Balkan Beats 44 - Kaleidoscope of Emotions

Balkan Beats

A BIMONTHLY MAGAZINE BY THE VOLUNTEERS OF THE UNITED SOCIETIES OF BALKANS

The 44th Edition

Kaleidoscope of emotions Editorial

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We are surrounded by colours from the moment we wake up until the moment we go to bed at night. All of these things have colour, including our homes’ walls, our food, and the sky above us. And although we might not always be aware of it, these colours have a significant impact on our emotions.

Emotions are complex and multifaceted, and their relationship with our senses is equally complex. Our ability to perceive colour, for example, can influence the emotions we experience, while our emotional state can also affect the way we perceive colour. Emotions are an integral part of the human experience, yet they are often misunderstood and undervalued. From the euphoria of joy to the depths of frustration, emotions can have a profound impact on our thoughts, behaviours, and overall well-being.

The psychology of colour is a fascinating field that has been studied extensively over the years. Researchers have found that different

colours can have different effects on our moods and emotions and that these effects can vary depending on a number of factors, including our cultural background, our personal experiences, and our individual personalities.

U nderstanding the psychology of colour can be incredibly useful in a number of different settings. For example, businesses can use colour to create a certain atmosphere or evoke a certain emotion in their customers. In this magazine, we bring together a variety of fascinating subjects and give our own findings, experiences, and opinions, including articles on colour blindness, a photography workshop, synesthesia, and a guide to accepting your emotions.

Balkan Beats, a part of Balkan Hotspot

Balkan Hotspot is the ESC (European Solidarity Corps) project of “United Societies of Balkans”, a NGO founded in Thessaloniki in 2008 by a team of active young people.

The Balkans and Eastern Europe are geographical regions with many cultural features which offer a broad spectrum of actions and youth involvement initiatives. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant

www.balkanhotspot.org

changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment.

Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia production.

This magazine is distributed free of charge.

United Societies of Balkans is a Non Governmental Organization, founded in Thessaloniki in 2008, by a team of active young people. The organization was created as a response to the pressure of constant changes in the Balkan and Eastern European region and under the need for the creation of a better social environment. Key areas of the organization’s activities concern the defense of human rights, the organization of youth exchanges and training courses, which will bring young people from Balkans and Europe together, the organization of local educational seminars and multimedia production (webradio, videos, documentaries).

Main goals of the organization

• To promote the values of non formal le- aring,volunteering, active citizenship and democracy for the creation of a better future for European youth.

• To promote human rights, solidarity and respect for diversity.

• To build healthy cooperation bridges between countries of the Balkan area and that of Eastern Europe with the rest of Europe.

• To locate and multiply the special cultural attributes of our societies.

• The break down of prejudices and stereo- types between Balkan countries.

Property of Balkan Beats

The United Societies of Balkans, NGO, does not necessarily share the opinions expressed in Balkan Beats. It is illegal to reproduce any part of this publication without referring to the source.

Emotions post volunteering - forever stuck in nostalgia?

Experiences from ex volunteers

Returning back home after an ESC project is unfortunately an unavoidable part of the journey. The blues felt when coming home is nothing unusual but can also hit you hard.

Not long ago, I stumbled across a TikTok on my for you page that described the feelings of a girl returning to her everyday life at home after a long journey. A lot of people could relate to the hashtag #posttravel, and while reading some of the comments, I began to understand why. So many people described how quickly they adapted to their usual routine and how sad it made them. Within one day, they went from their amazing experiences abroad to a completely different reality back home. At first, it feels incredible to catch up with all of your friends and relatives after not seeing them for such a long time, but not much time passes until the socalled post-travel blues kicks in. After spending so many months in another country, expanding your comfort zone and collecting beautiful memories and meeting people that open up the way that you think and the way that you see the world, life in your home town can feel comparably boring. The things that would usually excite you don’t feel the same anymore.

The exact cause for this melancholy is not clear, but there are some plausible theories.

by Carolin Kretzer

Some say it is the large change in environment or also see it as a sort of reverse homesickness, as you have gotten so used to a new home while away. Then there is always the possibility that you are just coming home to a new job or school that you are scared of and rather not want to start.

Coming back home after doing an ESC volunteering project can cause the same blues, but since I didn’t finish my project yet, I decided to interview some old volunteers whom I met during my first half of volunteering and who are now back in their hometowns.

Yusuf, you finished your project in December 2022 after living in Thessaloniki for almost 12 months. Can you describe to me your feeling when you came back home in the first few days and how it feels now?

First of all, thank you very much for including me in your article. Actually, you’re one of the people who can understand me the most. Because you were always with me during the last parts of my one-year volunteering experience in Thessaloniki.

In the last months of the project, there were times when I sometimes felt tired. However, I was not complaining about that. Because every moment I spent there was very special for me.

When it was time to go back home, I was saying to myself that it’s time to leave. If I have to talk about my first few days after returning to Turkey, of course it was pretty nice. After a year, I was happy to see my family, friends and especially my hometown. Absolutely, the volunteers house is unimaginably crazy, interesting and beautiful place, but sometimes it is nice to return home for a little rest. If you ask me how I feel now, I miss every moment I lived in Thessaloniki. One of the most beautiful things about ESC is that you feel like a local in the place where you volunteer and you become a part of it.

countries, with different cultures, values and experiences. This project was an amazing learning journey for me. I think I have learnt a lot and improved myself in many ways, especially through living, working and interacting with people of different nationalities. In conclusion, I strongly recommend an ESC experience to everyone. Because you will find such a friendly environment where you can develop your skills without any fear.

Giovanni, you completed your volunteering in May 2022, how did being home feel for you in the first few days in Italy?

For at least a couple of weeks I really felt out of place in Napoli, where I live. To be honest, I always feel out of place in my city, but this time was different: I was missing the other volunteers who became my routine for many months, I was missing Thessaloniki, my life there and also the excitement to do something new everyday. Having people from that reality

Do

you feel that you have changed during your experience?

Yeap! If I have to define ESC, I would say it is an experience that will change your life. ESC gives you the opportunity to live in a multicultural environment, meet new people from different

© Anastasiia Hrechka

I am okay

coming to visit me helped a lot, but probably I never really allowed myself to get used to Napoli again because I knew I was coming back to Greece very soon.

You came back to Greece in July for another ESC project. What made you decide to come back?

Our boss forced me to come back, I didn’t want to! Jokes aside, I actually went with the flow and accepted to do this other project in different city in Greece. I came back to Thessaloniki a few times during the summer and I was actually nervous, but not only I found a comfortable environment with many people I knew already, I also found new friendships that I value now. I even decided to stay a bit more after the second project because I was enjoying this “second part” of my experience.

Now that the time in Greece is finally over after coming back two times, how is your feeling about this ending?

Is it the end? My friends make fun of me because I was coming back all the time.The first time I left, it did feel like an end (it wasn’t eventually). This time I feel different. Of course I am in Napoli now, I am developing a project here in Italy and I am moving on, but I just feel Thessaloniki is also part of my life: I have Greek friends, volunteers or ex volunteers are still living there, I am still very much in touch with people from USB.. I don’t agree when someone says Erasmus and ESC are like a dream, far away from “real life”. If you want, it can be part of your world, even after it ends. I mean, while I am writing this I am planning a reunion

in Prague with “my generation” of volunteers and a new visit in Thessaloniki for next month. Tavernas, I am coming!

Laura, you left Thessaloniki in December 2022 after 8 months of living abroad. How did you feel in your first days back in Italy?

During my first days at home, I was super happy. Because I was with my family, I started to go out with my friends again and we had a lot of stuff to tell each other. We had to catch up on 7 months that passed separately. At the same time, it was strange, because I didn’t have a lot of people around all day and I missed a lot of people that lived with me during my experience (Didi and Urania too).

Can you observe how you have changed during the last months in your daily life at home now? Do you feel things differently?

Yes, I feel completely different. I’m glad to be here, to come back in the “real life”, but I have to thank my experience because of my changing. Now I’m more conscious about what I want, what I like to do and what I completely don’t like. I’m more sure about myself, my capacities, my limits and also my fears. I have to be honest, after 7 months living with around 73 flatmates, I’m a little bit tired to meet new people again and think to restart a new life in another country or in another city (just for now, because we never know what our life has in store for us), but, at the same time, this experience helped me to grow my curiosity related to a place, to a person or simply to a story.

Nastya, you went back home in May 2022. How did being home after living through such an amazing experience felt for you?

Being home was really surreal in the beginning. First of all the whole environment changed a lot. Before I left we were living in another flat, still in the same house but in another flat. My stepfather was healthy but during my stay in Greece he got sick and when I came back home he was in a really bad state regarding his health so I came in a completely different environment

that I was not used to. Everything felt super foreign and I needed a lot of time to get used to the new situation. I was crying a lot.

Additionally I was comparing my current emotional state a lot to my feelings during my ESC project. Everything that happened in Greece just felt like a dream. All of my friends that I had before were gone because they are studying in other cities, so I was kind of on my own. Thank god I still had friends from Greece like Giovanni or Michelle that I could talk to a lot and that I could visit, which made it better. But everything felt so so foreign and surreal and I

© Anastasiia Hrechka

An artwork describing the feelings in the first days back home

had to find the beauty in life again even though I see myself as a person that can find good things easily.

