mental health research
Sabine's findings 12 april
I have PTSS (post traumatic stress syndrome) and got wrongly diagnosed with anxiety disorder.
I have had EMDR therapy, but has been practiced in a wrong way that left me re-traumatized.
Then I did SSP (safe & sound protocol) alternative therapy with a different therapist which did help.
personal relevance
found sources
findings
If it’s hard to get treatment for your mental health problems, you might have to improvise. You may be able to take care of yourself a little by putting together a kit of things that help you get through difficult moments. In my bag I always carry a notebook to write of my feelings, a mini lavalamp keychain that makes me chill when I look at at and a pair of sunglasses when I feel like hiding myself a bit.
Using a collection of objects that form part of their experience of mental health problems:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm
c/articles/PMC7440884/
Education is not just about teaching students knowledge for college and jobs, but providing skills to help the next generation navigate a complex, rapidly-changing world.
Personally I deal with anxiety and that effects my mental state sometimes. This is the reason why I want to make projects that help people with dealing with the mental health.
https://www.theguardian.com/art
anddesign/gallery/2014/feb/18/2
0th-century-psychiatric-hospital-france-in-pictures
creators who make art dealing with mental health:
https://instagram.com/blindlory?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://instagram.com/deadmoony?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://instagram.com/yourschizophrenia?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://youtu.be/DO8NSL5Wyeg
psychiatrist/psychoanalyst YT, dealing w various topics (in russian)
https://www.youtube.com/c/%D0%
95%D0%B2%D0
%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%
D1%8F%D0%A1%
D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BB
%D0%B5%D1%
86%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F/
Brid's
findings 12 april
Dariya's findings
findings
personal relevance
- Many mental disorders nowadays are a wrongly diagnosed. There has been a huge increase of mental health disorders nowadays, as we live in a 'time is money' society. It is expected from us to live and work at a very fast pace. This leads to stress, anxiety, burnout, physical illness and many other symptoms. It means that our bodies are not built to endure the stress we get from this lifestyle. Instead, our bodies give us very clear signals that we need to slow down. Many of us go into 'survival mode' because of this -- in other words, our bodies have found a way to protect us from the thread (stress). So, there is nothing wrong with us, there is something wrong with the lifestyle of our society.
- book "How to do the work" by Nicole Lepera
found sources
cultural diversity practice
found sources
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Sabine's findings 21 april
inspiration
_________
for the survey
I came up with the idea to create a survey with a bit more interaction. I want people to respond intuitively to certain questions so that there will be an interesting personalised outcome at the end. There will be general questions about their personal mental health, but in the end we want to be able to make a personalised box for them so they can use it to fill it with their chosen items that will help them feel calm/comforted/safe. So, we need to come up with options for them to choose out of that will help us visualise the personalised design for each box. It made me think of the way the page Pottermore from wizardingworld.com asks questions as you see in the picture on the right. You have a few seconds to choose between these three options, so that you won't be able to think about it, but choose with your instinct. I think it could really help improve the design and it makes the experience of filling in the survey extra special. Another source of inspiration is image 2, a suggestion from Hayfaa was to treat your survey a certain way to make it more interesting/enjoyable for people to fill it in with a personalised outcome.
12 april
outcome of all our findings from today
- We agreed that there is an issue regarding mental health diagnoses. People are getting wrongly diagnosed with 'mental disorders' by therapists because there is a lack of understanding around how our bodies respond to stressful environments and lifestyles. Our bodies are not meant to endure traumatic experiences or the amounts of stress that we experience in our society. There is nothing wrong with our mind. In fact, it is trying to protect us from the threat.
- We came to the conclusion that we want to be able to help people that are experiencing difficulties with their mental health. We want to give them a tool that helps them calm down and/or feel safe.
- With the help of Brid's found artistic source, we came with the idea to gather items for ourselves that make us feel comforted/safe/calm as a starting point, to be able to try it out ourselves first. Then we will show them to each other and discuss why we chose them.
questions
for the survey
1. Image from Pottermore survey
2. Image from "Updating Happiness" from Stefani Posavec
- What is your gender/what are your pronouns?
- From what country are you?
- Are you experiencing mental health problems? anxiety/depression/stress/
overstimulation/something else
- Are you getting the help that you need?
- How are you doing from a scale of 1 to 10?
- What helps you with dealing with your emotions? choose: music/talking/breathing etc ...
design ideas
for the box
- https://www.wizardingworld.com/news/
discover-your-patronus-on-pottermore
- http://www.stefanieposavec.com/
updating-happiness
found sources
Britt's
findings 12 april
personal relevance
Meaning of colours
Red is the color of standing out. It quickly attracts your attention and is therefore an ideal color for traffic lights and warning signs, for example.
