Cocooning vs. Quarantining- Words and Attitude
african monarch butterfly on white calla lily flower

Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com

Let’s switch up the negative names of our new Coronavirus reality to something slightly more life affirming. We have been told to hunker down and quarantine (the word hunker is defined as to squat or crouch down low). Before we switch up the names though, we might need to re-imagine what we are doing. Can you use the metaphor of a caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly to mark your current experience of being stuck at home? Please try this project to muster some resilience.

 

  • Please find some  paper in your home, or just use your imagination to conceptualize this creative angle on our strange situation.
  • Please divide your paper up into three sections.
  • In the first section, please create a caterpillar. If you are not feeling the creativity urge, maybe just jot down a list of things you were doing a few weeks ago that might represent a less robust version of yourself (for all of us who were stretched thin, this might not be too hard to imagine). My list would probably include drinking too much coffee, not completing projects, not returning phone calls, etc
  • In the second section, please draw a cocoon or chrysalis (chrysalis is the technical term any third grader might remind you of, should you refer to the metamorphosis of a butterfly using the word cocoon). Again if this is too base or juvenile for your liking, please use this space to jot down a list of enjoyable and life affirming things you might explore during this home time.
  • In the third section, please draw a butterfly to represent a new and improved version of you who might walk out of your home when this is all over (yes- it will end). Imagine yourself reconnecting with the outside world in a new way with wings or something cool like that. A fresh perspective which is just about the same as new wings. We will all be different. Social isolation is not in our genetic makeup, so reconnecting with our species will probably be pretty spectacular. Again, if the butterfly metaphor is a bit pedestrian for you, perhaps just jot down a list of how you might envision reconnecting with the world.

More than two billion people are currently on lockdown in their homes on the planet as of this writing. That number might actually go up, as experts have warned that this week is going to look pretty grim. This unprecedented experience is perhaps the first time in human history that such a massive number of people are all essentially doing the same thing.  The quest to stop the transmission of Coronavirus is being called a variety of ominous things such as shelter in place, lockdown , quarantine, social distancing, self isolation, and other negative things. In some cities, this experience is being enforced with harsh punishments for violations, with soldiers in the streets. What would happen if we changed the languaging to conceptualize this as something more palatable to the human experience? Could we call it cocooning? hibernating? pausing? resetting our compass?  Slowing down? Respecting our elders and fragile fellow humans? Being a great Homo sapien?

How we conceptualize this whole thing will really determine our mental health throughout this experience. If we shift our experience to call this cocooning, we will be emerging from this quarantine as a completely different person, community, world, and species. Things could go wonderfully or terribly in this process, but there are some theories being kicked around that this might be a jump in consciousness caused by a radical shift in re-evaluating our values, and a radical appreciation for life we might have ignored just a few weeks ago. Stay safe and be well.

 

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The Art of TIME in a Coronavirus Quarantine
black and yellow analog clock

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com

TIME. When we look back at this radical week in human history, one vantage point we might observe it from is how we handled time. Many people on Earth are simultaneously experiencing a cataclysmic shift in reality, as our familiar lives have come to a screeching halt. Several of my therapy sessions with clients over the past few weeks included conversations on the possibility of a quarantine, and how that might provide some respite from our crazy, busy lives. Now that we are really experiencing that reality,  what to DO WITH ALL OF THIS TIME is proving to be a bit overwhelming. Navigating through news that is changing fast, finding provisions, worrying about our livelihoods, and just making it through each day this week is simply overwhelming.

The real question we might want to ask ourselves in this stage of this thing, is how do we  master time? All of us secretly wanted extra time and now that we have it, what should we do with it?  How do we navigate through the very confusing, very scary, and very real, new world we have entered? I would like to propose two very simple tasks to try today:

Quarantine Wish List

Please make a list of things you might accomplish for your quarantined time. Please add some practical things (my first task is doing my taxes for the US deadline of April 15). Please also add some pleasurable things that you never have time to do, and some projects you might have started awhile ago, but never had time to finish. Next, hang your list in a prominent place.  Then, and this is most important part, do not pressure yourself to jump into any of these projects too quickly. I have spoken to several people this week who are feeling guilty they have not been productive this week. Please do not pressure yourself to be productive or creative.

