Art and Mental Health and Why Certain Images Make Us Feel Understood
Updated: 2 days ago
Eliana Bonaguro is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) who specializes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. She blends evidence-based therapy with visual storytelling through her illustrated self-help guides to make complex mental health concepts more approachable, engaging, and easier to understand.
Years ago, I opened an art book and saw a painting by Mark Ryden. I paused, unable to keep flipping through. Something about the image moved me, even though I couldn’t explain it right away. The painting felt strangely tender, with a sweetness that seemed fragile, like something beautiful was about to fade away. It made me think about how quickly the things we love can pass.
I kept staring at it, trying to figure out why it touched me so deeply. The painting wasn’t about my life, but it still seemed to show something I knew inside myself.
Even now, as a therapist and artist, I find that memory fascinating. How can a stranger’s image feel so personal? Why do we sometimes like paintings that make us uneasy? And how can an unsettling picture make us feel understood?
Looking at how art and mental health connect can help us explore these questions.
What is the connection between art and mental health?
Art helps us share what it means to be human. A face, a familiar object, a surprising scene, or a certain color can invite us to feel something the artist wants to share. As viewers, we bring our own memories, relationships, fears, and associations to what we see.
Sometimes we like a painting just because it’s beautiful or skillfully made. Other times, it feels personal. It might remind us of someone we loved, a time in our lives, or a feeling we’ve never been able to put into words.
A 2019 World Health Organization review examined evidence from more than 3,000 studies concerning the arts and health. The research explored how artistic engagement may contribute to well-being, health promotion, and illness management.
This doesn’t mean that looking at a painting will instantly make someone feel better. But it does show that our connection with art is important and worth paying attention to.
As both a counselor and an artist, I’m especially interested in moments when an image helps someone see an experience they’ve struggled to describe.
Why can an image express what words leave out?
Consider the sentence, “I feel alone.”
For one person, loneliness could mean missing someone who has passed away. For another, it might mean feeling unseen in a relationship. Someone else might feel lonely because they always seem strong and independent, so no one notices they need help.
The words are the same, but the experiences are very different. A picture can show those differences without needing to explain them.
An empty chair might make us think of grief. A well-dressed person standing alone could make us feel isolated. A spotless room with nowhere comfortable to sit might show a life that looks perfect but feels unwelcoming.
Art also lets contradictory emotions coexist. A painting can be both beautiful and unsettling. A figure might look delicate but also a bit threatening. Something sweet can also hint at decay.
Maybe that’s why some images stick with us. Our feelings are rarely just happy or sad, loving or resentful, safe or afraid. We can love someone and feel disappointed in them. We can appreciate a beautiful moment while knowing it won't last forever.
A picture can show these mixed feelings without making us choose between them.
How does symbolism make art feel personal?
Symbolism lets everyday objects suggest meanings beyond what they’re used for.
A mask might make us think about the pressure to keep up appearances. A fragile container could show vulnerability or the effort to protect something important. A nicely wrapped gift that’s starting to decay might make us wonder about love, disappointment, or expectations. But symbols don't have universal meanings.
A closed door could mean rejection to one person, but privacy to someone else. A mirror might make us think of vanity, self-reflection, aging, or facing something about ourselves we’d rather not see.
A lot depends on what we’ve been through when we look at an image. In my own pop surrealist artwork, I often explore the tension between outward appearances and inner experience.
I’m drawn to figures who look calm even when everything around them feels off. Sometimes, I start with a feeling I can’t quite name, and the people and objects in the image slowly bring it to life.
A scene that looks innocent might actually have something unsettling in it. A delicate person might be struggling with heavy expectations. An everyday object might suddenly seem threatening.
These contrasts are at the heart of what I do as the artist behind Otherworldly Ellie. But I don’t want people to feel like they have to figure out what I meant.
Someone might see a tough relationship in a painting I made while thinking about something else. Another person might find a picture funny, even if someone else thinks it’s sad. Neither interpretation has to be wrong.
The connection between the viewer and the artwork can become its own thing, separate from what the artist first meant.
Why are we sometimes drawn to unsettling art?
We often think art should make us feel good. But sometimes, the images that stick with us are odd, sad, or even unsettling.
Why would someone want to look at something uncomfortable? There isn't one psychological explanation.
Some people like the skill or mood in darker art. Others enjoy its humor, mystery, or the way it mixes familiar things in new ways. For some people, an unsettling image might remind them of something familiar in everyday life.
Think of a beautiful cake beginning to spoil, or an elegantly dressed figure standing in a room that feels slightly wrong. These images can make us feel torn between what looks appealing and what feels unsure.
That tension can feel like things we know: wanting to fit in but fearing rejection, enjoying youth while seeing time go by, or loving something even though we know it will change.
When I remember seeing Mark Ryden’s work for the first time, it wasn’t just the strange images that stayed with me. It was the tenderness I felt mixed with a sense that nothing lasts forever.
Someone else looking at the same painting might have felt something entirely different. That’s part of what makes art so interesting.