I saw in your Instagram stories that you gave yourself the mission to completely rediscover your home town Cologne from another angle. Was this a way for you to cope with the post volunteering blues?

I think so, I think that it was a way to cope. I didn’t do it intentionally but maybe unconsciously this was a way to kind of find the beauty again in the city I was living. I mean I never loved Cologne, it was never my favorite city but right now I achieved the point where I love it the most. I hate and I love the city, it has always been like that but after coming back I didn’t like anything in it. I didn’t like the people, I didn’t like the city itself, I hated the district where I was living. Now it’s all different again but I needed to reorient myself.

It was so much work to build the relationships I built in Greece and I am very thankful for them, I think the work I put was absolutely worth it. When I came back I was like omg I have to go through it all again when I go to university. Then I started having Tinder and and trying to meet new people and it didn’t work out because I was so burnt out. I didn’t have any energy for anything anymore because of all of the energy that I spend in these eight months meeting so many people. And I needed months or at least weeks to find my battery again. Now its alright again, I can meet as many people as it goes but before it was so hard for me to meet people. And even though I was using Tinder a lot, I never had the energy to actually meet these people. I didn’t have the energy to find new connections with this people. So it hit really really hard.

Would you recommend doing this for everyone else coming back from a project? Or do you maybe have other tips to share?

I think if you have good friends and a good family that you love back in your hometown when you’re coming back it will be easier either way and you for sure need ways to distract yourself. Because its impossible to live with this nostalgia and this amazing story pictures in your head and you are like “What the fuck, I am sitting here alone right now in my room. Where is all the shit that was going on? I am missing it so much. This random talks that we had.” And it’s so important to have someone. And if you don’t have someone you always have yourself. I mean I did it with myself, I discovered the city on my own again. I was spending a lot of time with myself reading books and I felt the new beginning. It was really nice and helped me a lot!

A fter hearing all those very different experiences you can clearly see they had one thing in common: Missing the life during ESC. So while the level of post volunteering blues might differ individually, it’s unfortunately a shared experience. Whether it be to become such a local in the place you moved to, missing the exciting new things you experience every day, missing the friends you made or coming back to a difficult situation at home, saying goodbye and coming back is always hard after you have become attached to so many things and people in another country. To overcome these blues there are lots of different ways. As advised by Nastya talking to your friends and family can help a lot but also distracting yourself a bit. During your ESC you will most probably also miss some things at home, so making yourself a list of things that you want to do when you’re back can help too.

“Stop being so emotional”

What it is to be an highly sensitive person

These are just a few sentences people told me in the past, especially growing up. In these situations people mostly accused me of being too sensitive. Most of the time people reacted that way, if they thought my reaction wasn’t reasonable or too extreme. Not feeling understood can be a part of the daily life of a highly sensitive person. However, in fact it’s a trait that 15-20 percent of the population has and therefore affects a not insignificant part of the population. Nonetheless, in today’s society being highly sensitive is connected to many preconceptions. Nonetheless, in today’s society being highly sensitive is connected to many preconceptions.

Being highly sensitive can manifest in multiple traits. However, the scientific term highly sensitive Person (HPS) was conceived by the psy-

by Elena Leiterer

chologist Dr Elaine N. Aron. According to her findings, highly sensitive individuals can be characterized by their sensitivity to environments and relationships. An HPS tends to be overstimulated by their environment emotionally and physically. Moreover, this personality trait can be linked to a low tolerance for violence and tension.

Yet, high sensitivity is often related to high empathy and emotional responsiveness (counselling-directory.org.uk). It makes HPS form deep human connections and be more reflective of

“You are too sensitive”, “don’t take everything so personally”, “stop being so emotional.”

© Bro Vector

their actions. Empathy for other people’s feelings makes highly sensitive individuals also susceptible to other people’s moods. In addition, they are mindful of their environment, making them receptive to art and music and appreciating nature.

The most prominent part of being highly sensitive is the strong reactions to external influences (newharbinger.com). For example, HPs can overreact to sounds, smells or light. These reactions can seem inappropriate to others.

The feelings overtake you in a situation and become the only thing you can think about, for instance. People telling you to “get over it” doesn’t help. It just makes you feel like your reactions are invalid.

This trait of my personality growing up, always had a negative connotation. Most people see sensitivity as something wrong and need to be fixed. Little physical harm or just having to pee on a long road overwhelmed me as a child and teenager. For the people surrounding me, this wasn’t easy either.

For an emotionally sensitive person, other people’s emotions can significantly influence their mood (arcadiancounseling.com). In my experience, having fights with friends or seeing my parents fight was always very hard on me.

When I would overthink every detail of a conversation, especially if others criticize me. So therefore, getting close to someone always means I will care a lot and probably get hurt, even by small things, even if they don’t intend to.

“Νegative connotation”

© Bro Vector/ gettyimages

“Ηighly sensitive individuals can be characterized by their sensitivity to environments and relationships. ”

Besides this, highly sensitive people can learn to accept this part of themselves and also recognize its benefits. For example, being sensitive helped me in forming rich relationships.

most critical ways to shield themselves from triggering circumstances is to set boundaries. Setting boundaries can be challenging. It can mean turning down invitations where you know many people surround you. Also, recognize if a person drains your energy and keep your distance when it gets too much, and you feel your mood negatively influenced by certain people.

People I become close with told me that I am a good listener, because I remember most of the things people tell me about themselves.

Moreover I easily get influenced by other people’s moods. If the people around me are happy and calm there is a high chance, my mood will be influenced in a positive way. Therefore I can also gain happiness from other people’s feelings. However this empathy also includes negative emotions. When people I care about feel down, instead of finding a solution, it’s more likely that I will suffer with them. That part of being a HPS can be mentally draining. For that reason it’s essential to protect your energy when you are emotionally sensitive.

A few strategies exist to cope with anxiety and stress caused by overwhelming emotions. These overwhelming situations mostly happen if an HPS doesn’t protect their energy. One of the

Besides, an HPS must distract you in moments of stress. The easiest way to escape your mind is to exercise. Moreover, it helps to put yourself in a calm environment, someplace in nature. Another strategy is to let out overwhelming emotions by doing what you like. High sensitivity can be connected to a higher appreciation of art. Playing or listening to music, drawing, or any other art form can help to release stress.

In general it’s essential to accept your feelings and validate them. A HSP has probably faced a lot of situations where people made them feel like their feelings are invalid. That contributes to an unhealthy image of how to deal with your emotions. Learning to accept this trait is the first step to protect your energy as an HSP.

“Αccept this part of themselves and also recognize its benefits.”

“Protect your energy ”

© Bro Vector

How to protect your energy as an HSP

Overwhelming environment © Bro Vector

Restart: forging emotions through volunteering

by Christos Leivaditis

Volunteering is a multi-level concept that can lead a person into unique paths in life. The virtue of selfless contribution for a cause that can help others, is the essential basis to pave the ground for an inclusive society with solidarity at its core, from everyone and for everyone. This road inevitably creates and fosters new emotions for the volunteer, which stay and shape the volunteer’s personality for good.

pants of “RESTART”, an ESC volunteering teams project implemented by United Societies of Balkans, in cooperation with local partners Lighthouse of the World and Argo.

The experience provided participants with a unique chance to explore their inner self, understanding of others and get accustomed to the culture, traits and beauty of Greece, while promoting solidarity and European values.

Taking these values into account, the European Solidarity Corps program provides youngsters with a special opportunity to get involved in volunteering missions around Europe and promote these values, in a well-structured framework ensured by the European Union. In this frame, a total 46 of youngsters had the chance to engage in volunteering and contribute their work in Thessaloniki and Northern Greece, as partici-

In specific, volunteers in Thessaloniki, supported the local marginalized Roma community of Dendropotamos area, with focus on its youth and children, by the implementation of educational and recreational actions in the local activity center. This opportunity to engage and connect effectively with the little ones was inevitably strong and perhaps life changing for participants. The deep connection they created with the kids, forged by their almost daily interaction and sincere interest and affection shown to them, is a gift that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

The children of the center welcomed and embraced volunteers from different countries with love and trust that only children can show. Even the language barrier did not prove to be a problem in their connection path. First the body language helped, then some basic English paved the way and by the end of the two months, volunteers and the kids had created a communication bridge overcoming all barriers, strong enough to carve good memories in the hearts of everyone, as well as to say a proper goodbye to each other on the last day.

“This road inevitably creates and fosters new emotions for the volunteer, which stay and shape the volunteer’s personality for good.”

Volunteers and the children of the Roma community join hands on the last day of the project

How a volunteering program can lead your emotional journey

© Christos Leivaditis

Another team of volunteers also supported the important social work of Argo, that helps in the social reintegration of former mental institution patients and drug addicts. The work involved volunteers in direct work with these people, in therapeutic and recreational activities especially targeted in this objective, such as sport events, daily discussion as well as gardening work. Meeting with the people and engaging in common activities, helped volunteers in exploring their emotional intelligence and understanding.

food, goodies and support when they needed it throughout their stay, they made volunteers feel welcomed and appreciated in this new environment. The hard work volunteers put in their tasks, the open activities they organized, their engagement with the area’s youth as well as the opening of the new public library, will remain as strong reminders of this special bond.

