One Show more. The stories behind the masks.

 So not only did Saturday showcase a marvellous Musical Theatre medly on BGT ("One show more”- If you haven’t watched it already, I urge you to Youtube it now! (Embedded below), but it was also the World Mental Health day. In all honestly, it seems like mental health awareness days are very frequent, I’m sure we’ve already had a few this year, perhaps with a different name on the tin. 

  [@Thedancepsychologist] W O R L D mental health day.

 

However, personally I am a great advocate for talking about the mind, and mental health has become a contagion in today’s society. I’m sure my Grandparents would never have come across the term ‘mental health’ in their day, and my inquiry topic has had me investigating whether the concept has been blown out of proportion. I do believe that many of the older generation typically brush things under the carpet. Keep going- “It’s all a load of airy fairy nonsense” I have heard a family relative remark. The relative then proceeded to explain how they were sick to death of hearing about mental health in the news day in and day out, and despite my opposition I can absolutely acknowledge the increase in media coverage. Especially since the growing concern about the impact of Covid on the metal wellbeing of the population. In fact, a recent study as part of the UK Household Longitudial study concluded the following:

“Consistent with our hypothesis, we found an overall increase in mental distress in people aged 16 years and older in the UK compared with in the previous year: mean population GHQ-12 score increased from 11·5 (95% CI 11·3–11·6) in 2018–19 to 12·6 (12·5–12·8) in April, 2020”. (Pierce et al, 2020).

This is significant as it is the only data collection endeavour which has been able to discern a change in mental wellbeing before and during the pandemic. The researchers emphasised that although Covid 19 is a great risk physically to the older population, transmission mitigation strategies and the unpredictable circumstances of the present are impacting on the metal health of the young. (2020). But it spreads wider than this. Tragically, three friends of mine have died from anorexia since the start of the year- undoubtably the reduced level of support from services played a part. I cannot bear to think that their lives may have been saved if their plights were addressed.

Mental illnesses and wellbeing are concepts of complexity. Personally, I often get asked “so what was your trigger?” for my own battle over the years. As though some incident occurred which prompted me to a decade of insecurity. There is this common notion that ‘fixing’ the trigger is the answer to erase away all those ingrained beliefs and behaviours. But sadly it’s not that simple. I often think of it like the big bang. A recipe of predisposing factors- (perfectionism, natural anxiety, a particular environment, genetics etc). It takes a specific mix of all of them to foster a diagnosis and bang, before you know it you’re in a place you never intended to be.
It’s positive to see increasing research into prevention and cure. People speaking out. Being brave. Showing their vulnerabilities....

BUT

 
Whilst the world is moving forwards, it seems to me that the sphere of dance is two steps behind. It has been my perception that the mental wellbeing of dancers has been greatly under acknowledged, something which has inspired my current module 3 inquiry. Of course, I can only offer my opinion from my current worldview. Harry F Wolcott, author of “Transforming Qualitative Data. Descripton, Analysis and Interpretation” (1994) explains how making sense of a situation is a dichotomy between what we believe things mean, how we feel they ought to be, what we wish them to become and what we actually observe with our eyes. (pg 169). Relating to Wolcott's words, I recognise that my desire to support the metal wellbeing of dancers is absolutely down to my own experience. That fire within me could easily prompt a rabbit hole of literature which supports my protest, but I have of course been expanding my perspective to cover the broad literature existence. From ‘What is wellbeing?’, To biographical accounts of professional dancers, to research into educational approaches and to the prophesied ‘myth’ of mental health.

One ever increasing voice is that of Terry Hyde. Terry is an ex professional ballet dancer who has now qualified as a psychotherapist, specifically to work with dancers. He noticed there was a gap in the recognition of the emotional needs of professional performers and his frequent blogs, mental health workshops and podcasts are incredibly thought provoking.

Below is a link to an article written by Alicia Jell, who interviewed Terry in her quest to discover why the topic of mental health is so taboo in the industry:
 

http://danceniche.com/2018/07/01/mental-health-in-dancers-why-is-no-one-talking-about-it/

Terry gives some good advice regarding symptoms to watch out for, and why it is so imperative to ask for support. Despite the industry arguably being behind with the times, it still has been my observation that there has been an increase in performers being more candid about their struggles. Could this be just that my attention is drawn to such outpourings? Or maybe the tragedy of theatres in a dark during the pandemic has heightened the need to talk about it. Perhaps that pressure we as performers induce on ourselves, the blood sweat and tears, that steely determination. What if it’s all for nothing? If there are no jobs at the end of it?

But one thing is for sure. Nothing, absolutely nothing can take away the joy that performing brings. Yes, it is a tough industry with countless highs and lows, but once you are a performer it’s in your blood. I can see things from both sides of the coin. I just hope that “One Show More” is the start of many shows more. 

But in the meantime, we need to keep talking. Without health. Without our minds, without resilience, the ability to perform is null and void.

One Show more: Britain's Got Talent Final

 References

 BGT. (Director). (2020, October 10). One Show More-The Final-BGT [Video file]. Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzOtv1fAFoE

Clements, L. [@Thedancepsychologist] W O R L D mental health day. [Instagram photo]. retrieved www.instagram.com/p/CGK6C5sAu27/?igshid=1b8ezu8je3hqp

Jell, A. (2018, July 01). Mental Health In Dancers: Why Is No-one Talking About It? Retrieved October 11, 2020, from http://danceniche.com/2018/07/01/mental-health-in-dancers-why-is-no-one-talking-about-it

Pierce, M., Hope, H., Ford, T., Hatch, S., Hotopf, M., John, A., . . . Abel, K. M. (2020). Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(10), 883-892. doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(20)30308-4

Wolcott, H. F. (1994). Transforming qualitative data: Description, analysis, and interpretation. Thousand Oaks, Ca.: Sage.