I suppose my first realisation that our thoughts can greatly affect how we look upon life came in the form of a poem called which I called 'Thought'. I wrote it at the age of fifteen at the beginning of my parent’s divorce. Until my father died in 1996 (some sixteen years later) my thoughts, feelings, behaviours and reactions were pretty average. Little did I know then just how much the answers to my own depression lay in that poem. For now though I shall share some of the things that have always been there for me no matter what and why I believe they are so important for everyone.
As I get acquainted with all the features of this site, I hope to share some of the outside influences and gems I've come across that have worked for me. That's not to say they will for you as we all have our own unique tastes. To begin with, drawing has always been a safe haven for me to run to. It helps at those times when no amount of words are enough or they are just too difficult to express. This isn't just useful in the sad times in our lifes, but in our most exciting moments too - being in a stuffy officious workplace with people who have no time or interest in personal matters is not conducive to leaping about screaming with joy when you've just got your offer accepted on your first house, or a bank loan accepted.
A silly doodle saying 'YES, YES, YES!' elaborately embellished can do wonders in those situations and who of us hasn't doodled our boredom away in seemingly endless meetings - but have you tried doing it when it's tedious visitors that have come round and you are duty bound to attend to?
For many years I have dabbled in sketching and painting but it wasn't until I came across framed work of a collection of doodles on some bright yellow post-it notes that I started to value the true worth of what usually starts out as a purely subconscious activity. The picture to the side started out as a mere oval, which briefly turned into a head out of which trees and... well frankly I don't know what else came out of it. To this day I always end up being 'arty' because of being trained in art.
I have seen much more imaginative and exciting 'feelings' expressed from those who have not been trained in art, and am envious of many of them. In addition I find that the doodle acts as a visual reminder/notepad to what I was doing, thinking and feeling that day. In some meetings I've written my personal to do list (books I want to buy, friends I must phone etc) then covered it up with doodles, keeping another one going for work issues. Be warned though... remember those officious types, you can offend others if you're blatant about it.
So that's doodles. My first book of recommendation to tie in with the range of ways in which thought can affect our lives is 'Six Hats' by Edward de Bono, hence the title of this blog. I will be returning to this book later.
hello, i'm always doodling away :)
ReplyDeleteand it most def' works wonders for the mind.
i love what you're doing here. what i see so far looks interesting..lighthearted yet serious. and anything that sheds a real light on depression/mental health and ways of coping with it, is(imo)so very valuable. the stigmas, even today, can still run so very deep.. there's still, very much, an ingrained fear of feeling whats real, in our society. that stiff upper lip..pull yourself together.. i could go on lol.
i like what you say at the bottom of the blog about qualification. who is better qualified than someone who's experienced? other than, someone who's experienced and qualified :)
will be back to read some more when i've more time.
nice to meet you..
Glad you're enjoying the blogs Sue. Life is a mix of lighthearted and serious, or at least it should be.
ReplyDeleteIf, like me Sue you feel you have a lot to say on the subject of Mental Health issues, there's nothing stopping you starting your own blog you know.
And I feel I should point out that Mental Health Care itself does need qualified staff, but they can only really help if we let them in to do so. No one can work miracles to fix what they don't know is wrong.
"If, like me Sue you feel you have a lot to say on the subject of Mental Health issues, there's nothing stopping you starting your own blog you know."
ReplyDeletehi, i'm blogging over at greenwhisper. mental health interests me after working through several periods of depression throughout my life..but i think i'll leave the serious blogging about it to those more focused on it.
"And I feel I should point out that Mental Health Care itself does need qualified staff, but they can only really help if we let them in to do so. No one can work miracles to fix what they don't know is wrong."
hmmn, i have nothing against qualified mental health workers, and can totally understand the need for them. but from a personal perspective, i've had bad experiences in this area (granted it was many many years ago - so i dont know if the system has changed at all since then) they were let in, but still couldnt see me lol.. not as a whole anyway, it was more a matter of trying to convince me i should be taking drugs i didnt want to take (cos had been on that route before and it really wasnt an experience i wanted to repeat)and slotting me into a little box, ignoring many other aspects. among other things, it was accupuncture and luckily being able to talk with this same therapist and feeling heard that got me through it. it was a very slow process to recovery but that is the last time i've suffered from depression, on that level where it affects your whole life (or should i say prevents you from having a life) and that was over 12 year ago. so its a route i'm glad i chose.
Yep, it's important that everyone finds their own route - the one that works for them; the one where they can be 100% true to themselves.
ReplyDeleteMedical professionals are people too and some you will like and connect with, and some you won't. Some are good and some are not. That's not to say other therapies can't and don't work too, as you've found. I had a Rieki session once which was amazing but all I needed for that time, but that's not to say it would be the solution for everyone or for every time.
Suggesting ideas is fine, dictating them is not, which is why I'll tell people what has worked for me, but not Ever suggest it the only solution.
What's important is to look and keep looking until you find the one for you.