SAN ANTONIO — Rocks, paint, and the silence in her backyard are what bring peace to Sue Alice Gomez.

“When I focus on this, all that sort of goes away for that moment,” said Gomez.

Her art is more than just a hobby. Gomez said painting rocks helps ease her anxiety.

“My anxiety is very overwhelming to me. I sit up and I think of scenarios in my mind, what could happen. What if this happens? If I’m not focused on something, it’s just going to keep going and going,” said Gomez.

When she paints, all that disappears.

Four rocks painted by Sure Alice Gomez. (Spectrum News/File)
Four rocks painted by Sure Alice Gomez. (Spectrum News/File)

 

“I can look at something positive instead of having all these negative thoughts in my mind,” said Gomez.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women are more likely to experience anxiety than men. Anxiety disorders go hand-in-hand with depression. Depression affects about 16 million adults in America every year.

Gomez has dealt with anxiety since her mother’s death in 2018. When the pandemic made the anxiety worse, she found a way to cope by painting alongside her daughter.

“Yeah, because you get out of the house. You’re not just stuck in there doing nothing,” said Gomez.

Positive messages are her specialty.

“Maybe someone’s going through the same thing I’m going through and maybe there’s nobody there to tell them “you matter,’’” said Gomez.

Placining the rocks around the city can helo whoever finds it with a little pick-me-up, too.