No, that’s not a sketchbook you’re holding. It is a device for nervous system regulation. And good thing you brought a pencil; that’s a tool of displacement.

Drawing is having a moment right now in some corners of social media. Specifically,  drawing is being used to reduce stress and return the body to “baseline” (a vague but popular benefit defined by social media users). Funny enough, discussion of drawing is happening on the smartphone as a way to counter addictive behavior associated with the smartphone itself. 

It’s easy to understand why smartphones have such appeal. The gamification and random rewards built into every phone app keep our nervous systems cranked up and on alert. 

The body experiences this always-on-alert status as stressful. This causes “your body to respond to perceived threats by increasing your heart rate, muscle tension, blood pressure and the release of stress hormones such as cortisol,” according to a recent article in The Washington Post.

Putting pencil to paper helps our nervous systems switch from “fight or flight” agitation to a calmer state of “rest and digest.” Benefits can accrue when the hobby is practiced just 10 minutes a day. 

Here’s how drawing works to reduce stress and anxiety through sensory awareness:

First, drawing requires concentration on shapes, colors, lines and hand movements, plus constant communication between the eyes, hands and motor planning regions of the brain… This focus and coordination helps to anchor your attention in the present, keeping your brain from straying toward negative thoughts like worry or overthinking.

Picking up a pencil to displace stress — instead of using a substance —  is the moment when displacement happens. It is subtle, but extremely important because the act of displacement to relieve stress instigates all addictive behavior according to the Unified Theory of Addiction.

Drawing is also an example activity in the recently published Art-Based Recovery Capital Framework. This framework recommends specific art-making activities to increase self-awareness, rebuild identity, and yes, regulate that nervous system as part of addiction recovery. As explained:

Its central thesis is simple: addiction recovery is strengthened when clinical stabilization is accompanied by symbolic, relational and existential reconstruction. Art-based processes can help people externalize pain, interpret experience, rebuild identity and translate insight into purposeful action. This does not make art a cure, nor does it replace medical or psychological treatment. It positions art as a structured human pathway for expanding recovery capital.

Depression is viewed as a comorbidity of addiction, and art therapy can be an effective part of treatment. Art therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression outside of addiction studies; for example, a small study demonstrated art therapy’s effectiveness for women with breast cancer. Others come to art therapy intuitively. Winston Churchill used painting and behavioral activation, for example, to address his depression.   

Drawing is a useful activity to practice whether or not it is used as part of a recovery process. It relaxes the mind and body. Drawing offers another way to communicate with others. Or, it can function as an ongoing conversation with yourself. 

A daily drawing has been a great addition to my life.

Written by Katie McCaskey. First published August 25, 2026.

Sources:

“How 10 minutes of drawing can reset your nervous system,” The Washington Post, August 13, 2026.

“From Dependence to Meaning: An Art-Based Recovery Capital Framework for Addiction Recovery and Relapse Prevention,” Ignacio Bonasa Alzuria, May 14, 2026.

“The Nucleus Accumbens: A Common Target in the Comorbidity of Depression and Addiction,” Frontiers in Neural Circuits, June 29, 2020.

“Exploring the benefits of art therapy for anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer: A meta-analytical systematic review,” Journal of Psychiatric Research, September 2025.

Image Copyright: Tima Miroshnichenko/Pexels.