Volunteering is a choice that can change one’s life. It’s a learning journey, a unique cultural experience and without a doubt, a special pathway in exploring your inner self and emotions, which appear and are enforced as part of this trip into the (un)known.

The volunteers joining the project in the rural area of Halkidiki engaged in different activities, which triggered for them other aspects of emotional awareness and connection with the local society. For two months, the team located in the village of Stratoni, of the Aristotelis region in Halkidiki, supported the local community with actions promoting local life as well as with the creation of structures to boost knowledge and local activation, such as a new local library made up by book donations.

The community of around 1.000 inhabitants, greeted volunteers and involved them in the local life as if they were themselves from Stratoni. Providing them with traditional Greek

“Volunteers and the kids had created a communication bridge overcoming all barriers.”

“Volunteering is a choice that can change one’s life.”

Snap of the volunteering team in Halkidiki, after an event organised for children and the local community in the village’s park snap of the volunteering team in Halkidiki, after an event organised for children and the local community in the village’s park

© Hendrik Rebane

My colour perception

by Hendrik Rebane

I was first told that I was colourblind in kindergarten. I’m sure my teachers knew right away because when it was time to colour in my drawings I would usually colour my grass brown and my skies purple. I learned quickly to look at the names of the colours on crayons before putting them to paper - this got difficult when crayons became worn down and I could no longer read the names of the colours.

For a long time after I was told that I was colourblind I didn’t believe it. I can see every colour in the rainbow but what I’ve come to realise is that colours that are very bright for other people are not as bright to me. It doesn’t make a big difference in my everyday life. I don’t plan on being a fashion designer or an aeroplane pilot so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. Though there are some times when it gets really annoying, such as trying to read colour coded grapes or looking at a map to see how heavy traffic is on the way home from work (which is freaking impossible for me).

What’s it like to be colour-blind? I’ll summarise it in points:

• As you’d expect, when I tell people I’m colourblind, people always ask me “Oh, what colour

is that?” This is highly irritating and I’ve got this question at least a 1000 times. And no, we don’t see the world in black and white either.

• I usually identify colours through prior-knowledge, not perception. If you asked me what colour the bark of a tree was, I would say “brown” not because I could see that it was brown, but because I know that tree barks are supposed to be brown.

• I don’t know the colours of most of the objects around me. When I see an object like that, no colour just pops up in my head - I just see a coloured object. So, when people ask me to guess what colour it is, I have no choice but to say “I don’t know” This answer is rarely satisfactory for people. It’s not easy to just guess when you know you’re most likely going to be wrong. Very rarely is my hunch correct.

• C olours are not ‘switched’ and ‘substituted’ for me. I don’t always see dark-brown instead of green and green instead of dark-brown. Everything in the world that’s orange doesn’t look light-green to me. It does not work like that. This is what most people think when they ask you to name a colour “Ohh, so you see brown instead of green” No, not always. I only said

No, I’m not colour blind, I’m ‘’colour deficient’’, which now is what people call me to be nice.

Original

Simulated (I see no difference in colour itself) © Hendrik Rebane © Hendrik Rebane

brown because it was my best guess based on what I was looking at.

• I have a very basic idea of what every colour looks like. This is through the colour pencils I’ve used and objects that very accurately and emphatically represent those colours, i.e ones with no complicated shades and hues (Ex: banana for yellow). This is my basis for making any best-guesses of an object’s colour, and unsurprisingly, this is not always reliable or easy to do.

• I can identify artificially coloured objects much easier than colours in nature. This is because the colours in nature usually have complicated shades and hues that I’m not familiar with at all. They aren’t always emphatic and well-defined like most man-made objects around us.

• Like I said before, I sometimes feel like I’m missing out on life because I can’t appreciate the beauty around me to the maximum, especially in nature. I feel like I’d feel more “alive” if I didn’t have this deficiency in perception. Good thing I don’t want to be a pilot or a soldier.

• Most of the time, I totally forget that I’m colourblind. I’ve been living like this for more than 20 years and I’m so used to it. Colourblindness has become the norm for me. It isn’t that bad - I see the exact same thing as you guys, it’s just that I can’t identify a particular property of my surroundings. It’s nowhere near comparable to being blind or having any sensory impairment.

• It can be embarrassing and irritating at times, but in a way it also makes me feel different and unique. I’ve had some people become fascinated with me because I’m colour blind, so I guess that’s the bright side of things

(along with having fractionally better night vision than normal people).

• I have trouble with some day-day activities. I remember having issues while working in the chemistry lab once, or when I needed to identify the flavour of something by colour.

For most activities in life, my colour blindness doesn’t affect me; but when it does, it’s pretty amusing to others to see me struggle so much to tell apart two colours that they perceive as being as distinct as bread and doors.

I’ve run into many funny situations when my colour blindness has gotten the better of me. For example, when pairing up socks, I sometimes have to ask my family members whether the two socks I’m holding are the same colour, because dark red and dark green are a nightmare to distinguish!

I can almost always place a colour in a specific section of the spectrum. I will narrow an object down to the possibility of being two (sometimes three) colours. For example, I’ll look at a shirt and narrow it down to either blue or purple; brown or green; red or pink etc. Overall it’s an extremely small handicap in the grand scheme of things. I still see sunsets, and still enjoy every colour in the rainbow. I just don’t see colours as bright as other people do.

Easy mistake

© Hendrik Rebane

Photography

Art or language?

Thatphotography is a medium of expression is a given, but can we reduce it to another language or category within art?

At Balkan Hotspot we are holding a photography workshop with our volunteers, whose job it is to give visibility to issues of social awareness, environment and good practices. So in this workshop we put the focus on what we want to transmit when we take a photograph, rather than on the beauty of the photographs. But of course we have to start by defining what photography is:

“

It’s a way to express your feelings, I love photography”. Ezgi said.

by Rodrigo Perezagua Escobar

way to keep face situations, and give to it a meaning, you can create basically everything with photography”. Máxime said.

“ A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know”.

“ The art or practice of taking and processing photographs”. Someone else claimed.

“ A picture made using a camera, in which an image is focused on to light-sensitive material and then made visible and permanent by chemical treatment, or stored digitally.”

“ Visual representation of data that transforms complex information into something easier to communicate, share, remember...”. I think.

“ For me photography is... uff, a way to create an image, an idea, a shape out of something else, is a

Just as we do not become yogis just by going to yoga class twice a week, we are not photographers just because we take pictures of everything going on around us and document it on social media. To become a true Yogi, it is necessary to in-

Gestalt theory

© Unknown artist

“Visual representation of data that transforms complex information into something easier tocommunicate, share, remember...”

corporate this philosophy into our daily lives, giving ways to meditate on every action or thought that arises in our minds, and then canalize and interpret it according to our own knowledge. The same thing happens with photography, because photographers analyze the world around them, and premeditatedly take a photo, to document something or communicate something specific.

“Pablo Picasso, speaking of his world-famous anti-war painting, Guernica, boldly declared: “Painting is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy.”

The power of images is amazing, we all know the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words”, but have we ever stopped to think about its true meaning?

(Now I am going to propose a simple practice, so take a few seconds before reading on to think about it).

- Describe in your own words the picture you like the most or the first one that comes to your mind.

- What barriers did you encounter?

- Which elements did you overlook and which ones did you give more importance to when describing the image?

When trying to communicate something, in order to do it as effectively as possible, you first have to understand how the human brain works, and for that we can look to Gestalt theory on visual image weights.

Gestalt theory starts from some basic principles of correlation between sensory perception and brain process, in which we make sense of what we receive in such a way that emergence refers to what we see, reification to memory or recollections. Up to this point the logical part of our brain, when we do not get answers, we look for them in the artistic part of it, making room for multistability and invariance.

These principles gave way to the 7 laws of gestalt and later to the study of visual weights, that is to say, what is the first thing that gets your attention from an image.

Of course every person is different, and in that sense we are all the same, because even though we are based and live by the same rules, everything can be interpreted in multiple ways, and that is the beauty of art.

Pablo Picasso, speaking of his world-famous anti-war painting, Guernica, boldly declared: “Painting

Collage

Illustration © Jon Ching © Peggy diggs

is not made to decorate apartments. It’s an offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy”.

But what is artivism?

The simplest definition is to be the combination of the words art and activism. Artivism is the hybridization between the two of them. Art of protest and resistance. Visibility, durability and risk are the spe-

cific features of an intervention that carries a clear socio-political message. This way art becomes a means of communication focused on change and transformation, a language that moves from academic artistic creation to social spaces, until it becomes an educational tool.

All the pictures in this article are examples of artivism work.

