Thanks for the poll. I think some form of silent (non-verbal) expression taps into a different part of our brains where traumatic memories are deeply imbedded. Artistic expressions can release these in a slow and gradual way- quite different than some traumatic memories. My first therapist was an art therapist.
I have been an artist all my life. I carved marbles for 30 yrs, painted portraits, did stained glass in a commercial studio, and now I write/paint Orthodox Christian icons.
Making things, any thing, was my way of accounting for the time I spent that day. Each day I made something- a baby dress, some lines of needle point- I could prove to myself that I hadn't been hurt that day. A string of sanity that helped me keep my trauma at bay.