Before You Cheer Your Employee Up, Help Them Let Go of Their Stress, Fear, Anger, Disappointment, and Pressure

Dear Business Leaders, HR Professionals, Wellness Teams, and Employers,

If you genuinely care about your employees’ well-being, you probably already do many things to support them.

You organize fun events.You celebrate achievements.You create team-building experiences. You bring people together, hoping to lift their energy and help them reconnect.

And these things matter.

But there is one question I believe we need to ask more often:

Before You Cheer Them Up, Help Them Let Go

What happens to the stress that employees are already carrying?

Because throughout working life, people experience much more than deadlines and meetings.

They experience fear.Stress.Disappointment.Frustration.Anger.Uncertainty.Pressure.Burnout.

The emotional weight of difficult projects.The anxiety of organizational changes and transitions.The disappointment when something they worked hard for does not go as planned.

And sometimes, they simply need a place to let some of that go.

You cannot keep filling a container that has never been emptied.

Imagine a container filled with dirty water.

You can keep adding clean water to it.

But eventually, you have to empty the container.

Employee wellness can work the same way.

You can add entertainment. You can add celebrations. You can add motivational activities. You can add another team-building event.

But if people are carrying unresolved stress, fear, anger, disappointment, or emotional exhaustion, simply adding more positive experiences may not address what is already there.

Sometimes, before we add more, we need to create space to let go.

First, help people release some of the weight they are carrying.

Then create space for balance.

For calm.

For connection.

For joy.

For renewed energy.

First, let go. Then, cheer them up.

Art Does Not Belong Only to Artists

I believe art has a much bigger role in our lives than simply being something beautiful to look at.

Artists have always reflected the realities of their time.

We observe what is happening around us. We express what is difficult to say. We highlight emotions, questions, struggles, and experiences that sometimes remain invisible.

And when we can contribute to healing through that process, art becomes more than an artwork.

It becomes a tool.

For centuries, people have turned to artistic expression to process emotions, find meaning, and reconnect with themselves.

I believe we can bring that possibility into the workplace as well.

I Believe Art Doesn't Belong to the Artist Anymore

After more than 20 years of my own journey as an artist, I have come to understand something deeply:

Art does not belong only to the artist.

My role is not simply to create an artwork and ask people to look at it.

My role can also be to open a space where people can connect with their own emotions.

A space where they can slow down.

Reflect.

Express.

Release.

Reconnect.

And this is exactly what I bring into my workshops.

The person participating does not need to be an artist.

They do not need artistic training.

They do not need to create something “perfect.”

The artwork is not the destination. The journey is.

What matters is what happens during the process.

What someone feels.

What they discover.

What they release.

What they reconnect with.

Art becomes the vehicle.

And I become the bridge.

Sometimes You Think You Create the Art.

Sometimes the Art Creates You.

This is something I discovered through my own journey.

For more than 20 years, I have painted, written books, created poetry, and explored different forms of creative expression.

My original intention was, of course, to contribute something meaningful to my society and to communicate through my work.

But over time, I realized something else.

Sometimes, I was also creating art in order to heal myself.

And sometimes you think you are creating an art piece.

But in the process, the art piece is creating you.

Renewing you.

Changing you.

Giving you a different perspective.

Helping you release something you did not know you were carrying.

That realization changed the way I think about art.

Beauty Has a Place in Healing Too

There is another side of this conversation that is equally important.

Sometimes, we simply need to experience something beautiful.

Research into the psychological and neurological effects of viewing art has explored how engaging with aesthetically pleasing and meaningful visual experiences can influence mood, emotion, stress, and well-being.

And I have experienced this personally throughout my own artistic journey.

You will find paintings in my work that are created simply to bring beauty, color, emotion, and a sense of peace.

You will find words and poems that are meant to touch something gentle inside us.

Because sometimes beauty gives us a moment to breathe.

Sometimes color gives us energy.

Sometimes words give us permission to feel.

And sometimes creating something beautiful helps us remember that there is still beauty available to us.

This Is Why I Created Creative Wellness Experiences

Today, through my workshops and Creative Wellness Experiences, I bring these ideas into spaces where people spend a significant part of their lives: the workplace.

I create guided creative experiences where employees can step away from their usual roles and responsibilities and connect with themselves and with one another through art.

Sometimes the focus is Let Go.

Sometimes it is Balance.

Sometimes it is Communication.

Sometimes it is simply creating a moment of joy, connection, reflection, or celebration.

The creative process becomes a safe and accessible way to explore emotions without requiring people to be artists.

Because this is not about producing a masterpiece.

It is about what happens to the person while they are creating.

After years of creating art for myself and for my community, I have discovered that I can contribute in another way:

By opening the door for other people to experience what creativity can do for them.

And through my corporate workshops, I am able to bring that experience to more people.

Not simply through my paintings.

Not simply through my books.

But through the experience of creating together.

So, before your next celebration, team-building event, or employee wellness activity, ask yourself:

What are our people carrying?

And perhaps, before asking them to feel better, give them a space to let go.

Because sometimes the most valuable wellness experience is not about adding something new.

It is about finally making room for something new.

If you are interested in bringing a Creative Wellness Experience to your organization, I would be happy to connect.

Victoria Isikman

Artist | Creative Wellness Facilitator VFA Creative Events Creative Wellness Experiences for Corporate Teams & Individuals