Girl Uses Art as Therapy

By
Anita C
-

Omiya Hassan better known as Illumiyati on social media has many descriptions to her name. She is a graduate student pursuing her doctorate degree in Electrical Engineering, an artist, a doodler, a singer, and an amateur cook. According to the Bengali-based Hassan, she has been battling with depression and anxiety for a quite some time.

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I've always supported on seeking professional help or seeking help from people who are empathetic and would listen. It's not a shame if you go to a professional. It doesn't mean you have failed yourself in being "normal & happy". It means that you're putting effort in taking care of yourself. Almost like going to a spa to treat your body good but this time you're doing it for your mind. . . . Seek help from people who would listen instead of giving you advices that have a hint of force. Reach out to people who would be supportive and empathetic . . . #ipadproart #ipadpro #mentalhealthawareness #awarenessart #mentalhealthart #healing #selfhelp #digitalartistsoninstagram #digitalart #digitalartist #digitalpainting

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“As I was alone and was uncomfortable at expressing my feelings through words to others, taking my counselor’s advice I started doing some artwork-series that acted as personal therapy,” the artist shared with Bored Panda. “I took some time off of my schedule only to talk to myself and express these feelings through art and digital brush strokes. After completing each art-piece, I was left with a feeling filled with warmth and courage.”

She also began sharing her creations on her Instagram account. If you are interested to see her work, just keep on scrolling.

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When living in a conservative, status driven society, a or a number of traumatic experiences can lead one self to thinking that they are not worthy of this society. They are labeled as an error in the perfect system. Instead of inviting them to be safe we dispose them of being weak. Love, compassion and warmth have been fading away. We compare success with happiness as competitors. For those who find happiness in people and community are considered weak. But are they really? Your time will come when your success will be forgotten, you'll be alone only with the pictures of fake smiles and handshakes on your wall. Then you'll realize, the importance of loved ones and a like-minded community. . . The system we have now is so messed up when it comes to love. We withdraw from people that our minds & heart fall in love only to chase after a successful future by accepting people based on high level LinkedIn endorsements and resumes. It's a job search of your love life. . . You can call me the erroneous human who will go after human warmth over endorsements and resumes because honestly, I am deeply disgusted with the system and you should be too… #ipadpro #ipadproart #digitalart #digitalartistsoninstagram #love #trauma #mentalhealthart #mentalhealth

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Reminder to love yourself even with all the imperfections that you think you might have. You are beautiful. . . I suffer from different types of acne. Some are rash-like, some are cystic and some leave a scar that stays with me for years. People with acne, we're always concious of our face. We try our best to take care of it. So, when someone asks "why do you have so many acne and marks on your face?", The question haunts us for a longer time than you think it would. . . I've been having some stressful couple of days and this month's menstrual cycle wasn't all glamorous for me either which caused outbursts on my face. I knew that and I was take caring of it. It's not easy to remove them in a single day, there's no "shortcut" way to it. So, when someone asks these type of questions, it makes us insecure. I wasn't even feeling good in Eid because all I thought were the huge acnes on my face. It made me hate my face. . . It's not easy for us. We cannot just go to bed wearing makeup without a good cleansing routine even when extremely tired. We eat and drink with caution. We put ointment, cream that sometimes smudges our pillow and ruins it. We are always cautious. . . Please stop or refrain yourself from asking these ignorant questions to us. Your words are deadlier than a knife. . . #digitalartistsoninstagram #digitalart #ipadpro #ipadproart #acne #acnecommunity #acnepositivity #artistsoninstagram #artist

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If you're a Bangladeshi or a south-asian who did not graduate from the "top" school of your country, then I bet once in a lifetime people made you feel like you're not good enough for the world even when you're trying your best. At least that's what happened to me. Constantly doubting myself, bumping on skeptical faces that questioned my choice of pursuing graduate studies. I bet in the future if I ever quit my graduate studies and pursue something else people will shake their heads and say "it's a private University grad. No wonder…" . For us it's a hard life. It's like everyday we're constantly proving ourselves worthy of the society we live in. I fight everyday with myself and try my best to make my own Identity. Trying my best not to be known for my parents and siblings but for myself. It's a never ending fight. . While fighting these fights, I forgot how to love myself and not give a f**k about what others saw of me. I slowly realized that my choice to give a f***k and my confidence is the key to a happier life. No matter how hard you try, if you don't respect yourself, you won't get the respect back from others. . I will start by saying. I'm Omiya Hassan. Graduated from the EEE dept in UIU at 2017. Not just a EEE graduate. I'm proud of where I came from. And if you cannot accept that then you're not worthy of my time. . #ipadproart #ipadpro #digitalart #selflove #privateuniversity #bangladeshi #bangladeshartist #digitalartistsoninstagram

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There were times when I wanted to buy a dress that I liked but didn't at the end because all I could think of was "what would others think of me?" I was always shy with my body and didn't have the confidence to experiment with clothes and fashion. At one point I gave up on how I wanted to look. It's because whatever I wanted to wear was somehow not acceptable or okay in other's eyes. Maintaining that acceptance made me loose the happiness inside of me. . . . But I realized, loving your body the way it is does impact your mind positively. If you are comfortable with your body then you are comfortable with whatever you want to wear despite other's viewpoint. Someday I'll learn to respect my choices and give my happiness a priority. It's still a process but I'm trying. . . . #ipadpro #ipadproart #digitalart #digitalartistsoninstagram #mentalhealthart #mentalhealthawareness #positivethoughts #positivebody #bodyandmind #artistsoninstagram

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