We don’t always have to know why an image moves us to enjoy it.
What makes an artwork worth living with?
When people pick art for their homes, they usually think about color, size, how well it’s made, and whether it fits with their space. But I think there’s another question to ask: Is this something I want to keep coming back to?
A painting might remind someone of a certain time in their life. It could bring up memories of a relationship, a big change, or something they’ve always struggled to say.
Another artwork might offer a sense of mystery. You might spot something new every time you look at it. A tiny detail you missed before could change how you see the whole piece. That’s one of the things I find most interesting about collecting art.
Our connection with a piece of art doesn’t end when we buy it or hang it up. The way we see it can change as our lives change.
A painting that once felt sad might later feel comforting. Something we first thought was funny might later bring up more complex feelings. Of course, art doesn’t have to be deeply meaningful to belong in our lives.
Sometimes we love something just because it’s beautiful, odd, funny, or full of imagination. That’s reason enough.
How can you use art to explore your emotions?
You don’t have to go to a museum or know anything about art history to explore how images make you feel.
You can do this with a painting in a gallery, a picture in a book, or even art you already have at home.
1. Notice what attracts your attention
Before you try to figure out what the image means, just look at it for a moment. Notice the colors, the light, how a person is standing, or anything that seems out of place. What do you see first?
2. Pay attention to your emotional response
Ask yourself how you feel as you look. Maybe you feel curious, sad, tender, amused, or uncomfortable. Maybe you don’t feel much at all. There’s no right answer, and you don’t have to be moved just because someone else thinks the art is important.
3. Consider your personal associations
Does anything in the image remind you of a memory, a relationship, or something you’ve been through? Maybe a crowded room makes you think of feeling overwhelmed. A person standing alone might remind you of a time you felt misunderstood. You don’t have to look for a hidden meaning. Sometimes just noticing a connection is enough.
4. Allow the interpretation to remain open
Try finishing the sentence: “This image brings to mind...” You might find something worth thinking about, writing down, or talking over with someone. Or you might just enjoy the image. The point isn’t to analyze every detail until you find the right answer. It’s to get curious about how you feel.
Do you need artistic talent to express yourself?
Not at all.
Making art can be another way to explore your feelings and experiences, even if you’ve never thought of yourself as artistic.
You could pick colors that match your mood, draw something tied to a memory, or put together photos that remind you of an important time in your life.
What you make doesn’t have to look beautiful or be perfect. Expecting everything you create to be impressive can actually get in the way of enjoying the process.
As a therapist who works with anxiety, OCD, and perfectionism, I often notice how hard it is for people to do things without judging how well they’re doing.
Someone might start drawing just for fun, but then get caught up worrying if what they make is good enough. They might keep fixing little things, compare themselves to others, or even give up if it doesn’t turn out the way they hoped.
It’s normal to want to get better at something. But if every creative effort feels like a test of your value, it can take away some of the activity's freedom.
Letting yourself make something imperfect can be a valuable experience.
How can art be part of a therapy conversation?
Sometimes it’s easier to start by saying, “This picture feels like how I feel,” instead of trying to explain everything in words.
A picture can help start a conversation about a feeling, relationship, or experience that’s hard to put into words. Someone might bring a photo, drawing, or painting to therapy and talk about what it makes them think of.
The therapist doesn’t have to give the image a set psychological meaning. Instead, what the person sees or feels about the image is what matters most.
For example, one person might see a small figure in a big landscape as a sign of vulnerability, while someone else might see it as freedom.
What really matters is how each person experiences it. It’s also important to remember that making or enjoying art on your own is different from professional art therapy, which involves working with a trained art therapist.
Looking at art, collecting it, or making your own can be meaningful, even if it’s not part of clinical treatment. Not every emotional reaction needs to be analyzed.
Sometimes a painting is just a painting, and enjoying it is all you need.
The images that stay with us
I still remember the moment I found Mark Ryden’s painting in an art book.
What fascinates me now is that I can’t separate the image from how I felt when I first saw it. The painting didn’t explain anything to me. It didn’t give advice or solve any tough feelings.
It just gave me something I could recognize. Maybe that’s one of the most interesting things about art. It lets us see someone else’s imagination and sometimes find something familiar in it.
Next time an image grabs your attention, try spending a bit more time with it. Notice what pulls you in, what feels uncomfortable, or what you keep coming back to. You don’t need to understand everything about a painting to feel connected to it.
Sometimes just feeling that connection is enough.
Read more from Eliana Bonaguro
Eliana Bonaguro, Licensed Mental Health Counselor
Eliana Bonaguro, LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders, including relationship OCD, panic disorder, and social anxiety. Through her private practice, Ellie Counseling, she provides evidence-based therapy for adults, integrating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and other individualized approaches. She is also a pop surrealist artist and the creator of Otherworldly Ellie, where she explores the complexities of human experience through symbolism, unsettling imagery, and visual storytelling. Her work as both a therapist and artist reflects her interest in the relationship between psychology, imagination, and emotional expression.
