Therapy
The many guises of Therapy
Therapy comes to us in many different forms. Some of them consciously chosen and some unconsciously, disguised in the form of something else. These days you can choose from a menu of different therapies from laughing therapy to medicated therapies.
I have realized that I have been both a giver and a receiver of a few types of Therapy. A bit like a pic and mix. The problem I have, is that it is implied that the receivers are those that have ‘a sandwich short of a picnic’ or ‘a kangaroo loose in the top paddock’. I would argue against this.
Equine Therapy was my first experience of Therapy, only I was blissfully unaware of this. Since the age of five I have been completely obsessed with horses. They have a depth of knowing which you can see and feel when they look into your eyes, something which I am all too familiar with. It is no wonder that now this type of therapy is used to treat so many things.
Laughter is an easy to access type of therapy……I would say that I find it challenging to laugh in the face of responsibility and at ‘The Simpsons’, which my husband and son find odd. Yet most recently, feeling frazzled after a long day I was crying with laughter when on the phone to a friend in Harris Farm. Onlookers were quite bemused, focused on which type of salami they were going to purchase. Which made me laugh even more……
“ The bloody dog is weeing on the carpet !”, exclaimed my friend.
“ Go and buy some of that spray called Piss Off “ I replied, “and whilst you’re there can you get me some ? I’m going to wear it as a perfume then perhaps everyone will get the message “.
I really do love a bit of dry or dark humor the kind that takes the p xxx out of oneself or ones friends. My friends and I like to laugh at each others misfortunes on our annual holiday. Having picked from a choice of colour of natural confectionary sweets, each representing a room, my lawyer friend who is used to five start accommodation once picked the broom cupboard whilst we got the en-suites. Really, quite childish humor on our part. Later in the day whilst settling down to relax for a gin and tonic on the deck, my other friend ( a stoic director of nursing in mental health ) took one look at the eyes of a cockatoo peering down at her from the roof and screamed, flailed around then locked herself inside whilst we laughed hysterically. Again, very childish but extremely funny nonetheless.
On a Friday evening my two friends know not to ask if I would like to go for drinks. The conversation went…….. “ Shan, would you like to go for drinks on Friday ? “.
Reply …....” I can’t, I have gong meditation”.
“ Gong meditation is the most normal answer I would have expected from you or perhaps naked drumming “ .
Gong …..is my fortnightly treat to myself . On a Friday evening, I am found in my happy place, nestled under a blanket, in the dark with the aroma of essential oils wafting around.. listening to the gongs. I absolutely love it. This is because it provides everything which I crave in my everyday life. Stillness, a single sound, quiet, calm and space in my mind without any external intrusions or snow storms whirling around my brain. It is a sensory paradise. A gift to my nervous system.
Speaking of the nervous system, a complete reset along with a hit of dopamine comes in the form of Cold Water Therapy, a front runner. Currently I am reaching my target. Research shows that 11 minutes a week submerged to our necks increases brown fat cells , which are apparently a good thing. They break down blood sugars and stabilise our metabolism. Anything that means I can continue to eat chocolate without getting diabetes is good thing.
Having spent eight years working with children both verbal and non verbal using Music as a therapy I am able to appreciate the therapeutic benefits of sound and music, as a vessel to communicate and connect, without the need of words. To see the power that both music and sound have in dissolving chaos into calm, sadness to happiness and frustration to understanding is a humbling experience, where the ego becomes somewhat removed. It has been an experience that has taught me more than I could ever imagine and which has now influenced the philosophies of my teachings and work. Sound is a healer of the nervous system, it calms the sense or senses that need to be healed and teaches us to be in the moment.
My heart has melted when seeing the delight in a child’s face when they have learnt to speak, sing and express themselves through the use of sound and musical instruments. I have had the pleasure of seeing children’s faces light up when they become aware, that once they know the alphabetical names of the notes, they can name every note on the piano having never played the piano before. The irony being that having an auditory photographic memory (perfect pitch) can be both a gift and a curse in the outside world. Recorders are not a friendly instrument in this case.
And finally from Music to Art……..
In my current place of work I am lucky enough to share a space with an Art Therapist. On a Tuesday I spend half an hour, which is never enough, drawing or painting. Sometimes we chat and sometimes we are silent. Sometimes I get a bit frustrated at my lack of focus, but then I let it go. By the time that I leave, I feel like I have swept out the cobwebs in my brain.
And so….. whatever our Therapy is, it teaches us to be present and in the moment. To do one thing, to manage our restlessness and address many other things which we may be conscious of or may be not. It is not something we should do, it is something we need to do.
What is your Therapy ? …………….