From a young age, artist Piiij Goodrem preferred to push painful experiences and feelings away from sight rather than confront them.

"I was brought up in a way that really indicated to me that the best way to deal with something is to sweep it away, not bring it up," she says.

"Appearances mattered."

Now in her 30s, Piiij wants to speak up.

Orchids wrap around Piiij's body in her self-portrait, 'Holding'. (ABC News: Felicity James)

"I was assaulted quite young and there were several instances throughout my teen years," she says.

"I wasn't heard or supported in the ways that I needed to be, which meant that I just bottled everything up and I didn't talk about anything."

'Holding' is a self-portrait about holding yourself gently and accountable. (ABC News: Felicity James)

After encouragement from her sister, Piiij sought help from a psychologist in her 20s.

She credits therapy with helping her open up, but finding the right person was initially emotionally and financially draining.

"It just felt very hard and scary and wrong," she says.

"I would be full-blown sobbing, a convulsing body cry, if I tried to talk about anything when I first started."

Ultimately, it was creating self-portraits that helped Piiij rediscover her body and her boundaries.

"It was very much a series that was about looking through my history and my trauma and trying to find safety and a home within my body," she says.

Piiij said it was an important part of her healing to be honest in the self-portraits.

"It's very hyper detailed and I’ve put a lot of stretch marks and cellulite and all this texture within my body in all these images," she says.

'Mind your tongue' and "Umbilical climb' are among Piiij Goodrem's self-portraits.

In one of Piiij's digital drawings, 'Holding', orchids and their roots wrap around her back.

"It's like they’re growing out of my back like wings," she says.

"It was about learning to hold myself gently and be kind, because I’m really bad at that."

'Grounded' is another self-portrait about growth and healing after trauma. (ABC News: Felicity James)

This intense focus on art, inspired by the natural world of tropical Darwin, also helped Piiij overcome a dependence on alcohol.

"[I was] a full-blown alcoholic, couple of bottles of wine a night, any night of the week, let alone if I was being social and then it was even more," Piiij says.

"It was just really about avoiding all of the noise in my head and to just hold it together and be normal."

Piiij Goodrem creates art in her home studio in Darwin. (ABC News: Felicity James)

Now after being sober for four years, Piiij reflects on how "getting lost" while working on a painting for a few hours helped her process uncomfortable thoughts.

"I'd realise that I hadn’t been thinking about drinking," she says.

"The most valuable thing for me has been making art and having an outlet that brings light instead of pulling me back into the darkness."

People who experience trauma during their childhood can feel isolated and unable to share their experiences, which can harm recovery.

Piiij Goodrem's art includes earrings and magnets inspired by her garden. (ABC News: Felicity James)

For a long time Piiij — and those around her — feared she would not make it to her 30s.

"Maybe only about three or four years ago, I hit the point where I was like: 'Actually I think I do want to live'," she says.

"I do want to give it a real hot shot and not just be existing, I would like to hit a point where I'm thriving."

Piiij Goodrem says friends encouraged her to pursue selling her art. (ABC News: Felicity James)

She has now turned her artistic escape into a side business.

"Find something that's constructive, that is nourishing and gives you that dopamine and feeling of contentment but isn't leading to any kind of self-destruction," Piiij says.

Piiij Goodrem has been creating art, earrings and printed clothing for local markets. (ABC News: Felicity James)