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SponsoredMany people conjure up an image of an artist with a drink in hand, as if alcohol were part of equipment. A study suggests the opposite. Researchers interviewed eight people in outpatient addiction treatment who took a weekly creative arts class at the Johns Hopkins Broadway Center for Addiction. They relayed that sobriety is where creative confidence comes back.
The class wasn’t art therapy. There was no clinical directive and no processing required, just printmaking, jewelry making, collage and macramé. A facilitator offered the class freedom to make anything they wanted.
Creative Confidence Comes Back
One participant was surprised at being seen as a creative person again. “Everybody asking about this and that, and it’s like, wow, I’m creative. I got good stuff in my mind. I can do this.”
Another completed a drawing and described the whole exchange between making things and staying sober: “Most things I don’t finish. If I can finish an art project, I can finish this.”
Strengthening the Class
The participants described four kinds of return. Connection came first; the group became a place where “people want to see me do good.” Then a safe, nonjudgmental room where creativity didn’t have to be about addiction. Then emotional relief absorbs anxiety and quiets obsessive thoughts. And finally agency: choosing your own materials and projects, deciding what to make and how, was proof that decisions were still available.
The Honest Caveats
Let’s be careful to not overstate the results. Eight volunteers at one center, interviewed once, is a hypothesis rather than proof. People who disliked the class were unlikely to still attend or to agree to an interview, and the study couldn’t show whether art-making specifically, rather than any friendly group activity, produced the benefits.
But it does show that those folks who kept showing up rather than just commit casually experienced creativity as part of their recovery rather than a distraction from it.
And if you want the small wins counted, the free Sober App tracks sober days and sleep.
Starting Your Own Practice
Sobriety doesn’t make you an artist. It removes the liquor that stood between you and the work.
None of the classes requires any skill or talent. It requires a small daily decision that alcohol used to make for you. Ten minutes of drawing, one paragraph, three chords, something deliberately unfinished and yours.
If peer support helps you keep showing up, find a group meeting that accepts you wholeheartedly and offers ways to share that support. Our directory features AA meetings in every state and thousands of cities, with filters for beginners and more.
Feel free to also discuss these options with an expert by calling
800-948-8417
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Eric Owens is a writer and editor with a bachelor degree in Philosophy, which has helped him with presenting complex information in a simple way that all audiences can understand. He specializes in the mental health and addiction recovery space. He’s also passionate about the environment and has extensive experience in creating content related to sustainability issues
View ProfilePeter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history. His primary focus is on the Cold War era. His academic work examines the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century.
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