucks. It is that simple. It’s inevitable, yes, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Whether it’s the loss of someone you love, the end of a relationship, or even the loss of a dream or part of yourself, grief shows up in many ways. It’s not a one-size-fits-all kind of experience. Everyone grieves differently. Some people process it quietly, others loudly. Some find solace in words, while others need to feel it in their bodies or alone. But no matter how it hits you, grief is a powerful force that changes you, and unfortunately, there’s no clear, neat path through it.
Grief is Complex and Personal
Grief can feel impossible to hold, manifesting as sadness, anger, regret, anxiety, or even physical pain. When words fail, art offers a way to express what language cannot. Whether personal or cultural, it provides an outlet for processing emotions, transforming what feels overwhelming into something external and manageable.
The most profound things I’ve learned have come from listening to people’s stories about how grief has impacted them. Some have shared how they've turned to music to process their feelings; others paint, write, or move. And here's the thing: those expressions—whether they’re big or small—help people. They help them breathe when they feel like they’re drowning in emotions that can’t be named.
Grief is one of the most complex emotions we experience. Grief is not just emotional; it’s also physical. It affects the body in ways we don’t always recognize—tension, fatigue, insomnia. It arrives uninvited, lingers unpredictably, and reshapes the way we see the world. Grief is incredibly personal. Yet, one thing remains constant across cultures and throughout history: art has always provided a way to navigate loss.
A Holistic Approach: Art as a Tool for Healing
Grief is unpredictable. Some days, it’s overwhelming; other days, it’s a dull ache in the background. What makes art such a powerful tool in grief is that it meets people wherever they are. Art is a universal language—one that transcends words, societal structures, and individual experiences. When grief feels too heavy to carry alone, creative expression offers an outlet, a way to process emotions that may otherwise remain locked inside. In my own experience working with individuals grieving, I’ve witnessed firsthand the profound ways in which art helps people heal. This isn’t just anecdotal. Research and centuries of cultural traditions reinforce that art is, and always has been, a fundamental part of the grieving process for many.
Most importantly, grief and healing are not about perfection. Neither is art. The power of art, like grief, lies in the process, not the final product. It’s about allowing yourself to feel, to create, and to find a space for healing. In engaging with art, we give ourselves permission to navigate grief in a way that can feel natural, meaningful, and restorative.
The beauty of using art in grief healing is that it’s accessible to everyone—it’s not about talent or technique but about expression. Creative outlets like painting, music, and writing provide a way to process emotions that can be difficult to articulate. I’ve seen firsthand how engaging in artistic expression can help people uncover feelings they didn’t even realize they were holding. Creative forms are deeply personal, offering both reflection and release—whether it’s through crafting a tribute, capturing a memory, or simply putting thoughts onto a page.
- Visual Art: Painting, drawing, and sculpting allow individuals to externalize their emotions. The simple act of putting brush to canvas or shaping clay can be incredibly cathartic.
- Writing and Journaling: Many people find comfort in writing letters to loved ones they’ve lost or journaling their emotions to make sense of their pain.
- Music and Dance: Rhythm and movement offer a visceral way to process grief, helping to release emotions stored in the body.
- Community Art Projects: Collaborative murals, memorial installations, and interactive art pieces provide collective healing, reminding people that they are not alone in their sorrow. For example, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.
Unlike traditional talk therapy, which relies on words to make sense of loss, art provides a unique way to express complex emotions. This can be especially valuable for those who struggle to articulate their grief or for cultures where mourning is expressed differently. Across the world, art plays an essential role in mourning rituals and remembrance. In Mexico, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a vibrant, artistic tribute to lost loved ones, using altars, marigold petals, and decorated skulls to honor those who have passed. In Japan, the tradition of kintsugi—repairing broken pottery with gold—symbolizes healing and finding beauty in imperfection, a powerful metaphor for loss. In Indigenous communities in Canada, traditional beadwork, drumming, and storytelling are used as means of processing grief and keeping the memories of ancestors alive.
While these traditions vary, they all share a common theme: using creative expression to navigate the complexities of a loss. This reinforces what I’ve observed in my work—the act of creating something, whether a painting, a song, or a dance, allows grief to transform rather than remain stagnant.
