1_1_The Evolving Story of You: Using the Power of Story to Improve Mental Health

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Flashcards for presentation on using storytelling principles to improve mental wellbeing
Maedean Myers
Flashcards by Maedean Myers, updated more than 1 year ago More Less
Maedean Myers
Created by Maedean Myers about 8 years ago
Maedean Myers
Copied by Maedean Myers about 8 years ago
Maedean Myers
Copied by Maedean Myers about 8 years ago
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1. Intro Part One-Story Poem Title Card Slide Storytelling—a poem on the storytelling process by Ken Chawkin Telling a story is speaking out anew what you always knew you knew but didn’t know you knew it until you heard yourself saying it and in the telling of it, you, the teller, become the listener too. The teller and the listener together both discover the process of finding out what the story is all about as one draws the story out of the other and the story tells itself from cover to cover.
2. Intro Part Two-A little bit about Slide #2 These are pictures of the three high schools I attended. By the time I was 16 I had moved eight times, a typical story for a military brat. During those often difficult times of stress, transition, and adjustment to new places and faces, stories were my both my anchor and escape. Some of the stories that got me through were books like Roots, movies like Purple Rain, and tv shows like the X-Files. Through these stories I learned about surviving hard times, falling in love, and facing the unknown. I want you to close your eyes, imagine yourself as a teenager and recall some of the books, tv shows, or films that had an impact on you. When you've got something in mind on the count of three shout it out: Did these stories teach you about life? love? loss? My name is Maedean Yvonne Myers, I am a counsellor, drama instructor, and writer. I am here today t to share with you three simple ways you can use come of the concepts of storytelling to support your well-being.
3. Intro Part Three: Benefits Slide 3-Benefits We can use what I call "stories" with a lower case s, to benefit ourselves, each other, and our communities. The narratives we tell ourselves in our heads can serve to discourage us or motivate us. We can tell ourselves stories that structure our experience and promote healing. The stories that we in turn share with each other, can help us feel connected and get the nurture we need. Swapping stories can build knowledge which in turn can empower us to make better choices. While sharing stories within our famililes can strengthen community, connection, and cultural identity.
4a. Mental Health Parable I'd like to start by sharing this passage from a talk given by Gil Fronsdal at the Insight Meditation Center: The Buddha once asked, If a person is struck by an arrow, is that painful?" Yes. The Buddha then asked, "If the person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?" Of course. If we condemn, judge, hate, or deny the first arrow, that is like being struck by the second arrow. The second arrow is optional."
4b. Mental Health Personal Health If you know me, you know about my fear of flying. In fact, if you know me, you probably know that one of the mental health issues that I've dealt with at various points of my life is anxiety. If you don't know me, you might just see someone whose got a lot going for them. And I do. But to everyone person in this room who may be secretly dealing with mental health issues, I want you to know, that you are not alone. The more we start to share our stories, the more we remove the shame and stigma attached to mental distress and illness. So let's stop shooting the 2nd arrow. .
4c. Mental Health definition Slide 4-Definitions I love the use of the word "learning" inviting the sense that mental health is not a static state, but a process, a continuing journey of education and research. So I hope you learn some new tools today to take with you on your mental health journey. (on the slide?) http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/your-mental-health/
4d. Definitions Storytelling Slide 4 For our purposes today, the elements of storytelling I am interested in are: 1. Structure-beginning, middle, and end 2. Connection 3. Third Person/Distancing Narrative 4. Theme
5. Structure. beginning, middle and end Slide 5 In a study out of the University of California done in 2006 they found that those who talked into a recording device reported higher levels of emotional well being than those who just thought about their distressing situation. This is just one example of research that shows that rumination, just thinking about a problem or traumatic experience, keeps it on a loop. It never ends, it just plays over and over again on repeat, preventing that experience from integrating into a coherent narrative. In contrast, telling yourself out loud or through writing, speaking to another, invites structure with a beginning, middle, and end. For example, in my head I might have "Oh, my god, I just had a fight with my boss!" running on repeat (demonstrate). But that's probably not how I would tell the story to a friend. Looking at the storyboard on the slide, imagine a mildly irritating situation you are facing now. What do you see in the beginning, the middle and what is hoped for end, in that last storyboard box?
