26/09/2023
Putting pen to paper 📝
Local artist .grim invited people to jot down some blunt and honest perspectives of their mental health struggles… so I offered some of my own, wondering if they’d be helpful, or worthy of use.
It was surprisingly easy for the stories to flow. I began chronologically, like a timeline. Before I knew it, I was churning out all sorts of trauma starting from my youth, to where I am today.
It was eye-opening to read my own words, as though it was just a short story, neatly summarised. To write it seemed effortless, compared to the turmoil it took to live it.
I remembered what I’d been through, and what it felt like. I observed how far I’d come, and how, despite this, I am still not immune to struggling. I understand myself better now, and have more clarity over why I think and feel the way I do.
Carl Jung spoke of the ‘wounded healer’, meaning when someone uses their own pain to inform their work when helping others. I think that this is quite common in therapists. I also think that it is important to share the fact that we have struggled ourselves.
People who work with people don’t need to hide behind a ‘professional’ mask. It’s okay to be human… after all, for the most part, the people you’re helping need another human being who can help them to feel heard, seen, and understood.
I often suggest to the people I work with to put their feelings down on paper… whether it’s drawing, free-writing, or in a letter… and this writing exercise has reminded me to keep in touch with my own wounds.
So… grab a pen and see what happens ✍️
Can’t wait to see the exhibition .grim ❤️