Mural

Performance in Granada

© Art is trash

© Rodrigo Perezagua Emotional photography © Máxime Ricaurd

Emotions speak different languages

by Giusy

According to the Guinness World Record, Mamihlapinatapai is the most complex word to translate. This word, in fact, has been listed as the world’s most concise term. It comes from the almost disappeared Yámana language and the translation that the rest of world managed to come up with is “looking at each other hoping that either will offer to do something which both parties desire but are unwilling to do”, very complicated right? Or very easy?

In every language in the world, there are countless words that do not have a direct translation, a term that is an exact correspondent, in another language. Usually these words are called untranslatable, and many of them we use to express feelings and emotions.

One of the best known examples is the German term used to describe the common feeling of many Romantic artists: Sehnsucht. Rarely the

term is translated into other languages but rather used in its original version, followed by explanations such as the inconsolable longing in man’s heart for no one knows what or yearning for something unattainable.

Are these emotions really impossible to translate?

From a technical point of view, when we talk about translation we do not always refer to word-forword correspondence. There are different ways of translating a concept, in this case a word, often it is done simply by going around its meaning until you reach the heart of it. It is up to you to choose whether to mutate the form or the meaning, all depending on the type of text you are translating.

“But is it true that we all, regardless of our roots, speak the same language when it comes to emotions?”

Kilig, the word in the Tagalog language (of the Philippines) stands for that sense of emptiness underfoot accompanied by the tightness in the stomach and lightheadedness one feels when one begins to fall in love, quite specific in short. It would be natural to make its meaning explicit within a romantic tale. In contrast, in translating a poem, where form is more valuable, its meaning would probably be simplified.

Putting the focus instead on the fact that we are talking not only about the translation of words, but of emotions and feelings, the issue becomes ©

Giusy Letizia

Letizia

When a word can express your mood better than you can.

“Translation is that which transforms everything so that nothing changes.” Günter Grass

much more complex. In fact, to say that we cannot translate them is like saying that we do not all feel the same emotions.

According to U.S. psychologist Paul Ekman there are six primary emotions in human beings that can be recognized by our facial expressions: joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust. These are independent of the culture from which the person comes and are common to all human beings. Consequently, their linguistic representation should also be the same. But is it true that we all, regardless of our roots, speak the same language when it comes to emotions?

mary emotions are expressed and perceived differently in cultures that speak different languages. The research states that emotion concepts had different patterns of association in different language families. For example, they state that “anxiety” was closely related to “fear” among Tai-Kadai languages, but was more related to “grief” and “regret” amongst Austroasiatic languages.

A more recent study published in the journal Science, carried out by researchers at the University of North Carolina, contributed with its findings to the debate about the universality and diversity of how humans understand and experience emotions. It shows, through the study of nearly 2,500 languages, that even pri-

It is therefore possible that there are emotions that are common to all of us, the nuances of which (linguistically) may vary depending on the culture in which they develop. But, on the other hand, the possibility exists that some cultures are unable to experience certain feelings because they lack the (linguistic) tools to express them.

“A simple word can help you feel less alone. ”

While researching these untranslatable emotions, I found some that are very common and others really curious. I also realized that they express feelings common to current generations. They deal with issues that are at the heart of so many contemporary issues, related to how young people today cope with events such as pandemic, war, climate change. Nothing new in short, but it is also true that in the past certain emotions were not addressed as significant topics, social anxieties and fear of

“The possibility exists that some cultures are unable to experience certain feelings because they lack the (linguistic) tools to express them.”

© Giusy Letizia

© Giusy Letizia

“When you learn something, learn its concept, not just its name.”

Richard Feynman

Lost in translation

failing were seen more as weaknesses than feelings to be analyzed and addressed. Today we are lucky enough to be able to go to google and find out that in another language there is a word that perfectly expresses the state of mind you are in. This way we know that someone else has already experienced it and taken the trouble to name it, so a simple word can help you feel less alone.

Here is a short list with some of them:

Engentar

You know when you feel overwhelmed by the movement of a big city, by a crowd, by the people around you? When you need to be peopled out, in Mexico the Spanish word engentar expresses exactly this feeling: to seek and allow yourself a serene, enriching solitude. A space just for you, so that you can then devote yourself to others with greater awareness.

Wabi-sabi

Wabi-sabi is the word that in Japan reminds people to appreciate imperfect beauty, understanding and accepting that what makes it so wonderful is that stain, that imperfection. The term comes from the combination of the word wabi, which expresses that part of beauty that is simplicity, flaws and imperfection; to the word sabi, which describes its ephemeral and changing appearance. Meaning together not only that beauty is imperfect and temporary but that this is what we should appreciate in it.

Meraki

The word meraki in Greek describes that passion and love you put into creating something of your own. The term actually derives from a Turkish word: “merak” or labor of love. It is when you put part of your soul into it, devoting time and care to it. It can be the devotion you dedicate to your work or a hobby of yours, it can be the creativity you express through one of your artistic creations but it can also be a simple daily activity like baking a cake or cleaning as long as they are completed in a ritualistic way. The important thing is to devote yourself entirely to its realization.

Torschlusspanik

If you ever find yourself thinking “what am I doing with my life?”and worrying that you are falling behind in reaching your goals, the German word Torschlusspanik can perfectly explain your feeling. Apparently, the term dates back to the Middle Ages and refers to the panic that medieval peasants felt when they had to hurry back into the city gates before they closed at nightfall. In fact, it literally means “panic of the closing door.” Nowadays this feeling can be related to the fear of having fewer and fewer options as we age.

Saudade

Saudade is one of the most used words in love poems and romantic songs in the Portuguese language, according to legend, arose in the period of the discoveries and defined the loneliness that the Portuguese, who came to Brazil, had of their land and their relatives. This term describes the mixture of the feelings of loss, lack, distance and love. But while nostalgia is, for example, the melancholy produced in the person exiled by homesickness, saudade is the nostalgic yet gentle memory of people or things that are distant or extinct, accompanied by the desire to see them again. It is something that you miss with joy.

© Pinterest

In Japan, broken objects are often repaired with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece of the object’s history, which adds to its beauty.

The Effects of Emotions on Nutrition

What is emotional eating, how to notice it, how to prevent it?

Let’s start with the definition of emotion first. Emotion is a complex psychophysiological change arising from the interaction of an individual’s mood with internal and environmental influences. It is the main factor determining the sense of health specific to a person and plays a central role in a person’s daily life. Nutrition is the ability of a person to take and use the elements necessary for growth, development, healthy and productive living for a long time into his body. Emotional eating, a concept that we have often heard in recent years, can lead to health problems and can not be controlled.

First of all, we need to determine what kind of hunger we have. We can all easily recognize our physical hunger. If we are physically hungry, our body provides feedback to us in various ways. Our stomach rumbles, we may experience problems such as tremors in the hands, loss of concentration, blood pressure drop. These problems we are experiencing can be solved by eating. We’ll eat enough for our bodies and things will get back to normal. There is

by Mustafa Talha Genç

relaxation and peace in our body. We feel energetic, we focus more easily, we become more efficient. Because we responded to our body’s feedback and did what it wanted. Uncontrolled eating behavior is not seen in physical hunger.

What about emotional hunger?

In the case of emotional hunger, the system is confused and uncertain. Even if you do not interrupt your meals during the day, you want to eat something. Actually, you’re full, but you’re thinking about eating something. Suddenly you find yourself preparing something or buying something. Moreover, the foods consumed in this case are unhealthy foods in general. You suddenly realize that you are eating junk food. But noticing will not prevent this situation. Because a voice inside of you tells you to just eat. ‘Just eat, make sure you relax, you will get away from the stress you are experiencing during the day. I wonder what the chocolate tastes like standing there, you can find out by eating it right away.’ These sounds are so powerful that you can’t resist. You feel happy when you eat. Your body begins to release hormones of peace and happiness. That voice from within has kept its promise and comforted you. After consuming what you have in a hurry (sometimes without anyone seeing), the pleasure that has just been achieved leaves its place to feelings of guilt.

Sometimes it is very difficult to cope with these negative feelings. This time the voice inside you responds. ‘Never mind, don’t stop. There is

© katyfortman.com

https://bit.ly/3lplEl0

nothing better than food.” You will listen again to this voice, which has not misled you so far. This communication continues constantly. After a while, you will find yourself in a vicious circle and constantly gaining weight. You want to lose the weight you have gained, but this situation is quite difficult. Because even if your body is full, your soul is not full. (Senem

Eke Yildiz)

they will not force us economically. They also do not bother with their practical nature. Besides, we won’t need to go to a psychotherapist. Yes, when we do a momentary evaluation like this, everything seems to be fine. But the important thing is how long this will continue, how long until food will be your therapist. So how healthy is your relationship with food? Does this relationship harm our body?

S ometimes we can’t cope with the situations and emotions we experience in everyday life. We cannot know what to do with negative emotions that are difficult to cope with, such as anxiety, fear, boredom, emptiness, inadequacy, sadness. We want to be alone, we don’t want to talk. We will find it difficult to find solutions. At this point, there may be times when we take support from food to calm our body and soul. Because this support is easy to get and is not complicated. The pleasure of a box of chocolates, a nice dessert, a bag of chips or a large portion of pasta with sauce can help us get away from problems for a while. But only for a while... We feel that we have achieved happiness and peace thanks to them. Because we can easily provide,

Of course, this beautiful relationship will come at a cost. I wish it wasn’t. But our body has a functioning order. In order for the order to continue, we must act accordingly. Now let’s look at the consequences of emotional eating on our body. We may not see these results in a short time. But if we are not careful, if we do not behave in accordance with the order of our body, we may face these consequences.