Positive:
Heat
Arousal
Enthusiasm
power
unfavorable:
Aggressive
Dominant
Pink is the color of caring or compassion. It is often associated with femininity. The intensity of the color pink largely determines the feeling it evokes. In a softer form, for example baby pink, it can have a calming effect.
Positive:
Cheerful
Energy
nurturing
calming
unfavorable:
Weak
helpless
Needy
Yellow is the color of the sun, the color that evokes emotions. Think about how you feel when the sun shines again for a long time. However, if you use the wrong shade of yellow, it can also have unfavorable effects.
Positive:
Lust for life
Pleasure
Luck
Self confidence
unfavorable:
irritation
Fear
overstimulation
Orange is the color of playfulness. Created from the combination of red and yellow. In other words, a combination of physical and emotional associations. A real color for children you could say.
Positive:
hot
Friendly
playfulness
unfavorable:
Cheap
Childish
Brown is the color of wood or earth. Also called a dark variant of orange. Just like in a brown pub, the color gives you the feeling of warmth and cosiness.
Positive:
Safety
Reliability
conservative
Warmth and cosiness
unfavorable:
Boring
Old fashioned
Dull and lifeless
Stubbornly
Blue is the color of the sea and sky. Everything around us, as it were. Also referred to as a favorite color for many. If the color blue is used in the wrong context, your brain immediately receives a signal of caution. Just think of blue colors on a product you eat. mold!
Positive:
Logical reasoning
Intelligence
To trust
Stability
Loyal
unfavorable:
Conservative
Kil
distant
Commercial
Green is the color of development and represents life, balance and harmony. When you enter a room where green mainly determines the colour, you immediately get a sense of tranquility, as if you are outside in nature.
Positive:
Healing
Fertility
Renewal
lively
unfavorable:
Boredom
Jealousy
spoilage
Purple or violet is the color of luxury. It reflects the feeling with generous, style, wealth and spirituality. The color purple has been used for centuries by people of elite status.
Positive:
cheer up
Creativity
Luxury
Comfort
unfavorable:
Introversion
Inferiority
Decadent
Gray is the color of black and white. A color with few to no positive properties. Negative associations come to light more quickly with this color than other colors.
Positive:
Timeless
Organization
tight
Neutral
unfavorable:
Hidden
Boring
White is the color of purity and perfection. There are so many descriptions of the color white, while white actually represents the absence of color. A neutral color.
Positive:
Peace
Peace
Brightness
Perfection
unfavorable:
Cold
Indifferent
Black as a color is inaccessible and cold. The darkest color there is and a color with many different properties.
Positive:
glamour
Elegant
Authority
Solid
unfavorable:
Threat
Fear
suffocation
_________
_________
20 april
outcome of all our findings from today
- Today we took all our boxes with items showed them to each other at the academy. We talked about why we chose these items.
- We noticed soon that we all chose different kind of items.
- For instance, Britt chose sentimental stuff she collected from vacation trips around the world that gave her a good memory when she looked at them.
- Brid collected stuff she mainly wears with her every day in her handbag. Mainly stuff that can keep her distracted like cigarettes, some sort of a lava lamp to look at, earpods etc.
- Sabine's collected a variety of items, but mainly items that she found in her room. Sentimental items like a picture of her grandfather, and a necklace from her partner, but also things that can stimulate the senses in a positive way whenever she feels overstimulated like headphones, a scented candle, crystals and some candy. But there are also items that could keep her busy like reading a book or writing in a notebook.
- Dariya collected items that are a bit more similar to Brid's items. She has an ashtray and lighter so she can smoke a joint to calm down, Some things that could keep her occupied like wool and a crocheting hook.
I listed some coping srategies that I use and that work for me, to see what activities I relate to working on my mental wellbeing, to then in turn determine what objects are related to those activities
and some words of wisdom I thought of in the process :"D
here I decided what will go in the box, and why
and that's the final contents of my box
I've never been diagnosed, never went to a therapist/psychiatrist/psychologist
as a kid my family dismissed any signs of unstability that I showed
I do believe that I have some problems with mental health, I have experienced anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, self harm and probably more*
*I attempted to self-diagnose by studying numerous sources and comparig my experiences to those of people who are diagnosed, but since I'm not a professional, I don't feel comfortable naming those issues as I may be really wrong.
Through the years I have come up with numerous strategies that help me keep my balance and inner peace.
It is my dream that people (especially older generations) realize the gravity and the reality of mental health issues, so that children can be treated (or at least diagnosed) early on, rather than get dismissed by their families as "fakers" or "just lazy/hysterical kids".
personal relevance
video ideas
_________
_________
the box
1. Britt's archive
2. Brid's archive
3. Sabine's archive
4. Dariya's archive
I really like this!!
xx Sabine
←
I want to be able to create simple, but fun and powerful designs to use on the box. Depending on what the people that took the survey have answered, we will create their personalised design on the box by printing the designed shapes that fit their answers on sticker paper and then stick them on the box.
