Art for Big Feelings

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Toormina, NSW
Art for Big Feelings

Creative Arts Therapy

I help you navigate life’s challenges with joy and creativity, muting brain static and letting your heart lead. Love your life.

Embrace your big feelings.

21/07/2025

A little inspiration round up.

Sweet things in the light.
Many art gallery delights.
Big hearted nature breaths.
Incredible textures and colours.
Tunes that comfort.
💙

27/04/2025

PSA for deep-feeling humans: only you get to decide how you feel.

Your feelings live in your body.
Your emotions are how you make sense of the world.

So if someone tries to tell you how you’re feeling-based on your face, your words, your behaviour…please, listen to yourself first.

If you’re anything like me, and you sometimes need a solid 48 hours of processing time, a table full of art supplies and a fresh journal just to figure out what’s going on inside... phrases like “Hmm, I might need a minute,” or “I’ve gotta go figure a thing out,” can be life-savers.
(Also: they sound like you might just have an upset stomach. Which, honestly, sometimes you do. 💩)

The thing is: my sad and your sad are rarely the same sad.
Only you know what you’re feeling.
Being emotionally skilled isn’t about fixing your feelings-it’s about finding the right words to describe them.
(Bonus points if you have someone nearby who can understand you-and if they can’t, you can co-create understanding together.💥)

We aren’t born with neat little emotions like “sad” or “angry” already programmed into us.
We’re born with raw body sensations-like tightness, warmth, energy-and over time, we learn to build emotions that make sense of them, based on our unique experiences and culture.

Your brain is constantly predicting and interpreting what you feel, using your past, your body, and the world around you.

When someone labels your feelings for you-espesho if they get it wrong-it can actually be harmful. 👎

Maybe you’re overwhelmed, but they call you “sad.”

Maybe you’re lost, but they call you “depressed.”

Suddenly, you’re stuck inside a story that isn’t even yours.

Words matter.
Take your time with them.
Protect your right to name your own experience. Trust the heck outta yourself.

And if you can’t find the right words just yet?
That’s exactly what art therapy is for. 😉

P.S. This way of understanding emotions is inspired by constructionist theories of emotion (Like the work of Lisa Feldman Barrett). Our feelings aren’t pre-programmed; we build em as we go.

I’m curious, do you agree? What’s one feeling you’ve been figuring out lately?

💙 Hayley

16/04/2025

Damn. I’m still realising that just because I feel big things…
 doesn’t mean I can articulate them properly.

And honestly? That’s kinda helpful for the people around me to know.

I talk in emotions all the time - If you say hi and I cry? I’m probably okay.
 I just haven’t had a conversation beyond small talk in a while.
 Or I’m feeling a tad overloaded.

Sure, my brain can name all the patterns. But actually breaking them? My body’s still buffering.

The more I use words to try and untangle the sensations I’m feeling, the more tightly tangled I become.

I need to move the sensations out of my body- to see them, to interact with them - BEFORE I can understand them.

Then I can more easily, more accurately, put words to them. (If I bloody well feel like it.)

And if you’ve ever felt that— like your inner world is LOUD but the words keep glitching, you’re certainly not broken.

You might just need a different way in.

Art therapy isn’t about making masterpieces. It’s about making something. A splat. A scribble. A weird blob with teeth that somehow feels like truth.

Because sometimes your feelings don’t need labels or another painful recollection of childhood mems.
 Sometimes, they just need a place to land.
 This carousel is for the ones who feel too much, think too hard, and are learning—bit by bit—to stop narrating their experience and start making their way through it.

Hayley 💙

17/12/2024

I drew this about two months ago - it felt light and fun at the time. Oh mate, the irony. For the last month or so, I’ve been buried deep, deep in my feelings. December and all its anticipation kinda does that to me.

I’m sharing this now because I’ve had a bunch of excellent humans grab my wrist and pull me the eff out. I’m starting to shake off the dirt.

Here’s what helped me (in case it helps you, too):

🗣 Talking to people who can hold my big feelings.
I leaned on trusted relationships and professional support - being discerning about who felt safe to share with and who might already be carrying too much.

💭 Trusting deeply that my big feelings are okay.
I’m okay. I’m not broken. I don’t need to be fixed.

🍃 Using nature to anchor me to now. Tuning into tiny rocks, leaves, their texture, or how they float in the wind - it reminded me I’m still here, connected in the world. (Nature has a way of settling the nervous system.)

🚶‍♀️ Gentle movement.
Slow yoga, walks, and lifting weights when I could. Using my strength reminded me I’m strong - inside and out.

⭐️ Not striving to “feel better” before I was ready.
I let myself cry until I’d had enough. Then I did small, joyful things—singing, silly dancing, travelling for hugs, phone-free time, honest chats, scribbly art, writing. Just following what felt doable and right.

💤 Only doing the essentials - and nothing more.
I worked. I rested. I focused on the basics: nourishment, sleep, water. No overachieving. No forcing. Just enough to keep me steady.

If you’re feeling buried, yeeeesh, I know that feeling. It can feel yucko. But you’re just a human being, being human.

Let the people who love you grab your wrist and pull you up into the fresh air. Shake the dirt off when you’re ready.

Big feelings are welcome here.
💙

16/12/2024

Creative Arts Therapy: let’s talk about it.

The recent NDIS announcements are a loud reminder that this kind of therapy is still wildly misunderstood. It’s not just “making art”- it’s a powerful, evidence-based way for people of all ages and abilities to process, express, and practice self-understanding and acceptance when words (or traditional approaches) don’t quite fit.

I’m learning to get better at explaining what I do - not just because I love this work (which I do), but because choice and accessibility matter. Everyone deserves the kind of support that works for them.

So, what do you think?

Does this explanation make sense?

Where are you curious?

What can I clarify or amend?

Please let me know anytime- because this work matters. Annnnd… it just might be the kind of support you’ve been looking for.
💙

09/12/2024

Getting fancy. 💙

Address

Toormina, NSW

Website

http://artforbigfeelings.com/

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