masks we wear
weekly story work exercise
If you’re new here, Story Work is the name of my current book-in-progress. It describes a process of reflecting, reclaiming, and reimagining the stories of our lives. It involves looking at your life experiences as creative material that you have the power to shape.
The weekly Story Work topics cover universal life themes with references from literature, philosophy, science, and spirituality; offering perspectives that spark ideas for personal growth and creative expression.
Paid subscribers receive Story Work exercises every Sunday night at 8 pm et.
Hi everyone,
It’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and each May I offer a mental health writing workshop. We write about our mental health journeys to help us process our experiences, ease feelings of isolation, normalize honest conversations about mental health and illness, and to actively participate in ending stigma and bias.
Mental illness affects everyone whether it’s direct or indirect, short-term or long-term. Our mental health is affected by stress, trauma, loss, finances, world events, physical illness, substance abuse + more. We ALL need mental health awareness and a self-care mindset to live fulfilling lives where our special needs, differences, and experiences are part of our value, and not reasons to feel shame or inadequacy.
Writing is central to my mental and emotional self-care. Storytelling, in particular, has been key to reclaiming the narratives that once held me back. Getting the support I needed and the language to understand how my mind works changed what I believed was possible.
I find endless inspiration in creating safe spaces and creative resources to help others find hope and purpose through the power of the written word.
This month’s workshop takes place on two Wednesdays, May 15 and May 22 from 6 - 8 pm et. In Writing About Mental Illness, we will explore:
— the benefits of writing and sharing our mental health stories and the fears and obstacles that come with it.
—how to take care of ourselves as we write and take care of readers when we share about trauma
—how mental illness has directly or indirectly affected our self-concept, our personal relationships, careers, and communities.
The workshop includes lecture, discussion, and generative writing. Participants will come away with two rough drafts. If you'd like to join us, you can learn more and register here.
Okay, now on to the weekly exercise.
masks we wear
We just wrapped up four weeks covering the body language theme. Over the next few weeks, our theme is masks we wear. Let’s look at identity through the context of the masks we wear and the modalities we use to transform ourselves. The personal and social masks we wear are defense mechanisms. We put them on and take them off to keep us safe from harm, or sometimes to cause harm. To reveal and repress our secrets. And they can serve as a source of limitation as well as freedom. In this series, we will do writing exercises to explore the parts of ourselves that are sheltered within these masks.
Cultures all over the world use physical masks as part of rituals and traditions, and to express individual and group identity. We can learn a lot about a culture’s values, principles, and challenges by studying the masks they wear.
Just like masks can be a source of expression, they can provide a place to hide. Another entry point to cultural understanding is the figurative masks that are worn to adapt and survive.
In his critically acclaimed poem, “We Wear the Mask,” Paul Laurence Dunbar writes about the smiles plastered on black faces in post-Civil War America, when we were depicted as happy-go-lucky, empty-headed caricatures in the media, and in public life as we walked around with a façade of complacency to persevere and hide pain, fear, and resentment.
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask. (read the full poem)
While the poem refers to the plight of African Americans, the concept of hiding to survive is universal. People wear masks to hide things. What can we learn about ourselves as individuals by studying the physical and metaphorical masks we wear?
Exercise:
What masks do you wear? Physical and figurative?
In what ways do your masks serve as a defense mechanism?
Alternatively, in what ways do your masks allow you to express yourself more freely?
How do these masks affect how you show up in different environments and relationships in your life?