Draw Your Monster

Talking about our trauma can be difficult. We might not know where to start. Or, we may feel like we’ve tried every trick in the book. If that’s the case for you, this may be a helpful activity to try.

I learned about Draw Your Monster while in undergrad during a class about group therapy. All of us in the group were asked to draw a struggle as if it were a monster. After some thought, there it was in all its glory: my anxiety. A cute little fuzzy monster. Honestly, I wanted to hug it, I thought it was cute; kind of like a stuffed animal. Then, of course, in true therapy fashion, we were asked to reflect on what the drawing told us about that struggle. It didn’t take long for me to realize I had made friends with my anxiety. As a life-long worrier, this made sense. If it wasn’t going anywhere, I guess we’ll get comfy with each other, right? But, because of this activity, I was able to take a step back and examine that relationship. It was helpful to realize that because my anxiety had been left untreated and snuck its way into the friend zone, I would see it as a misguided support, and something that was draining me in the process. Now I am able to recognize when my anxiety is taking the lead and need to find ways to support myself (to be clear, this is still a work in progress).

The hope with this activity is to provide you with an opportunity to reflect and better understand yourself in the midst of struggle, trauma, stress, grief, etc… I’ve included the instructions of the activity below. Please be kind to yourself and notice if this becomes distressing. It may be helpful to bring this up in the safety of a session with your therapist.  

Take a few moments to reflect on a current stressor, trauma, or struggle. If it were a monster, what would it look like? Draw its features. Is it spiky or soft? Dark or colorful? Big or small? Slimy, rough, loud, quiet, etc…? 

What words come up to describe your monster? 

I hope this serves you well,

Nicole