We are all in a state of shock, and when we are in that place, it is very hard to do anything beyond  just being in survival mode. This might looks a bit different to each of us, and might include binging on Netflix, binging on news, buying toilet paper, etc. Having your wish list handy, but not feeling pressured by it can serve as a buffer to make the time you are spending now feel more temporary, knowing that when you settle into your new reality, you will have a lot to keep yourself busy.

Make a Daily Schedule

Last night, I forced my kids to go to bed on time as if it were a regular school night. They protested, and I held my ground, explaining that as soon as our schedule goes haywire (or we stay in pajamas all day), we will have succumbed to time in a really negative way. We actually didn’t create any schedule during the first few days of our new “at home all the time” lives. I did this as a social experiment to see what would happen. As suspected, everyone kept drifting to their screens, and the days marched along in a loopy, slow, negative way.

We have since created daily schedules for each person in our home as the days drift along. These have included meal times, hang out times, solo time, together time, etc. Although we are not being super strict at following them, the lists are still serving as boundary makers to make our boundary-less new world feel more manageable. What would your daily schedule include?

In my therapy sessions last week, my clients all fantasized how great a quarantine might be, because they would suddenly have the glorious TIME we never had enough of in the lives we were living just last week. When this is all over (yes, it will end), we will walk out of our homes with new attitudes, new perspectives on humanity, and perhaps will have regrouped enough to envision a different and more beautiful life for ourselves and our loved ones. Step one of this transformation is learning to reclaim time.  

Having an accountability partner in this process can also be important. Feel free to post your lists here. Hang in there!

The Power of a Pencil

Humans have been creating art for at least 64,000 years (based on a recent discovery in  Spain of cave paintings created by Neanderthals).The simple pencil, a ubiquitous item of  homo sapiens, is one we perhaps take for granted as one of the most powerful tools our species has created. Without it, we might not have accomplished as much as we have in our modern era. The engineering, collaboration and  ingenuity of how today’s pencil evolved is simply unprecedented.  Please watch this short movie, I, Pencil: The Movie for some inspiration and appreciation of human creativity:

Are interested in purchasing your very own pencils? Click on image of pencil above to go directly to Amazon!

Kate Spade’s suicide- preventing copycats.

The tragic news of Kate’s Spade’s death by suicide today came as a blow to many who assumed she was someone who “had it all. “ We don’t yet know any details, but the sad truth is that there is an increase in suicides across all ages in the United States, and an increase in anxiety and depression rates. Sadly, in the wake of a high profile suicides, copycat behavior often follows. Because Kate Spade has name recognition on such a global scale, the potential for copycat behavior is not only possible, but highly likely.

The name and product lines of Kate Spade are synonymous with quality, whimsy, and something bigger than each of us. Owning a real (or even fake) Kate Spade product offers a simple and straightforward invitation to snippets of a beautiful life. These snippets offer small moments of relief from the messiness of the world we live in. If you are a woman reading this, you know exactly what I am talking about, which is perhaps why the actual Kate Spade’s actual death by suicide is hitting the world in such a profound way.

My fear is that the Kate Spade handbag or dress sitting nicely in your closet (the one that brought you a tiny shred of joy just this morning when you glanced at it while you were getting dressed) just took on a whole new meaning. Tonight before you go to sleep, you might take another long look at that handbag or dress, and wonder if the world really is at is appears. As a therapist, I will answer in advance to save you some existential angst. The answer is yes and no.

Yes, the world is messy and not perfect. We are messy and not perfect. We are complex humans with incredibly complex brains, emotions, experiences and we all make mistakes. No, the world is not really as perfect as a Kate Spade handbag might have led you to believe, and the snippet of perfection was just that- a snippet. Millions, actually billions of dollars went into marketing the belief that if you buy a specific product like a simple and beautifully crafted handbag, you too will have a perfect life. We fall for that line of thinking every single day.

Suicidal thinking often happens when a person has lost all hope, and has lost touch with reality to such a degree, that they really can’t see clearly. The thinking that the world would be better off without them is common. Deep depression can cause this faulty thinking. I have sat with people in these dark places, and then sat with them following their recovery. They often look back in astonishment that they tumbled to such a low place.

