VISION/MISSION
The mission of BREAKTHROUGH is to raise mental health awareness and challenge stigma, on a personal and community level. The project goal is to provide a symbolic experience to breakdown barriers that often prevent people from experiencing personal peace or from reaching out for treatment and support. By promoting a healthy acceptance of one’s own emotions and authentic experience, free of judgment or shame, we hope to provide a safe and metaphorical image for personal and societal change.
THE MESSAGE
Metaphors abound for mental health experiences that suggest “breaking:” “breaking free,” “nervous breakdown,” “falling apart.” And much negativity and social stigma are attached to these concepts. Yet as therapists we know that these emotions and experiences are natural and important signals to us…..sending us important messages….. and that the most painful or distasteful of these can be the most transformative and freeing.
Yet unlike seeking other health services such as physical or dental health care, our society still sends many powerful messages that seeking mental health support is somehow associated with weakness, deficiency and disgrace. And so, the person who would not hesitate to seek eye glasses for better vision, would not ask for help navigating through the darkness of inevitable human experiences such as loneliness, grief or confusion. Not only are many people hesitant to seek professional help, they are even reluctant to talk to ANYONE; a friend, parent, teacher. And so, far too many people suffer in silence and isolation. Too often with serious, or fatal results. STIGMA KILLS.
On an even deeper level, this stigma can be so powerful, that difficult emotions are actually repressed or denied even to the person’s awareness.
This may appear to be functional, and restraint is certainly necessary on some level. However, these emotions and experiences are a real part of the human experience and denying their existence can do great damage. This is particularly evident when they erupt through to the conscious or behavioral level, and expressed impulsively, causing a wide range of physical and mental health problems, damaging relationships and overall functioning.
To that end, the goal of the BREAKTHROUGH project is not only to give participants “permission” to physically and emotionally experience what culture may dictate we should suppress, but to also provide symbolic ritual experience for empowerment by taking charge: by choosing to metaphorically “let go” or “break free” in a safe, conscious and life-giving way. To break down the myth that acknowledgment of strong emotion encourages negative or unhealthy behavior. To experience the metaphor that authentic life is often messy and noisy and that brokenness happens. And sometimes can be or should be chosen, in order to reassemble a new life.
For purposes of this project, the experience will draw attention to those emotions typically or culturally viewed as “negative;” such as anger, frustration, anxiety, rage, etc. We will challenge participants to examine and experience their emotions, and encourage them not to judge: good, bad, right wrong. To demonstrate that emotions are part of the human condition and that when we deny or repress them, we deny our very humanity and cause countless other emotional problems, including the UNHEALTHY or hurtful expression of these pent up emotions.
In the artistic form, another metaphor exists in that all of the pieces will be used in the new form. This represents the notion that many people fear that if they “break down,” they may lose parts of themselves. Our final product will symbolize that the pieces or experiences of our lives are not lost, discarded or meaningless. Rather they are simply, yet powerfully and beautifully rearranged and reborn into new form. This is a highly personal experience, but one, if embraced collectively, could make a significant impact on the lives of all people it touches: A visual and experiential symbol for change.
And so, the ultimate message of this piece will be: One must often deconstruct or “breakdown” old paradigms, in order to reconstruct a new, healthier reality. If one can do so without judging the breaking down process itself, a “phoenix” can rise from the ashes of the broken past; in the form of a renewed sense of well-being and a happier, more functional life.
The mission of BREAKTHROUGH is to raise mental health awareness and challenge stigma, on a personal and community level. The project goal is to provide a symbolic experience to breakdown barriers that often prevent people from experiencing personal peace or from reaching out for treatment and support. By promoting a healthy acceptance of one’s own emotions and authentic experience, free of judgment or shame, we hope to provide a safe and metaphorical image for personal and societal change.
THE MESSAGE
Metaphors abound for mental health experiences that suggest “breaking:” “breaking free,” “nervous breakdown,” “falling apart.” And much negativity and social stigma are attached to these concepts. Yet as therapists we know that these emotions and experiences are natural and important signals to us…..sending us important messages….. and that the most painful or distasteful of these can be the most transformative and freeing.
Yet unlike seeking other health services such as physical or dental health care, our society still sends many powerful messages that seeking mental health support is somehow associated with weakness, deficiency and disgrace. And so, the person who would not hesitate to seek eye glasses for better vision, would not ask for help navigating through the darkness of inevitable human experiences such as loneliness, grief or confusion. Not only are many people hesitant to seek professional help, they are even reluctant to talk to ANYONE; a friend, parent, teacher. And so, far too many people suffer in silence and isolation. Too often with serious, or fatal results. STIGMA KILLS.
On an even deeper level, this stigma can be so powerful, that difficult emotions are actually repressed or denied even to the person’s awareness.
This may appear to be functional, and restraint is certainly necessary on some level. However, these emotions and experiences are a real part of the human experience and denying their existence can do great damage. This is particularly evident when they erupt through to the conscious or behavioral level, and expressed impulsively, causing a wide range of physical and mental health problems, damaging relationships and overall functioning.
To that end, the goal of the BREAKTHROUGH project is not only to give participants “permission” to physically and emotionally experience what culture may dictate we should suppress, but to also provide symbolic ritual experience for empowerment by taking charge: by choosing to metaphorically “let go” or “break free” in a safe, conscious and life-giving way. To break down the myth that acknowledgment of strong emotion encourages negative or unhealthy behavior. To experience the metaphor that authentic life is often messy and noisy and that brokenness happens. And sometimes can be or should be chosen, in order to reassemble a new life.
For purposes of this project, the experience will draw attention to those emotions typically or culturally viewed as “negative;” such as anger, frustration, anxiety, rage, etc. We will challenge participants to examine and experience their emotions, and encourage them not to judge: good, bad, right wrong. To demonstrate that emotions are part of the human condition and that when we deny or repress them, we deny our very humanity and cause countless other emotional problems, including the UNHEALTHY or hurtful expression of these pent up emotions.
In the artistic form, another metaphor exists in that all of the pieces will be used in the new form. This represents the notion that many people fear that if they “break down,” they may lose parts of themselves. Our final product will symbolize that the pieces or experiences of our lives are not lost, discarded or meaningless. Rather they are simply, yet powerfully and beautifully rearranged and reborn into new form. This is a highly personal experience, but one, if embraced collectively, could make a significant impact on the lives of all people it touches: A visual and experiential symbol for change.
And so, the ultimate message of this piece will be: One must often deconstruct or “breakdown” old paradigms, in order to reconstruct a new, healthier reality. If one can do so without judging the breaking down process itself, a “phoenix” can rise from the ashes of the broken past; in the form of a renewed sense of well-being and a happier, more functional life.