6.. Third Person/Distancing Narrative Slide 6 Psychotherapists such as Kim Schneiderman, author of “Step out of your story” found that by referring to yourself in third person, you can sidestep the ego, and view yourself and situation from a distance. Other researchers, such as Ethan Kross have found that by distancing we can view our problems from more holistic perspective, rather than the narrowly focused I decreasing -decreases emotional reactivity and facilitating meaning making.
6a. Intrapersonal Practice Exercise Third Person Thought Experiment Slide 6 I have an example on the board of the difference between an "I" focused story and a sort of third person perspective. I invite you to now to close your eyes if you wish and as a thought experiment, do this in your head. Talk to yourself about a recent event, referring to yourself by your name or with a loving pet name, so something like beloved, hero, darling, good guy, sweetheart, Do you feel less or more compassionate towards yourself?
Comment on Carl Rogers Slide 7 doing this intrapersonal storytelling in a compassionate voice is important because as Carl Rogers says
7. Other Intra-personal Examples of Storytelling And finally, there are several ways to engage in this kind of intra-personal storytelling Slide 8 1. journaling -dialogic, compassionate friend, hero's journey (The process is personal, intimate, and uniquely individual.) 2. Reading about fictional characters 3. recording yourself on your iphone 4. Talking out loud to yourself 5. Using various writing exercises such as ones we've just considered
5. Theme Slide 9 READ JOHA STORY This story was read to me by a child in one of my classes. It instantly crystallized a theme in the current chapter of my life-learning to trust that I actually had enough. Stories help us move from the micro view of the ego to the larger macro view connecting us to humanity. We may notice a theme, a recurring pattern, or perhaps some larger life lesson or moral emerging when we can either speak to ourselves or another through a story. Some themes include: Gratitude Love and Loss Power Corrupts Inevitabitily of change Life Death Vision and Blindness Forgiveness What are the themes or lessons you notice in your own life?
9. Inter personal Uses of Storytelling Part One Slide 10 Studies have found that talking to someone, sharing your narrative with someone else can have a profound impact on your mental wellbeing. In one of the studies I used in my paper, Julia Vadja (2007), a researcher conducting interviews with Hungarian Shoah survivors, noted a therapeutic effect on one of her interviewees who described the listening of the interviewers as a “technology” (Vadja, 2007, p. 92) .
10. Inter personal Uses of Storytelling Part 2 Slide 10 I love that in our lives we make time for all kinds of technology, our televisions, internet, smart cars, juicemakers i-phones, ipads... What if we started to make more time for listening "technology". Research suggests that externalizing your concerns in conversation, even for a couple minutes can have appreciable health benefits, including the release of dopamine-the feel good chemical in the brain”.
Interpersonal Practice Talk to person next to you Slide 10 So I would now like to invite to try an exercise with me taken from Compassion Cultivation Training. Face the person next to you. One person will speak for 90 seconds reflecting on what themes they feel might be running through this current chapter, of their lives, keeping it confined for the purpose of this exercise, again to situations that are mildly distressful or even happy . The other person is to listen with their full presence without interruption for those 90 seconds. I will call time, you thank each other. Then switch.
11. Interpersonal Practice: 2 minutes
12. 3. Family-Unchosen and Chosen/Circle of Caring/ Community (with others) A third way to use storytelling in your everyday life is by sharing stories within your larger communities both chosen and un-chosen.
13a. Family Story: Uncle Stanley 2. “The men would get work on the trains as porters. Work their up north until they wound up in New York City. There was still a lot of racism at the time, so lots of folks were eager to get out of the South. Your grandfather, Jitter Myers, got a job as a building custodian in the Bronx. He made sure anyone of the family who made up to New York had a place to stay. He always knew people so somehow he always managed to hook people with some kind of job. After a few years, you couldn’t walk around the Bronx without running into a Myers and we started doing alright. Your grandfather was a big part of that. “
13b. Family Story Option 2: Oma Christmas in Berlin On December 1943, during Chisttmas they announced there would be no bombing. We went shopping. My father did the tree... This is what we did in 19434. It was a quiet Christmas, sad, but...I was so happy with my child, really happy inside, I can’t even describe. . I kept falling asleep, but kept thinking I have to hold on to her... you know how it is the first time you have someone to take care of.
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