If you have a friend or loved one who is feeling depressed and appear to be in danger, please intervene on their behalf. Often it is very simply a tiny shred of hope that is needed to keep a person going one more day until they can get themselves to safety, or the get a glimpse of coming caring to help them see clearly. Perspective is a big helper in breaking through the darkness. Offering your loved one an opportunity to contemplate past or future times might serve as an antidote to their current inability to see beyond their current situation.

Please remember that your loved one might not be thinking clearly, and in that case, you MUST ACT ON THEIR BEHALF, even if they get angry at you in the moment. They will thank you later. Please call this suicide hotline number if you are in the US and needing help: 1-800-273-8255. Please find a local mental health professional,  or someone to assist you. Thank you and please keep wearing your Kate Spade things. Your Kate Spade product might just take on a whole new meaning.  Remember that the world is what it is; wonderful, infuriating, surprising, unpredictable, and messy.

Creating a YES brain

The Whole Brain Child duo Dr. Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson’s latest book release is entitled The YES Brain. Based on real neuroscience by leading experts in the developmental field, this book is an invitation create ideal conditions for your child to develop the lifelong skills of resilience, empathy, insight and a sense of balance. With real and down to earth techniques of simple shifts in how one does their day-to-day parenting, this manual is a quick read for changing things up in ones’ home and fine tuning attitude. I am speaking from the perspective of a clinician who works with families,  and as a parent to four children.

A YES environment offers children an opportunity to grow their creativity, curiosity and neural connections toward a healthy brain. Sadly, many factors in our current generation are contributing to children growing up in a NO world. The NO world (that many of us experienced in our own childhoods) is based on fear, rigidity, and anxiety. Sadly, this negative pattern is often perpetuated for generations, and endemic to many institutions across our social landscape.

What we know now, thanks to brain imaging, is that a child’s brain is really a reflection of the environment they are raised in. Brain imaging has also shed light on the level of flexibility of the human brain (a concept known as neuroplasticity), and its ability to change, which negates most of the 20th century’s concept of how a brain works.  An entire genre of thinking has evolved with this new information, and the parenting market is clogged with products and books espousing miraculous techniques for brain growth.  It might be hard to discern what is real and what is fluff when shopping for the right type of book, product, food etc, with so many things crowding this new market. The YES Brain, and everything else written by Dr. Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson, are the real deal.

 

The Artist’s Way…A way to seriously change your life!!!!

The Artist’s Way has been a best-selling book for the past 25 years. This book offers readers an opportunity to walk through a twelve week process (one chapter per week) of breaking through creative blocks. Julia Cameron’s recipe is simple, stick with two non-negotiable tasks: writing “morning pages” (daily journal entry of three full hand written pages), and take oneself on a weekly “artist’s date,” while reading this book. Each chapter forces readers to explore the uncomfortable “stuff” that holds us back from being our best selves.

Having led many Artist’s Way groups as an art therapist, I can attest to the remarkable power of transformation this book offers to participants. Cameron’s ideas are so gentle, yet powerful, it is impossible to not change if you really do the full twelve week process. I have personally had massive, personal transformations while engaging in the exercises in this book, and watched participants experience intense and profound change while walking through it.

As an art therapist, I have read many, many books on creativity, change and transformation, but few are as thorough as The Artist’s Way. Although Cameron is not a therapist herself, her book reads as a therapeutic journey of exploration, and really offers an opportunity for people to become their own therapist.

Please click on image of book above to purchase this book on Amazon.

Amazing Kwik Stix solid tempera paint and Art Therapy

 

This art therapy blog will begin to review some art products. Today’s feature are the amazing Kwik Stix. Don’t be fooled by the small child featured on the packaging, these amazing paint sticks are the perfect medium for all age groups. The colors are vibrant, and the process is neat, dry and simply perfect.

As an art therapist, finding a medium that is age appropriate, respectful, and perfect for a person’s motor skills is essential to the work we do. The perfect medium can serve as a conduit for helping a person truly express themselves. I have been using this for people with dementia, and found they are powerful because of the vibrant color, ease of use, and smooth application onto paper. I have also used them with teens, adults, small children and large art therapy groups with equally impressive results. For more details or to order, please clic on the link above.