💛Who Paint Your Pain💛 Away™ Is For
Paint Your Pain Away is designed for individuals who are seeking a deeper connection to themselves through guided creative expression, mindfulness, and emotional awareness.
This space is for those who may be navigating:
• Chronic stress or burnout
• Emotional overwhelm or unresolved trauma
• Chronic pain or health-related challenges
• Anxiety, depression, or mental fatigue
• Life transitions, loss, or identity shifts
It is also for those who simply feel:
• Disconnected from themselves
• Unsure how to process what they are feeling
• Ready for a different, more supportive approach to healing
This program is especially supportive for:
• Veterans and first responders
• Individuals on a personal healing journey
• Those exploring holistic wellness practices
• Anyone seeking a creative, non-traditional approach to self-discovery
No prior experience with meditation or art is required.
Only a willingness to show up for yourself, exactly as you are.
Finding Inspiration in Every Color at Every Phase
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"Healing the world, one brushstroke at a time."
About Paint Your Pain Away™
I am the founder of Paint Your Pain Away™. I am an artist, a mother, and a disabled Marine Corps Veteran.
I have spent years studying holistic care for the purposes of healing. The biggest thing I have come to understand is connection between creativity and emotional recovery.
Paint Your Pain Away™ was created from my own journey of surviving trauma, chronic illness, and the long process of rebuilding a life after severe adversity.
For a long time, survival was my only focus.
But eventually I realized something important:
Healing requires more than just surviving.
It required 2 main things.....
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Acceptance of what happened to me......
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The ability to express what happened, and what it took for me to survive it....
Shannon Southwick
Founder & Creator
My name is Shannon.
Founder Background
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United States Marine Corps Veteran
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Survivor and advocate for trauma recovery
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Researcher and creator of creative healing programs
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Founder of the Paint Your Pain Away wellness initiative
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Our Philosophy
Paint Your Pain Away™ exists to create a safe and welcoming space where individuals experiencing emotional, physical, or psychological pain can explore healing through creativity, education, and community.
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We believe healing does not come from “fixing” what is broken.
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Because you are not broken.
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You are not damaged.
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You have purpose.
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You matter.
Our mission is to help individuals learn how to live alongside their experiences, understand them, and transform pain into expression, growth, and connection.
ART IS NOT A CURE.
But it can be a powerful doorway into healing.
Supporting the Veteran Community
Paint Your Pain Away™ was also created with deep awareness of the challenges many veterans face when navigating the mental health system.
Many individuals begin building trust with a therapist only to have that relationship disrupted due to provider turnover, insurance changes, or system limitations.
This can create a painful cycle of reopening wounds and retelling trauma repeatedly.
Paint Your Pain Away™ aims to provide a stable supportive environment and accessible resources that individuals can return to at their own pace while continuing their personal healing journeys.
For Veterans, Survivors, and Anyone else Struggling
If you have ever felt broken, overwhelmed, or lost in your own mind, you are not alone........
This community exists for people who need a safe calming space to create, reflect, and heal.
Whether it's through painting, journaling, mindfulness practices, or shared stories, healing can begin one small step at a time.
Or, as we like to say here:
"One brushstroke at a time."
My Personal Commitment To You....
If Paint Your Pain Away™ helps even one person choose life over despair, then this mission is worth every moment.
Together, we can transform pain into something meaningful.
Together, we can create something beautiful.
My Journey
My life has not followed the easy path many people would imagine.
Like many survivors, I have lived through experiences that left deep emotional and physical scars — including childhood trauma, military experiences, domestic abuse, and the long-term effects of Complex PTSD.
Over time, those experiences also led to chronic health conditions including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and celiac disease.
For many years I struggled with nightmares, anxiety, and the overwhelming weight of carrying so many painful memories.
Survival eventually turned into something else:
A determination to heal.
Discovering Healing Through Creativity
During therapy, I began to notice something unexpected....
When my hands were busy creating — drawing, painting, crafting — it became easier to talk about the things I had carried for so long.
Art allowed me to express emotions that words alone could not.
What began as a simple attempt to rediscover a hobby eventually became something so much deeper.
Why I Created Paint Your Pain Away™
Over the years I have lost friends, fellow veterans, and people I care deeply about to suicide.
Watching people suffer in silence is something I refuse to accept as normal.
Paint Your Pain Away™ was created to offer another path — one that combines creativity, reflection, and community.
A place where people can learn to process their pain rather than carry it alone.
Our Mission
Paint Your Pain Away™ exists to help people transform emotional pain into creative expression and healing.
We believe that healing is not limited to just one path. For many people, especially those living with trauma, chronic illness, or overwhelming stress, creativity becomes a powerful way to process emotions and reconnect with themselves.
Through art, mindfulness, and supportive community spaces, Paint Your Pain Away™ provides tools that encourage reflection, resilience, and hope.
Our mission is simple:
To help people rediscover their inner strength, express what words cannot, and remember that healing is possible.
Or, as we say here:
"Healing the world, one brushstroke at a time."
Our goal is not to replace therapy or medical care.
Instead, Paint Your Pain Away™ is designed to complement professional support by offering creative tools that help people explore their emotions in a safe and constructive way.
A Message to Anyone Who Feels Alone
If you are struggling with trauma, chronic illness, stress, or emotional pain, please know this:
Sometimes it begins with something very small…
A single brushstroke. 🎨
Creative expression helped me:
• Process My Trauma
• Calm My Nervous System
• Work Through Difficult Emotions
• Reconnect With A Sense Of Identity Beyond Survival
Painting became more than just a hobby for me.
It became the source of my healing.
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You are not broken.
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You are not alone.
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Healing does not happen all at once.
Meet the Family
Unit
Photographer
Storie Myers
Storie is my daughter, she is also an aspiring artist, and dreams one day of becoming a Sonographer. She takes the pictures of my artwork so I can keep painting. She may also help with some courses as well.
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Husband and Cheerleader
Collin Southwick
Collin is my biggest fan! He helps me keep my prospective clear, offers up ideas for my paintings, and when I cannot decide on template creations because: (I get very critical of my thoughts & ideas) he always brings me back to a functional setting of calm.
Lead Tech
Nathaniel Myers
Nathan is my son an all around tech guru, if I cannot make it work he will. He knows of all sorts of new emerging apps that will help benefit this enterprise and take it as far and as wide as I hope it to reach.
Safety & Support Resources
If you or someone you know is struggling, confidential help is available.
In the United States, you can contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
Paint Your Pain Away™ provides educational wellness resources and peer-support guidance and does not replace licensed medical or mental health care.
Our Clients