Unbalanced weight gain can occur as inability to lose the weight gained, cardiovascular diseases due to weight gain, problems related to fat in internal organs, obesity, skin problems due to an unbalanced diet, various chronic diseases and pains. Depending on all this, inadequacy, failure, feelings of guilt, inability to manage social relationships, withdrawal and loneliness, restlessness, lack of self-confidence, negative thoughts about the body, anxiety and depression can also be seen in the part that concerns our psychology. However, the time, frequency and duration of occurrence of

“Of course, this beautiful relationship will come at a cost. I wish it wasn’t. But our body has a functioning order. In order for the order to continue, we must act accordingly.”

these conditions vary depending on the person and behaviors.

In order to control or completely eliminate emotional eating behavior, it is necessary to notice this behavior first. Noticing is the first condition of change and renewal. Then it is necessary to understand the triggering emotions and thoughts that reveal the emotional eating behavior. At what stage, at what event or with what emotion the need to eat is felt, these should be determined and a road map should be drawn accordingly. When determining these, it can be an effective way to write down the amount and time of all the foods you eat and drink during the period from the time of departure in the morning to the time of bedtime for 3-5 days or 1 week, along with the time. In fact, with what feeling did you consume food when you consumed it? For example, you got angry at something and immediately ate 1 tablet of chocolate in the drawer with that anger. It will be very useful for you to note such events. The process can progress more systematically and more solution-oriented by getting support from a psychologist. That’s why we shouldn’t avoid getting help from a psychologist. So, we have become aware of our sensory eating behavior, we have identified the reasons, what can we do?

When you don’t feel hungry, but you see yourself in a rush to eat, make a “to do” list. If you feel too tired and under responsibility, try to get involved in a more fun activity instead of getting away from your feelings for a moment and eating. Try to go for a walk, meet a friend, rearrange your room, or focus on other activities that will clear your mind and distract you. If you have a pet, take care of it, think about and try to do activities that you always enjoy doing. Trying will not lose you anything, remember that. Try to sleep for a short time. Look at your old photos and remember your memories. Just push yourself, make sure that you can find a solution

other than eating. Our goal is not to ban foods, but to postpone the desire to eat that you cannot control, Junking the pleasure you will get from food for a while. To turn to different actions that will give pleasure to yourself (other than food) during the time you delay reaching the food.

The time you put off eating something is your time to observe yourself. The observations you make are very important to you. Thanks to these observations, it will be easier for you to face your emotional hunger and control it. In summary, in order not to eat your emotions, you need to notice them first and then be able to control them properly. Learning to control and balance this desire to eat is the key solution.

(Senem Eke Yildiz)

“When you don’t feel hungry, but you see yourself in a rush to eat, make a “to do” list. ”

How Climate Change affects our Mental Health

Four out of ten people between the ages of 16 and 25 worldwide are hesitant about whether to have children due to the climate crisis (The Lancet).

Most of you may have heard of Fridays for Future, which is a movement, led and organised by the youth in our world. It started in August 2018 when the 15-year-old Greta Thunberg and other young activists sat in front of the Swedish parliament every school day for three weeks, to protest against the lack of action on the climate crisis.

The movement grew rapidly, until more than 14,000,000 people in 7,500 cities, all over the world began to take part in the protests (FridaysForFuture). Five years later, in 2023, people of all ages gathered on the occasion of the global climate strike to call on the world and business leaders to take urgent action.

The Ecopolis Social Center of Thessaloniki decided to take this instant to organise a Week For The Future, taking place from 28.02.23 to 04.03.23 to provide a week-long activities aiming to raise awareness and inspire behavioral change concerning climate issues.

As climate change is a topic that all of us face nowadays, we know that the change in climate

by Amina Settouf

has and especially will have profound effects. The UN calls out climate change as a global emergency that goes beyond borders. Ice sheets and glaciers are melting, the sea level rises, wildfires and droughts are occurring and getting more intense - natural catastrophes in all magnitudes are happening now and concern all living creatures over the planet. As long as humans add greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere, the irreversible effects of global warming will worsen (Climate NASA).

Taking this as a glimpse into our future, you may have found yourself feeling hopeless when thinking about the climate crisis. Have you ever found yourself feeling nervous, worried, scared, and helpless thinking about what the future holds for us? The environment psychologist Thomas Doherty calls this climate anxiety. It is not a mental illness. Rather it is anxiety rooted in uncertainty about the

© dpa © rnd.de Greta Thunberg in Berlin Climate Strike

future and alerting us to the dangers of a changing climate (Health Harvard). Climate anxiety is a real issue that more and more people experience nowadays. More than half of children and young adults are afraid of the climate crisis - so much so that it negatively affects their everyday lives. This is the conclusion of the largest scientific study to date on climate anxiety among young people. The survey included 10,000 young people aged 16-25 from Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, the UK, and the US (The Lancet).

The majority of young people are afraid of the future

75 percent agreed with the statement “The future is scary”, and more than half think they have fewer opportunities than their parents. Young people feel worried or anxious about the climate in a way that affects their daily lives and functioning. Many feel fear, anger, despair, sadness, and shame. The negative view of the future also influences personal decisions: Four out of ten people between the ages of 16 and 25 worldwide are hesitant about whether to have children due to the climate crisis.

Respondents: Responsibility also lies with governments

The inaction of their own governments is responsible for their fear: More than half of the surveil-

lants believe that governments are not doing enough to prevent a climate catastrophe. They don’t believe that governments are protecting them, our planet, or future generations. 58 percent of the young people said they felt betrayed by the older generation and governments.

The study shows that anxiety about the planetary crisis is very high, not only are we witnessing devastating climate disasters, but anxiety is also linked to how frequently governments fail to act decisively and effectively to stop the crisis. Caroline Hickman (University of Bath) designates eco-anxiety as a “completely rational and normal reaction”.

If climate anxiety is a condition affecting mental health, then how do we deal with it? Remember that you are not alone. There are a lot of other people who might feel the same way you do. Create space to talk about climate change, specifically about the feelings it causes in you and others. Listen to how other people feel and take their feelings seriously. It is completely normal to feel this way. Be aware that it’s not all on you. There’s only so much one person can do, and while individual action does have an impact, this is a collective responsibility. Take action and support other people to do likewise, however small the impact may feel to you. And don’t forget to take care of yourself physically and emotionally.

© fridaysforfuture.org

© bravajulia Signs SOS Sign

The Guide for Embracing Feelings

Are we really embracing what is going on in our life? How to make sure we are at peace with our feelings?

If we asked you to list the emotions you have experienced in a day, where would you start?

Probably the most important moment of the day and the feelings that developed around that moment will be the emotions that will come to your mind first. These include excitement over a promotion you received, sadness over bad news given by a loved one, or anxiety over the exam that you did not prepare well enough.

by Ezgi Güngördü

We all experience many of these situations almost every day. Of course, these feelings also change a lot during the same day.

Maintaining an emotion with the same intensity can often be challenging.

However, long-term thoughts and feelings that affect your soul may bring some deadlocks and may also affect your psychological well-being. Well, let’s take a look at some feelings one can experience on an ordinary day. Emotions that make you feel good; joy, happiness, success, pride and many more… And the emotions can poison life and destroy all your motivation and mood; such as fear, failure, insecurity, worry.

I want you to close your eyes right now and think about a situation, a moment, where you feel the most uncomfortable. It can be anything. It is all in your mind and in your heart. Now we will try to expand that feeling you just felt. The way to do this is to feel your emotion most deeply and to question it: to embrace that emotion. Yes, embracing that uncomforting and unfamiliar feeling, deeply and affectionately.

“But how about embracing those feelings? We’re not talking about ignoring emotions, I hope?”

I can hear you asking these questions to yourselves and at this point, we get to the purpose

of writing this article. Emotional acceptance. The steps I will show you in this will serve as a guide and will help you emphasize the importance of not avoiding negative emotions, but instead embracing them.

We experience our emotions on both conscious and unconscious levels. While we are aware of some of these feelings, we often fail to define our emotional state clearly. Sometimes we observe changes in our bodily responses, but we do not try to understand the emotions that cause these changes. We try to suppress our negative emotions and think that it will be good for us and will lead us to positivity. But suppressing emotions doesn’t seem like a good idea in the long run.

It’s hard to process emotions. It’s scary. There can be a huge feeling of panic, worry, and the urge to avoid the hard feelings. It can be extremely overwhelming and sometimes painful to go through the emotion.

