How painting helped a New Brunswick family deal with a mental health crisis

Just over a year ago, Lily Richard’s hands were so raw and sore, she would never have been able to do what she loves — paint.

The 11-year-old from Moncton has been diagnosed with a severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. She was compelled to wash her hands multiple times a day, leaving them covered in scabs.

Her mind was so consumed with disturbing thoughts, fears and phobias that at one point Lily struggled to go outside or sleep in her own bed, said her father Tim Richard.

“Last Christmas we were at my mother’s and her anxiety was so bad we had to leave Christmas Eve,” said Tim.

“It got to the point that we could not deal with it or control it.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It got to the point that we could not deal with it or control it."

READ MORE: NHL’s Corey Hirsch is the sports world’s newest mental illness advocate

Then, last fall, Lily had to be hospitalized for five weeks.

That’s when Tim, a woodworker by trade, decided there was something he could do to help his daughter.

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He put his skills to work and started stretching handmade canvasses for Lily, knowing that painting seemed to help quiet her obsessions.

“If her mind can concentrate on something else, then there are no worries” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If her mind can concentrate on something else, then there are no worries" he said.

Art, along with therapy and medication has now changed his little girl.

“I don’t worry about ‘oh is the paint poisonous or something,’ because it’s not,” said Lily, who now paints on a regular basis.

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3:18 One teen’s struggle and success in battling OCD

Making the canvasses has also turned into a full-time job for her dad. After getting wind of his quality work, well-known artists from across New Brunswick and P.E.I. are reaching out to Tim to buy his canvasses in bulk.

He says he is grateful for their support because it allows him stay at home where he says he needs to be.

“We had to take her out of after school care because of her anxieties. So I would have to leave work at 2:30 to go get her at school anyway. This way I am home and if there is an issue I am not far from her,” he said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We had to take her out of after school care because of her anxieties. So I would have to leave work at 2:30 to go get her at school anyway. This way I am home and if there is an issue I am not far from her," he said.

Now he is able to keep a watchful eye over his little artist.

“Now my hands are better.” said Lily, who said the scabs are gone now and the only thing on her hands is paint.