The Science Behind Art and Grief
What I find particularly fascinating is the science behind it all. Research shows that engaging in creative activities like painting, dancing, or journaling can trigger the release of serotonin and dopamine—feel-good chemicals in the brain that help reduce stress and regulate emotions. So, not only does art serve as a means of expression, but it can also help improve your emotional well-being by changing your brain chemistry in ways that promote healing (Jensen & Bonde, 2018).
Scientific research further supports the role of art therapy in alleviating grief by addressing emotional distress and promoting psychological well-being. Hu et al. (2023) found that art therapy, particularly through painting and drawing, has been successfully used to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, both of which are common in individuals experiencing grief. By providing a non-verbal means of expression, art therapy allows individuals to process and externalize emotions that may be difficult to articulate, facilitating a sense of relief and emotional clarity. Similarly, Bosman et al. (2019) conducted a systematic review on art therapy interventions for adults with cancer and found that creative engagement contributed to improved quality of life, decreased anxiety, and reduced depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that art therapy can serve as a complementary approach to grief support by helping individuals regulate emotions, gain insight into their experiences, and improve overall mental health. While more research is needed to fully understand the underlying mechanisms, existing studies highlight the therapeutic potential of art in navigating grief and emotional distress.
By engaging in creative expression, individuals experiencing grief can access a structured yet deeply personal method of coping. Art provides a tangible way to externalize pain, reflect on memories, and engage in self-exploration, all of which contribute to emotional healing. The intersection of science and creativity demonstrates that healing is not only psychological but also physiological—art can quite literally change the brain’s response, fostering resilience and well-being in the process.
Personal Stories
To deepen my understanding, I reached out to friends, family, and peers to hear their experiences with art and grief. Some stories were moving beyond words, especially when they spoke about how art had provided them a sense of agency and peace during times of overwhelming sadness.
One friend shared that they turned to music after losing a loved one. Playing the guitar became their way of processing sorrow that words couldn’t touch. Another friend expressed how painting helped them process not only the sadness of loss but also feelings of anger and confusion. Another shared that journaling offered a safe space to explore their feelings of guilt and what they wished they had done differently before their loved one passed.
These are just a few examples, but they illustrate the power of art to create a space where people can feel their grief, reflect on it, and ultimately heal in their own time. Everyone has their own path. For some, art helps them confront their grief head-on. For others, it’s about escaping into the creative process for a brief moment of peace. The beauty is that there is no one right way to grieve, and there’s no one right way to use art as a way through grief.
The Takeaway: Embracing Art as a Lifelong Companion in Grief
Grief is universal, and so is art. When words fail, let creativity speak.
Grief is inevitable. It’s also unpredictable and complex. But one thing I’ve learned through my work with Grief and through talking to others is that grief doesn’t have to be faced alone—and it doesn’t have to be all-consuming. Art can be an anchor, a bridge, a mirror, or even a light in the darkest moments.
We’re all on a unique journey when it comes to grief, and art doesn’t have a timeline. It doesn’t have a set formula. What it offers, though, is a way to express the inexpressible, to process the overwhelming, and to connect to parts of ourselves that are lost in the depths of sorrow. If there’s one thing I hope you take away from this, it’s that art is a powerful tool—one that can help you honour your grief, find comfort, and maybe even discover new strength in the midst of it all.
Grief sucks, but we don’t have to face it in silence. Through art, we can find ways to move through it, step by step, stroke by stroke, note by note. And when we do, we can heal.
References
Bosman, J. T., Bood, Z. M., Scherer-Rath, M., Dörr, H., Christophe, N., Sprangers, M. A. G., & van Laarhoven, H. W. M. (2021). The effects of art therapy on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in adults with cancer: A systematic literature review. Supportive Care in Cancer, 29(5), 2289–2308 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-020-05869-0
Hu, J., Zhang, J., Hu, L., Yu, H., & Xu, J. (2021). Art therapy: A complementary treatment for mental disorders. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 686005. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005
Jensen, A., & Bonde, L. (2018). The use of arts interventions for mental health and wellbeing in Health Settings. Perspectives in Public Health, 138(4), 209–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757913918772602
Stuckey, H. L., & Nobel, J. (2009). The connection between art, healing, and public health: A review of current literature. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2008.156497