Let’s see some steps from people who works on it:

Emotional intelligence can change your life. If you want to master your emotions, you can see some essential steps:

1. Don’t ignore unpleasant or exciting emotions. Observe them.

2. Understand their cause and source.

3. Decide if you want it to overtake you.

4. Take 10 deep breaths before you react to something that makes you angry.

© Pinterest Journey of

You can apply these as you embrace your inner experiences:

If you are judging your inner experience or struggling with it, stop doing it. Instead, give the emotion a neutral label. Say to yourself “I’m scared” or “I feel hurt”. Become aware of the sensations in your body that come with this emotion. Stay in the moment with the emotions. Notice the size, shape, color, and texture of the emotion. Drop the story of “why” you feel this way.

Focus on sensations and feelings rather than ideas.

B e open to emotional experience. Practicing self-compassion and loving kindness helps us soften our emotional experiences without pushing them away. Put your hand on your heart and talk to yourself like you would do to someone you love.

“ This is really hard” or “It makes sense that I’m feeling sad now”, you could say. Remember, it is not only you who feel this way. Think of all the people who are feeling helpless, lonely, deprived or rejected right now. Being human comes with pain. These steps are the essence of self-compassionate care. Self-compassion is embracing your humanity.

Meditating on accepting every aspect of what life brings and trusting the power of the present helps many people. The reason for this is no-

ticing your experiences from all their extremes and feeling their importance inside you.

Emotions can be really confusing or overwhelming at times.

Of course, the information we provide in this guide will be applied with variations for everyone and may affect everyone differently. While I was really struggling psychologically during a crazy period of life, I realized that accepting emotions healed me even though it didn’t solve the problems. Everything starts with ourselves and everything ends in the same place. Listen to your inner voice, it is trying to show you the right way. (Psychology Today)

I would like to end this article with a few words that I came across during my research on the subject.

“ We avoid processing emotions because what we feel is so contrary to our self-image, so threatening to our society’s ideas of normality and so at odds with who we would like to be.”

“ Compassion for the self, regardless of emotions is the way of untangling the mess we sometimes find ourselves in.”

“ But first we must pay for our self awareness with a period of mourning in which we gradually acknowledge that in some area or other, life is simply a lot sadder than we would want it to be.” (PsychCentral).

“Inside Out” to Explore Emotions

Exploring How Emotions and Brain Processes with the Movie of Inside Out

Do you have difficulty describing your feelings? Sometimes it’s easier not to express your feelings than to confront them. Do you feel nervous when you sit in the psychologist’s chair? What if I told you that watching a movie could help you better understand and manage your own emotions?

Emotions are an integral part of our lives, influencing our thoughts, behaviors, and interactions with others. Yet, understanding and managing our emotions can be a challenging task. This is where the power of movies comes in. Films have the unique ability to evoke emotions in their viewers, and in some cases, can even provide a platform for emotional self-discovery

by İnci Dobrucalı

and growth. One such movie that has resonated with audiences in this way is Pixar’s “Inside Out.” Released in 2015, this animated film takes viewers on a journey through the inner workings of a young girl’s mind and her five personified emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Through this journey, “Inside Out” offers valuable insights into the complex world of human emotions, making it a valuable tool for emotional learning and self-exploration. In this article, we will explore how “Inside Out” can help us discover and better understand our own emotions.

The definition and interpretation of emotions and the examination of their effects on peo -

Team of emotions © whatsondisneyplus

ple’s lives constitute one of the points of great importance in terms of psychology. Emotions, which are examined by different subfields of psychology, appear as an important element in many films. The brain, which constitutes a person’s behaviors, enables the emergence of emotions, recording and storing memories, and basically organizing all the functions of the individual, can be considered as our most important organ.

Discovering the Emotions

The movie begins with the birth of a girl named Riley. We enter Riley’s brain and meet the characters named Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Fear and Anger. Guided Riley throughout her childhood; our quintet, who in a way manages her relationship with the world, ensures that the little girl has a happy childhood. But tough times await our characters when Riley moves with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco; because this new life does not develop as the young girl imagines. The struggle that started between Joy and Sadness in order to ensure her happiness brings the necessity of the two to act together over time.

The two interconnected narratives of the movie are formed as what goes on inside Riley’s head and what happens around her. Although the quintet, which manages the positive and

negative reactions of the young girl towards her environment, consists of completely unrelated characters, Joy acts as a catalyst and tries to overcome every negativity with a positive perspective. Meanwhile, the film produces creative ideas about the working principles of the brain and memory. For example, while family and friendship relations are organized in regions called “Mind Islands”, the moments that affect Riley are recorded as core memories. In a way, there is an effort to increase core memories and protect the islands.

Does Joy Rule Everything?

In the movie, Joy thinks that only happy moments should be experienced and tries to prevent other emotions from being experienced and suppresses them. She thinks everything will be alright by suppressing it. But even if she wanted to, she can’t stop it. This is actually a defense mechanism that we use unconsciously. By suppressing, we shadow the emotions we actually feel. We often suppress our negative emotions and get the impression that we only need to experience positive emotions.

“We often suppress our negative emotions and get the impression that we only need to experience positive emotions.”

Joy comes across as an emotion that tries to manage everything. In fact, when we look at our daily life, we can see the reflection of this. Namely, there is a perception that we should be happy at all times, under all circumstances; we should never be demoralized. What is there to be upset about, crying, etc., in the slightest de-

Joy © Pixar

pravity? We see such reactions. There is an imposition to be happy all the time. Through the figure of joy, it is told that everything must go well in our lives at all times, and the pressure to be happy all the time. Sadness, on the other hand, looks for a bad side in everything, unlike joy. Even in the happiest-seeming moments, he can find a sad side and remembers that memory sadly. Although this is called absurd by Joy, when we think about it, it is something that happens to everyone in daily life. When we think of a memory that has taken a good place in our minds after a long time, we can remember sad details.

Our Inseparable Part “Sadness”

It was surprising for many viewers to realize that the main key is Sadness as the entire movie actually revolves around the leadership of Joy. But I think that’s what makes the movie really good. I think the message to be conveyed is given very clearly in the finale. Sadness is an indispensable part of our life. When a piece of the puzzle is missing, whatever you put in that place, it is not complete. Every emotion has its place for us. Experiencing each one opens new pages about life for us.

I think this is the main point of psychological resilience. Psychological well-being is not only achieved by living an easy life, but by experiencing every emotion. We should not forget that no event awakens only one emotion on its own. Of course, there may be dominant emotions that will take place in our memory. Whatever happens to us, whatever we experience, whatever we feel, we must allow it. We need to make room for every emotion in our lives. Sometimes a seemingly negative emotion can open the door to a positive emotion.

Functions of Emotions

Questions such as what emotions are, how they can be classified, whether there are universally felt emotions in all people, whether emotions are innate or acquired through socialization, are questions related to evaluations and examinations about emotions. It has been discussed for many years in fields such as philosophy, sociology and psychology. (Mark Manson, How to Understand Your Emotions)

The functional benefits of emotions in the face of life events constitute the main message that is tried to be given throughout the movie: no emotion should be considered as an unnecessary, insignificant emotion that should be eliminated. Every emotion has a protective and supportive function in our daily life. In particular, Joy’s understanding that Riley was able to receive support from her family and friends thanks to Sadness, and that she understood she was valued and that she could have memories where she felt happy, created the scene in which this main message was revealed in the clearest way.

Sadness © Pixar

Every Emotion Is for Us

We have the right to experience every emotion. Let’s start by being aware of this. The way we call life; sometimes rugged, sometimes rainy, and sometimes sunny. All we have to do is to be aware of how to walk on the road knowing this. Because unfortunately, there is no option in front of us saying I want to skip this phase. As a requirement of being human, some of our negative emotions are perceived as a problem by the environment. However, it’s all for us. When instead of getting rid of these feelings, we accept their existence; then we can continue walking on bumpy roads. Of course, no one can guarantee us that we will not fall. Because this is one of the necessities of life. In short, falling down and getting up are for us. These are the main messages that the movie evokes.The film is a thought-provoking exploration of human emotions, emphasizing

the importance of acknowledging and expressing our emotions, seeking help when needed, and understanding that it’s okay to feel sad, angry, or fearful.

The Success of the Movie

In addition to being a successful growth story, I can say that Inside Out, which successfully reflects a brilliant idea to the big screen, is an animation that plays big and achieves its goals. The film, which was also appreciated by the critics, received the Best Animated Film award at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards. It also won Best Animated Feature at the 88th Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Original Screenplay. After the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, it was released on 19 June 2015. The film received a standing ovation for 8 minutes after its opening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Anger is taking the control © Pixar

Synesthesia –when one sense comes through another

Hearing colours, tasting sounds and seeing emotions

Can you see sounds or taste words? What colour is the letter B or what shape is next week? You might not only see the colour blue, but you can hear it or even smell it. If you can relate to these experiences you might view the world like 1 in every 2,000 people with synesthesia.

People with synesthesia experience the ordinary in quite extraordinary ways. Syenesthesia’s etymological root is the ancient Greek word ‘syn’, which means ‘together’ and ‘aesthesis’ which translates to ‘sensation’. It essentially means that two or more senses are experienced simultaneously. It’s a neurological condition where people with synesthesia may experience a variety of sensations, such as seeing colours when they hear music, tasting shapes, or feeling a physical sensation when they see a certain colour. Synesthesia is a rare condition, and it is estimated that only 1 in every 2,000 people have it. Synesthesia is thought to be caused by a cross-wiring of the brain, where the neurons responsible for one sense are connected to the neurons responsible for another. This means that when one sense is stimulated, the other sense is also stimulated.