But what kind of shapes are we going to make?
1. I was thinking of shapes and elements that you can find in nature. Like a sun, moon, star, flower, tree etc.
2. we need to provide colour options for the people that take the survey to choose
14 april:
- Good that you are focusing more now on a more specific aim and idea. Try to think of a way how to gain the information that you need from your target group. For instance, you could send out surveys. Stefanie Posavec, an infographic artist designed a survey around mental health with personal questions and depending on the answers that you give, you'll get a personalised image with shapes, colours and a small quote that fits your mental state atm.
19 april:
- Who is your target group and why?
- Try to think of a way to not only create a box, but maybe you can categorize the collected items in some way and organise them by gender/sexuality/environment etc. to get interesting results.
_________
14 & 19 april
outcome of our feedback sessions
_________
22 april
outcome of all our findings from today
We decided on some important things that weren’t clear yet.
1. We are going to create an online survey (possibly through a website or maybe a different digital platform) and here we will ask the people that we are going to film (& maybe others) questions about their current mental health, how they cope with it in their own way, if they get help for it to understand their situation etc (while remaining anonymous). Then there will also be questions included that will help us create their personalised design for the box. Basically, we are going to present them different options that they can choose from while using their intuition. So for example, we could ask them to choose between a star/diamond or sun, and then we present them different colours that they could choose from for example. That way, we can create a unique box for each individual person, while also keeping it simple for ourselves because we present a limited amount of options. After they have answered all of these questions, we will combine the outcome into a their unique personalised design :)
2. We thought there isn't really a point to prepare all kinds of questions for when you film your chosen person, unless you really want to. But we thought that once you film, the person will automatically tell about why they chose their items and maybe questions will come up along the way. But we want it to be as spontaneous and natural as possible and not scripted.
3. We will design very simple shapes that we can use on the box (for example in this image). We still need to decide what kind of shapes, but everyone is going to brainstorm and upload sketches and ideas to the hotglue page and we will discuss them this Sunday so we can decide on a final design.
4. I ordered 50 sheets of sticker paper so we can print the shapes in different colours eventually and stick them on the boxes whenever we have the results of the survey from everyone so we can make everyone’s personalised design.
5. We need to come up with questions to ask for the survey and we also need to write an intro for the survey with a short explanation of our project and intentions. Think about this and upload your ideas on the hotglue and we will discuss these on Sunday as well.
6. We also need to come up with a name for the box! Put your ideas on the hotglue
7. When everything is discussed Sunday, we will make a very clear planning and devide all the tasks and work on it on Monday! Let’s make sure everyone is there okay? Bring your box(es) and enough supplies to work with. I’ll bring the sticker paper as well.
_________
_________
Sabine's findings 22 april
name ideas
for the box
- archiving happiness
- archiving joy
- coping box
- back to self
- return to self
thank you:)
_________
I was looking for platforms we could make the survey on, so that we could insert pictures and have timed questions
I found this one:
www.flexiquiz.com
made a lil test:
https://www.flexiquiz.com/SC/N/6b7bcfe9-9b72-49f7-b8bd-f7c06569278d
I think it's not perfect, but it works. I'll look for more options
Design for the box. (chakra colors)
Questions for the survey:
Do you think there is enough help for mental problems?
Do you experience mental health problems?
Are there ways that help you with your mental state?
Do you think objects can heal your mental health?
Do you ever feel not understand because of your mental health issues?
Names for the box:
Care box
Cure box
Renew
Flowbox
some ideas for stickers
moon & ferns are my fav
wellbeing toolkit
carecrate
selfcare box
name ideas
https://www.flexiquiz.com/SC/N/afed1360-aacc-4981-a0a1-b7515b68aa6a
SURVEY
_________
All of us posess some number of objects that we treasure, because of a habit, a memory, a feeling that they give us, or how they help us through hard times.
Those objects can tell a lot about the way a person feels and connects with the world.
We've invited some of our friends to tell us about the things that they hold close to their heart.
_________
intro text for the video
_________
INTERVIEWS
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuXdH7ZxwiwdbW7hFqYXg0DJbCXMXHtcS
Playlist link:
observations based on the interviews and our own archives.
numbers in blue are counting the members of this group. In black, only counting the interviewees.
I wrote down the most common categories of items that people picked for their box
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dDYIpubK6nXwtg7lQLc8K3llkFkm1e3v6zu1rVP8Hec/mobilepresent?slide=id.p
PRESENTATION