[swimmingly]

Last week when I was about to be sectioned, and called my therapist for help, I was given a metric s-ton of homework to do over the weekend.

Apparently it was alarming to the therapist and others on the call that I identified myself only by my occupation and work. I have the task this weekend to do three tasks. One is to do an artwork of a garden (so not my thing) and label each flower and vine as something in my life that has meaning to me. It's a very hippy bippy assignment for me. I think I can stumble through that on my own. Not really my style, but I'll figure something out. Another task is to build a crisis plan, quick and dirty just to get through this emergency, and to be refined more as we get through the current trouble.

The hardest one is to get through a writing assignment (I have no prompts) that describes all the things that I identify myself as and to who. I'm just not even sure where to start. I've always only focused myself by my hard work and perseverance with my battles with misdiagnosed depression, and finally a bullseye diagnosis that meets all my symptoms.

Do you have any idea of a prompt or series of prompts that I can ask myself that might help the creative juices flow? The T says this should be as hard as it feels and its not cheating to ask my friends to help. You are my friends. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[sarahsweets]

Honestly I really resent when therapists do this. I find it unfair to expect somebody to randomly write about whatever comes into their head. Especially if there is a goal in mind .

[Merlin]

For who I am, outside of work, I would think of my hobbies and my relationships to others, as well as my personality traits. I would also think about any volunteering I do or any causes I support with time or money.

[Daonnachd]

Addressing just the writing part, what if you were to approach the portrait as both internal and external. How you know yourself on one side and how you present yourself to others on the other side. You could make it a shaped poem on a full sheet of paper in the outline of a head and shoulders portrait. It sounds complicated but doing it this way would limit the amount of text you'd have to produce. To give it a bit more life you could also incorporate colours for different parts of the text.

[fern46]

The crisis plan is a good call. Having one on hand can be helpful for you and family members.

The flowers might be easier to do on the computer.

As for the last assignment I'd make a chart. I'd list the role or persona (mother, wife, coworker, friend, etc.) and the basic characteristics of each. I guess then I'd add a column for who knows me in that role.

I like the above mentioned idea of internal and external roles. For internal I could add child to mine to account for my inner child. I could also add something like adversary to account for the challenges I give myself when I self sabotage. Maybe subconscious to represent the stuff I dream and do without even understanding where it comes from.

You could also do roles attached to emotions or aspects like 'happy me', 'angry me', 'focused me', 'dreaming me', 'apathetic me', 'depressed me', 'manic me', etc.

And my last thought is... Maybe combine the two? Like there's probably a version of you as a son or father or husband or professional, etc. that shifts based on mood. So if I did mine I might have a hypomanic wife and a euthymic wife as two different personas. You could do a 4 column chart with Role, Mood, Characteristics, and People who know this Role

It all depends on how detailed you want to get. Do whatever adds value for you. Don't force it.

[Daonnachd]

I like what fern has added there. If we're collaborating on designing a more palatable writing project, what about skipping the columns and creating a shape utilising a different colour for each of the different aspects you're working with? ...But don't have a key to the colors. Make it interpretive so that the viewer has the job of identifying how each colour ties together.

[Daonnachd]

Here's an example, though it doesn't have colour-coded words. It gives the general idea of what I'm talking about though. I like the fact that it's not just individual words but phrases, too./Users/consilience/Desktop/heart.jpeg

https://psychcentralforums.com/pictu...ictureid=66459

Now, this is not my own artwork, just an example of a text-to-shape project.

[fern46]

Originally Posted by Daonnachd

I like what fern has added there. If we're collaborating on designing a more palatable writing project, what about skipping the columns and creating a shape utilising a different colour for each of the different aspects you're working with? ...But don't have a key to the colours make it interpretive so that the viewer has the job of identifying how each colour ties together.

Well I love your idea. He should go with whatever's comfortable. I just tossed out columns because my mind thinks in data and spreadsheets

[Daonnachd]

Originally Posted by fern46

Well I love your idea. He should go with whatever's comfortable. I just tossed out columns because my mind thinks in data and spreadsheets

...and mine definitely does not. Together we make a good team.

[Daonnachd]

Originally Posted by fern46

It all depends on how detailed you want to get. Do whatever adds value for you. Don't force it.

^^^This^^^

I don't believe therapy has to be difficult to be beneficial.

[swimmingly]

Thank you, all. I've got a lot to work left, but have a great headstart thanks to putting your thoughts and ideas together and starting my mind going. I really appreciate the help and kindness. This assignment is important to me. and I appreciate you helping me with it. Have a great rest of your weekend. Stay safe.

[Fuzzybear]

Hi swimmingly, those are such hard assignments! I've only just got to this post. (and to pc) I think you'll do great. Its the experience that's important I think, and certainly not ''perfection''. Keep us updated. Great thread!