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Happy Labour Day! This month, we wanted to explore a much more personal (yet equally important) topic - mental health. As we've found that there is limited opportunity for proper mental health awareness in our busy lives, we want to take this month to eradicate the negative stigma around mental health and shed light on what it actually means. If you are suffering from a mental illness, know of someone who is, or simply just want to understand more, please get involved this month by writing in to the website and engaging in the discussion.
What does 'mental health' mean to you?
Should people with a mental illness be treated the same as someone with a physical illness?
What role should mental health have in the legal system?
How should you seek help if you need it?
-- FILM OF THE MONTH --
'Black Swan' (2010) dir. Darren Aronofsky
(Teresa LOURENCO DE ALMEIDA LUCAS SERRA)
“The only person standing in your way is you. It's time to let her go. Lose yourself.”
“I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect.”
All her life, Nina has waited for the chance to prove herself by becoming the prima ballerina of the New York City Ballet. As the new season opens with the classic piece, Swan Lake, director Thomas opens up auditions for the main role of Swan Queen. With her flawless, delicate technique, Nina gets her chance - however, while the role of White Swan perfectly fits her, Thomas does not believe she can perform equally for Black Swan. Getting the role was merely the beginning of Nina’s journey, as she is bound to lose her ground in the process of embodying the lust and seduction of the Black Swan. Not noticing this, she is absorbed by the desire of delivering the perfect performance, blurring the lines between reality and illusion.
As a dancer I know this plot too well - I spent middle school in a proper ballet academy and unfortunately it is true that it is a very self-destructive art. Firstly, I thought that as long as I was enjoying myself dancing it would be okay. But time proved I couldn’t be more wrong.
The desire to be perfect is entrenched to most artists - we want to create something meaningful and eye catching, we want to stand out. In the specific case of ballet, perfection goes hand in hand with not only physical hard work but a mental battle that accompanies it. This is because not everyone is born with the physical attributes seen as ideal for this art - and it is worthy of note that the belief that dancers should have a certain type of body structure in order to be successful is completely ludicrous. Teachers have an enormously important role in this internal struggle. Some of us were lucky to have supportive mentors that incited us to grow, taught us how to stop and breathe for a second before we continue tackling our work and supported our journey. Some of us were not. More often than not, we were told that if we had someone else’s body maybe our hard work would deserve recognition, that regardless of doing things right we don’t have enough turn out, we don’t have nice feet, not enough flexibility.
Under this type of guidance doing ballet meant constantly feeling you are not enough. And under this type of guidance, learning to believe in yourself and that working to better yourself is possible is a painful and true feat. For Nina, it took dissociating with her personality and pushing herself beyond the limit, merely to prove that she had it within her all along. She made it but she ends up doing herself more harm than anything else, even physically. Unfortunately, it seems that developing the mental strength to be able to identify how destructive something can be or how much of an effect it can have on one’s mental health takes field experience. This is why mental health is something that also requires developing healthy habits, just as physical health. There should be boundaries and values that you hold on to in order not to lose control. There has to be something to grasp - and for each one of us, that something is different.
-- SONGS OF THE MONTH --
*click for links
This month's playlist explores mental health awareness with a collection of songs all expressing the artist' mental health issues. Whilst more stereotypical 'sad songs' like 'Funeral' and 'Fix you' provide insight into the scary world of depression, more upbeat songs like 'Road Rage' and 'All The Things She Said' show us that mental health is not just about "being sad all the time". Through listening to these songs, I hope you find solace that no matter what you are feeling, you are never alone. Even the best of us have bad days.
-- BOOK OF THE MONTH --
(Hila DAVIES)
'Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman follows the story of 29 year old "oddball", Eleanor Oliphant. As you follow her seemingly mundane life, Honeyman provides an insight into the dangers of her structured routine and the effect of her mysterious past on her current mental health. Heartbreaking and heart-wrenching, 'Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine' creates an eerily direct insight into the inner turmoil of someone suffering with depression and anxiety, showing us that we will never fully be able to understand the trauma an individual has gone through just by looking at them. Whilst utterly devastating at times, this book ends with a clear sense of hope for the future - providing a light at the end of the tunnel to show that even though Eleanor Oliphant is NOT completely fine, she will be. Stick with it.
So on this lazy public holiday and beginning of exam season, remember to put yourself first. Look for things that make you happy and remember to reach out for help if you need it. There is no shame in simply saying, "I'm not okay."
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