Reimagining self-care through creative interventions: a medical humanities approach to the study of selected paintings by Frida Kahlo

Abstract

This paper undertakes an in-depth exploration of Frida Kahlo’s iconic self-portraits, reinterpreting them as profound visual narratives of her experience living with lingering pain, illness, and trauma. The central aim is to demonstrate how Kahlo’s artistic practice transcends mere expressions of suffering, serving as an intentional and powerful mechanism for self-care, resilience, and the restoration of individuality. By applying medical humanities frameworks, including narrative medicine, embodiment theory, and disability studies, to Kahlo’s extensive oeuvre, this study offers a novel interpretive lens. The analysis of selected paintings reveals how Kahlo skilfully employed colour, symbolism, and surrealist elements to describe the complex physical, emotional, and psychological dimensions of her lifelong health journey. The findings of this research indicate that artistic creation can serve as an important tool for agency and healing in times of distress. To this end, this paper reframes the concept of ‘self-care’ as creative, reflective, and relational, rather than therapeutic. The study concludes that Kahlo’s work enriches the discourse in medical humanities by demonstrating the possibility of redefining self-care as an ongoing creative process of meaning-making. Her paintings suggest that healing can also occur by giving form to experience and that art can help transform suffering into understanding.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Cogent Arts and Humanities, 2026 · DOI ↗