The unreal world
I paint my unreal world. During the holidays, one may deal with stress, personal grief, economic concerns, and illnesses of all kinds. People with schizo-affective disorder and mental health disorders may tend to distort reality at these times. It can cause a change in their perception of reality. Trapped by the hustle and bustle of the holidays, they find ways to channel their energy and aggressions into something they don’t particularly want to do and deviate from their desires to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Support groups, doctors, counselors, and medications are helpful. Places of worship and being around upbeat people, who care, can be a benefit. Writing down everything that bothers you like when you feel fragile, needy, or are unable to sleep, can ease the stress. If you are unable to write or read have a trusted friend help write your feelings down for you and read them to you. Ask for help when you first think something is going wrong in your world. Writing down when experiencing high and low moods, and how you plan to deal with them, is important. Have at least five support friends in your life, so if two go on vacation you’ll have three on hand to help you through a crisis if needed. If you have the memory of a bad time in your life, get out a sheet a paper and write and illustrate on paper how you want that memory to be. Because the commercialism of the holiday season takes us on an unrealistic journey every year, illness or no illness, we need to take care of ourselves and one another. Enjoy!
Arts and Writing by Sherry 