The genetic component plays a major role in this neurological phenomenon. Synesthesia

by Stefanie Thaller

runs in families. If one person has it, it is very likely that another person in their family has it too. People with synesthesia tend to think in vivid visual images. Every synesthete experiences it differently. Among famous people with synesthesia are some artists like the musicians Billie Eilish and her brother FINNEAS, Billie Joel, Jimmy Hendrix and Kanye West. Another famous synesthete is the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. He even published some texts about his experiences. One of his most famous paintings was created after a concert by the composer Arnold Schönberg in 1911. Kandinsky created a painting based on what he saw when listening to the concert.

Composition VII © Wassily Kandinsky

Synesthesia is a phenomenon that people are born with, it’s not a disorder but rather a trait like having blue eyes. In fact, research confirms that synesthesia often enhances one’s memory. Although synesthesia is congenital, people have acquired it through strokes, tumours or brain injuries. Science is still in its infancy in that research field but it could give us important insights into how our brains work.

phantom tastes of food when they think of words. Mirror touch synesthesia causes people to feel a similar sensation in the same part or opposite part of the body that another person feels. With ideasthesia a letter or a number can have a gender or a personality. Time-space synesthetes can experience time as a spatial construct, like seeing the yearly calendar projected into the real world. Overall, there are dozens of different forms of synesthesia.

The most common form of synesthesia is colour-sequence synesthesia. Here, letters of the alphabet or numbers are associated with vivid experiences of colour. The perception is different from synesthete to synesthete. One might argue that the letter c is yellow or the number 6 is red while another might disagree completely. Other forms of synesthesia are lexical-gustatory synesthesia in which people experience

S ynesthesia is still a blind spot in research. Still, it is much better studied in western countries and cultures. We know little to nothing about how synesthesia manifests itself in other areas around the globe. This lack of research is a huge research bias because it completely takes out all the cultural variation. Many concepts about time – and therefore also timespace synesthesia – do not make sense in other regions of the world. Our language, with its grammatical structures, rules, and conventions, affects not only how we perceive space but also how we perceive time. How would you

“People with synesthesia experience the ordinary in quite extraordinary ways.”

Colour-sequence synesthesia © Safran & Sanda (2015)

put childhood photographs into order? As an English speaker, you would probably start arranging the images on the left and sort them chronologically by age on the right. In languages that are written from right to left like Hebrew or Arabic, it would be the other way around. Therefore, the experience of time-space synaesthesia of a person speaking Hebrew or Arabic will be completely different from a person thinking in a language written from left to right.

A particularly impressive case with regard to the perception of space and time are the Thaayorre people in northern Australia. They define

time as moving in an east-to-west direction. This concept is written into the grammar of their language. Time is thus said to flow from left to right when the speaker is facing south, and from right to left when the speaker is facing north. Time moves in the direction of the body if the speaker is looking east. If west, time is thought to be moving away from the topic. Time moves in Thaayorre from east to west. Thus a Thaayorre would order their childhood pictures from right to left if the subject was facing north. They would also sort them the other way around if they turned the other way. Only through comparison does it become clear with which worldview we grew up (Kübra Gümsüay „Language and Being“ 2020). The perception and experience of a Thaayorre synesthete is probably very unique compared to a synesthete in Europe for instance. A scientific exploration of that would be of enormous value.

“Synesthesia is a phenomenon that people are born with, it’s not a disorder but rather a trait like having blue eyes.”

The perception of time © James Hughes et al. (2019)

The Evolution of Colour in Film: From Black and White to Modern Special Effects

Films have evolved in terms of colour, but not only that, but they have also evolved enormously in terms of special effects.

Since the invention of cinema in the 19th century, film technology has continued to evolve to provide us with ever more spectacular images. The evolution of colour in film has been one of the most significant developments in evolu-

by Philippe Villar

tion. From the era of black and white cinema to modern films with 3D special effects, colour has played an essential role in creating immersive and emotional cinematic experiences.

The era of black-and-white cinema

In the early days of cinema, films were in black and white, which meant that filmmakers had to use shades of grey to suggest colour and texture. When movies started to be made in colour, they often used dyes or paints to give the image a tint. This created a very different aesthetic to black and white films.

The first feature film to be made in colour was Douglas Fairbanks’ “The Black Pirate” in 1926. The film was shot in two colours, red and green, which were superimposed to create a colour image. However, the image quality could have improved, and the technique was not widely used for several years.

The first successful colour film was “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939, which used the Technicolor technique to produce a vivid colour image. The Technicolor technique was used in many films of the 1930s and 1940s, creating bright, vibrant photos that delighted audiences.

Poster of the first movie shot entirely in two-colour

© Wikimedia

The transition to colour films with special effects

O ver the years, filmmakers continued to experiment with colour and special effects. The 1950s saw the introduction of colour to 3D cinema, which created images that popped out of the screen. However, the technique lasted only a short time and was abandoned in the late 1950s.

In the 1960s, colour films became more common, and the image quality improved considerably. Filmmakers began to use special effects to create images that looked incredibly realistic. Science fiction films used these techniques to create imaginary worlds and strange creatures, while action films used special effects to create scenes of explosions and destruction.

The 1970s and 1980s saw the introduction of video and colour television, allowing filmmakers to produce even more prosperous and saturated colour images. Special effects techniques also improved, creating incredibly realistic images.

Modern films

Today, filmmakers have advanced digital tools to create breathtaking images. Modern films use digital special effects, high-resolution cam-

eras and sophisticated colour-grading techniques to produce more realistic images than ever. Colours are more vibrant, shadows are more nuanced, and details are finer than ever. Filmmakers are also free to manipulate paint to create dramatic and emotional effects.

In addition to image quality, modern films have also pushed the boundaries of visual storytelling. Filmmakers use colour to create visual themes that resonate with viewers and reinforce the meaning of the story. For example, in the film “La La Land”, colours are used to reflect the characters’ emotions, creating a nostalgic and melancholic mood.

In addition, the filmmakers use colour to differentiate scenes and characters. Colours are used to distinguish villains from heroes, signal changes in time and place, and create moods that match the film’s perspective.

In conclusion, the evolution of colour in film has been an exciting development in cinema history. From the first black-and-white films to modern films with digital special effects, filmmakers have used paint to create immersive and emotional cinematic experiences. Colour has evolved to become more vibrant, nuanced and sophisticated, offering endless possibilities for filmmakers to tell compelling stories. Colour remains a crucial element of visual storytelling in film, and we look forward to seeing how filmmakers will continue to use it to amaze and captivate us.

Poster of The wizard of oz

La La Land, the perfect example of a Technicolor movie

© Flickr

© Vanity Fair

Colour in advertising

How brands use colour to influence consumers’ emotions and behaviour

Colours are an essential part of our daily lives and can significantly impact our emotions and behaviour. Brands understand this and use colour to influence consumers in their purchasing decisions. In this article, we will examine how brands use colours to control consumers’ emotions and behaviour in advertising.

The meaning of colours in advertising

Every colour has a cultural meaning and association, which means that colours can impact consumers differently depending on their cultural and personal context. Therefore, brands choose the colours they use in their advertising campaigns carefully, to avoid sending an

by Philippe Villar

inappropriate or contradictory message. Here are some examples of the meaning of the most commonly used colours in advertising:

• Red is associated with energy, passion, power, urgency, and aggression. Brands use red to stimulate excitement and speed, as in sales and promotions.

• Blue is associated with stability, confidence and security. Brands use blue to reinforce trust and authority, as in financial services and high-tech products.

• Yellow is associated with optimism, joy and energy. Brands use yellow to boost enthusiasm and energy, as in energy drinks and fast food.

• Green is associated with nature, health and growth. As in organic products and natural cosmetics, brands use green to emphasise their commitment to sustainability and the environment.

• Purple is associated with creativity, wisdom and royalty. Brands use purple to add a touch of sophistication and refinement to their image, as in luxury brands and high-end products.

• Black is associated with elegance, sophistication and authority. Brands use black to create

an image of luxury and quality, as in high-end clothing brands.

The use of colour in advertising

Brands use colours in different ways to influence the emotions and behaviour of consumers in advertising. Here are some examples of the use of colour in advertising:

• Background colour: The background colours of an advertisement can influence how consumers perceive the product or service. For example, an advertisement for a wellness product may use green colours to convey an image of health and well-being.

• Logo colour: The colours of a brand’s logo can impact how consumers perceive the brand. For example, a red logo may convey an image of power and energy, while a blue logo may convey an image of confidence and stability.

• Product colour: Product colours can impact consumers when making purchasing decisions. For example, a red car may convey an

image of power and passion, while a blue car may convey an idea of confidence and stability.

• The colour of the call-to-action buttons: The colours of the call-to-action buttons can influence the behaviour of consumers by encouraging them to click. For example, a red button may convey an image of urgency and excitement, while a green button may convey an image of safety and trust.

