1 June 2021
Mental Health Context
It’s been a wonderful day. A presentation I spent ages working on was successful. There was a Mental Health talk where I discovered I’d hovered on the border and avoided violating a person’s privacy. Phew!
The mental health talk was fascinating, especially in the COVID/ post-COVID world. COVID has dragged Mental health reluctantly into the limelight. It’s a topic difficult to talk about openly because of the historical stereotyping of those with obvious mental health symptoms. Those with quieter afflictions kept it to themselves because of the lack of understanding which surrounded mental health.
As a manager, it was good to receive information on what I can and can’t do in the work environment concerning helping someone who might be suffering. The talk highlighted where I had almost blundered into a potential lawsuit – sometimes it’s lucky that I stall for time! The problem is in seeking help for the person when the person doesn’t want help. Not communicating even the awareness of the situation to other staff members for their understanding can be dangerous territory.
Mental Health Tony
I arrived at the talk or meeting about 15-20 minutes late because of a previous meeting, skipping the start, and discussions were well on the way. A guy (Tony is his name for the story’s sake) was sitting at the front of the room, conveying his mental health experience. I instantly connected with the emotions and wanted to help in any way I could.
Tony said he was constantly tired, felt useless, had memory lapses, which contributed to his feelings of hopelessness and increased his despair. He didn’t want to socialise or go out. Tony began to compare himself to his former self of being outgoing and full of energy and wondered what had happened to him. I’ve definitely been there!
At the time, there was a lot more on the topic I wanted to write but my notes for the day are short and sweet staring at me as if their very presence was all I needed. The words were crystal clear when I wrote them, “Mental Health Talk”, and I didn’t think the import of what they were to convey would disappear. Yet, disappear they did, but the feeling of the talk stayed with me, and that’s something quite difficult to describe in writing.
The end of the session had a twist for me when I congratulated Tony on his courage to sit out the front and share his mental health experience with an audience. While I was congratulating Tony, the psychologist and everyone laughed good-naturedly. It turns out Tony was an actor, and the psychologist shared this with the group during introductions – which I missed because I was late.
Today's Cards
The Cards - Analysis
Carryover Cards
No cards carried over from yesterday.
Cross
Intensity is in the Now influenced by Projections with Moment to Moment sitting in the Goal position. Interpreting the first three cards in the context of the day is Intensity equals keeping the previous meeting and ensuring details got finalised– otherwise known as doing things my way. Projections as the influence reflect how I connected to Tony’s mental health story. Tony was the recipient of my projected emotions.
Moment to Moment is the Goal for the day; its success demonstrated by the way I moved from back-to-back meetings that day.
The Creativity card of the Distant Past leads to the Recent Past card of Politics. Politics is about portraying one face to the world while masking the real one. When I displayed a cheerful disposition in the meeting, I was brighter than I felt (that was Politics) trying to lift Tony’s – and everyone’s – mood.
I move from blazing an individual path of Intensity to the Future Energy of Receptivity. You can see this response just from telling the story today; I go from the hustle of one meeting into a meeting late, begin to listen, and then become receptive to new information.
Base
The Feelings position has a Breakthrough, and it links to when I learned Tony was an actor. There could also be another more profound interpretation. The meeting itself, with its contents, also helped me realise I’d narrowly escaped violating protocols, regardless of being well-intentioned. Phew!
Others’ Views was I was wracked with Guilt, possibly over that exact situation I had escaped from violating. Up until the moment of the Breakthrough, there was indeed Guilt and Stress.
The Hopes & Fears card shows the card of Stress and can relate to avoiding a misunderstanding of my role right up to a lawsuit. The fear is that it will happen; the hope is that it doesn’t.
The Outcome card has The Lovers, indicating two people working together in harmony and understanding one another’s uniqueness.
References
- Osho, Osho Zen Tarot – The Transcendental Game of Zen, St Martin’s Press, ISBN 0-312-11733-7
- The Push-up Challenge promotes Mental Health Awareness and started today
