4 minute read
THE ART OF CALM
THE ART OF CALM
Nobody is exempt from suffering from anxiety, stress, depression and all the other manifestations of mental health struggles. These issues do not differentiate gender, class, age, colour - anything. We are all vulnerable. Not experiencing them is not a sign of strength nor is it a sign of weakness. Speaking about them is a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness.
Mental health is a subject that is being discussed much more openly in the legal profession than it ever was in the past. Concealing how we are really feeling is no longer the norm; it is not expected and it is most definitely not healthy.
We need to recognise the red flags both in ourselves and in others in order to take the care required to minimise the effects and to find mechanisms and strategies for coping, surviving and thriving.
In the following pages we explore what is currently available to help people in distress, what more we can do to further improve things and we hear stories from those who have suffered themselves. We see the power of speaking up, and of giving others the permission to do so.
But alongside the more serious problems we will be delving into, each and every one of us can benefit from some escape from the day job and from the adrenalin by an injection of calm into our days.
It is all too easy to get caught up in our own heads, in a world where work trumps all else, in forgetting to breathe and look outward. And in doing so, we are taking the first steps to damaging our mental health.
Small things can have a big positive impact. We all know the benefits of a walk in the park, a yoga or meditation session and simply taking some deep breaths. But there is beauty all around us if only we take the time to look and see. In our own area in the City, we have so much beautiful art on our streets and in our buildings - but do we even notice? We have filled our pages with some of the art that is currently on display in the City in this issue - not just to make the articles look better but to show the power of creativity - what it says and how it can make us feel.
Research proves that looking at art can reduce stress and lower blood pressure and heart rate. It also reduces stress-related hormones in the body. It can help us focus on the present and to connect with how we are feeling. It connects us to emotions that perhaps cannot be put into words and helps us to gain some understanding of things we are going through. It makes us more confident and more resilient. It has even been shown to improve our memory and our reasoning.
Eminent Consultant Psychiatrist and Jungian Analyst, Spyros Kavournis, had this to say on the subject;
“Saul Bellow in his acceptance speech for the Nobel prize in 1976 said ‘Only art penetrates what pride, passion, intelligence, and habit erect on all sides — the seeming realities of this world. There is another reality, the genuine one, which we lose sight of.’ In the delight of looking at art there is the learning of looking artfully. This is engaging absolutely, taking it in, and discovering the reflections within. Suffering needs equally looking at it from in and out. When we experience the inner as our own, then the outer is clear what it is for itself.”
Take the time to really look at the art - not just in the magazine but as you walk from the tube to the office or as you rush from one client meeting to the next. It can transport you to a different world, it can hush the noise in your mind, it can really help - and it can really delight.
All art featured in this article is from Sculpture in the City https://www.sculptureinthecity.org.uk/ artwork/13th-edition/
Photography by Kristos Georgiou
Mental health is a subject that is being discussed much more openly in the legal profession than it ever was in the past.