• Use of complementary colours: Brands can use them to create contrast and visual effects in their advertising. For example, an advertisement for a make-up product can use complementary colours to highlight the product’s features.

The importance of consistency in colour use

Consistency in using colour is essential to create a solid and consistent brand image. Brands should use the same colours in all their advertising campaigns, products and websites to reinforce the association between the colour and

Colour Emotion Guide

© Coca Cola Company

the brand. This allows consumers to recognise the brand as soon as they see its colour, which supports the emotional impact of the brand.

The evolution of the use of colour in advertising

The use of colour in advertising has evolved to accommodate cultural and technological changes. In the 1950s and 1960s, advertisements used bright, saturated colours to convey an image of prosperity and optimism. In the 1970s, advertisements began to use more natural colours to get an image of simplicity and authenticity.

With the advent of television and video, advertisements began to use special effects and CGI to create more complex visual effects. In addi-

tion, the colour was used to enhance ads’ emotional impact and create dramatic visual effects.

Today, advertisements use a wide variety of visual techniques to capture consumers’ attention. Brands use bright colours and special effects to create memorable and captivating advertisements. Online advertisements use colours to entice consumers to click on links and buy products.

Conclusion

Colour is an important element of advertising, as it can significantly impact consumer emotions and behaviour. Brands use colour to create a consistent brand image and to influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. Therefore, consumers need to be aware of the use of colour in advertising to avoid being subconsciously influenced.

Pepsi’s old and new advertisement © Pinterest

Thessaloniki night and yellow

by Maxime Ricaud

Gathering photographic works of Thessaloniki, focusing on lights, characters, shapes, textures. Trying to put in light this color that is familiar to everyone going out at night.

© Maxime Ricaud

© Maxime Ricaud

© Maxime Ricaud

Narrating Emotions, a Common Ground across Borders

The photography exhibition of Josie Carfora is a collection of street photographs taken in different countries: Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria. The photos narrate emotions that show we are all humans, all connected and not divided by imaginary borders.

“

Are the feelings that unite us across borders. Emotions move the world and turn the engine of history, determining our decisions or actions.

Emotional education and learning to identify and understand what one feels could be a valuable antidote to all those emotions acted out in destructive and violent ways: who can recognize and know what they think can manage them more easily.

Suppose our communication is, for the most significant per cent, visual. In that case, shapes and colors become, in addition to words, ideal tools for conveying and expressing with more awareness the emotions one feels.

© Giusy Carfora

Lady with a fur coat

Words never seem to be enough to describe a feeling or an ‘emotion that lives inside us, so we

visualize what, beyond the imaginary boundaries of nations, makes us alive: States of mind.”

Peaceful sleep

© Giusy Carfora

A strong woman

© Giusy Carfora

© Giusy Carfora Boys tossing stones in the sea

Flying in yphanet

© Giusy Carfora Close to the chasm

© Giusy Carfora

Emotional time

Two playlists: two rooms, two atmospheres

by Alex Humbert

Playlist Happiness

As we say in France, “deux salles, deux ambiances” which literally translates to “two rooms, two atmospheres”, which means that you have a contrasting situation. Here I want to share two opposite playlists, a playlist with music that made the people I surveyed happier and a playlist with music that made them sadder. The idea is not to make you sad with a playlist, but to see what kind of answers were given and if at the same time you can discover new music, it’s even better! And also, Even if the basic goal is not to make you sad, we must admit that sometimes, being sad and crying a lot can be good. We need to express ourselves.

Happiness

Emile et Images - Les démons de Minuit

ATEEZ - HALA HALA

Kim Dracula - Paparazzi

Pharrell Williams - Happy

Franco Rizzaro - Será Mejor

LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem

Scarlet Pleasure - What a Life

Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’

ABBA - Dancing Queen

Beyoncé - Single Ladies

Yung Lean - Boylife in EU

Mac Miller - The Spins

Bad Bunny - Dákiti

Goldman - Quand la musique est bonne

Timbaland - The way I are

Caroline Polachek - Sunset

ATEEZ - Dancing like butterfly wings

PaulMcCartney, Rihanna, Kanye West - FourFiveSeconds

The Rasmus - In the Shadows

Rihanna - Umbrella

Besides specific songs, also genres were given as an answer: Christian music, Metal, Rock and Roll, Old RnB, RnB, Greek Pop, Classic even “it varies a lot”. In conclusion, a multitude of music and genres!

Sadness

Big Flo & Oli - Aujourd’hui

Adele - Someone Like You

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Nothing but Thieves - If I Get High

Dido - Life for Rent

Tones and I - Dance Monkey

Band of Brothers - Main title

Lewis Capaldi - Someone You Loved

Pink - Just give me a reason

Keane - Somewhere Only We Know

Pol Granch - Un Sitio Aparte

Cem Adrian - Kül

John Legend - All of Me

Tom Odell - Another Love

Øneheart - Snowfall

BTS - First Love

Cha Ni - Starlight

Calogero - Danser encore

Harry Styles - Falling

Seafret - Atlantis

J ust as with the other playlist, there were more general responses in this one as well: jazz, Classic, Laika greek (kapsourotragouda), sad love songs but also “music doesn’t make me sad” and some humoristic answer like “my alarm clock”.

It probably seemed strange to read and/or listen to some of the songs given as answers, this is because these are very personal. Taking the example of Dance Monkey, at first glance those who know this song might say that it is on the wrong list, but by questioning the person who chose it, we find that it is linked to a sad memory in his or her mind, which makes it entirely appropriate for this playlist.

Each person has their own story and their own feelings related to music !

Playlist Sadness

Which colour could represents your personality?

Let’s try to discover which colour fits best with your personality or your mood!

by Alex Humbert

1. Which one is your favorite element ?

a) Water (+2)

b) Earth (+4)

c) Air (+5)

d) Fire (+3)

2. Which one is your favorite season ?

a) Spring (+4)

b) Summer (+3)

c) Autumn (+5)

d) Winter (+2)

3. Which one is your favorite animal ?

a) Lion (+3)

b) Dolphin (+2)

c) Butterfly (+5)

d) Dog (+4)

4. Which one is your favorite dish ?

a) Pizza (+4)

b) Sushi (+5)

c) Steak (+3)

d) Salad (+2)

5. Which one is your favorite movie ?

a) The Godfather (+3)

b) Lord of the Rings (+5)

c) The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain (+2)

d) Star Wars (+4)

6. Which one is your favorite singer ?

a) Beyoncé (+3)

b) The Beatles (+5)

c) Ed Sheeran (+4)

d) Adele (+2)

7. Which one is your favorite style of clothing ?

a) Casual (+4)

b) Elegant (+3)

c) Sporty (+5)

d) Bohemian (+2)

8. Which one is your favorite hobby ?

a) Playing video games (+4)

b) Reading (+2)

c) Working out (+5)

d) Listening to music (+3)

9. Which one is your favorite drink ?

a) Coffee (+4)

b) Tea (+2)

c) Soda (+5)

d) Water (+3)

10. What is your astrological sign ?

a) Aries, Leo or Sagittarius (+3)

b) Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn(+4)

c) Gemini, Libra or Aquarius (+2)

d) Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces (+5)

Less than 20 points:

Your colour is Yellow! That means you are a cheerful, optimistic and creative person. You are what we call a “sunshine”!

Between 40 and 49 points:

Your colour is Green! That means you are a calm, harmonious and balanced person.

Between 20 and 29 points:

Your colour is Blue! That means you are a serene, calming and confident person.

Over 50 points:

Your colour is Purple! That means you are a creative, intuitive and thoughtful person.

Between 30 and 39 points:

Your colour is Red! That means you are a passionate, energetic and bold person.

E ven if you have the same answer as your friend or family, and for you, it’s not accurate, everyone is different, unique in his own way! And that’s why the world is beautiful!

I hope each of you will be satisfied with the answer to this quiz. But if not and if you are not satisfied with your life either, try to do something you would not have done in the first place: for example, if you are rather blue but you are not satisfied, try to become a little red by becoming bold! But while remaining yourself to the maximum and taking care of yourself of course.

Balkan Hotspot Team

Alex Humbert, 26 years old, France

Elena Leiterer, 18 years old, Germany

Amina Settouf, 19 years old, Germany

Giusy Letizia, 26 years old, Italy

Carolin Kretzer, 19 years old, Germany

Hendrik Rebane, 26 years old, Estonia

Ezgi Güngördü, 24 years old, Turkey

Stefanie Thaller, 22 years old, Austria

Christos Leivaditis, 25 years old, Greece

Inci Dobrucali, 25 years old, Turkey

Maxime Ricaud, 19 years old, France

Mustafa Talha Genc, 21 years old, Turkey

Philippe Villar, 23 years old, France

Rodrigo Perezagua Escobar, 29 years old, Spain

General Directors:

Aristodimos Paraschou

Christian Cibba

Graphic Designer:

Anna-Maria Diamantidou

Find us: www.balkanhotspot.org

Usb_ngo.gr

Editor: Giusy Letizia

Stefanie Thaller

The volunteers responsible for this publication are hosted in Greece in the framework of the European Solidarity Corps. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission can not be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.