Development and mental health
Good afternoon people,
It’s been a busy time here, but on the surface little to show you all. Ivan is home and has had meetings, emails and plans. I have been back at the day job, which is busy in its own right, as well as working away on adverts, learning to do some video editing for teasers which might come your way soon and getting stuck in to a fibre-arts SH commission.
I am, however, very aware that this week has been mental health awareness week. The focus this year is on anxiety and on raising awareness and encouraging people to talk about it. So here I am. As someone who lives with generalised anxiety it’s a tough world to exist in. Long ago, I moved in the world of creative arts. But accidents and the inability to deal well with rejection meant it felt like it wasn’t the place for me. I moved into teaching and I won’t say there haven’t been plenty of times I though that also wasn’t for me. And here I am again, my skin is a little thicker and I’m aware that at least some of my feeling is down to chemicals and wiring. It doesn’t make it feel easier, but it makes it more understandable.
As someone with anxiety, my fear of rejection leads me often into overworking as I can’t bear the though of anyone thinking I might not be pulling my weight. I can’t be late, miss deadlines, or say no. Which often means I bite off more than I can chew and end up do exactly the things that cause me such stress. However, praise, thanks and recognition all go a huge way to building my resilience back up.
Working on LD alongside my teaching career has been a real mix of the above feelings. There is so much to do, to write, to test, to find or design props for. I’m lucky that our family and team are so supportive and understanding . When I have a wobble — which is not uncommon — they refer to it is ‘failing my morale check’ and often will go out of their way to avoid that being a thing in the first place.
Hearing back from you good people, that you like what we do, also really fills the bucket back up and makes so much of the stress and huge feelings of overwhelm feel validated. It keeps me going for another day. It keeps me wanting to work on this beautiful world.
For anyone out there who suffers with their mental health — we see you, and we get you.
The Locksmith’s Dream and all of our team, pride ourselves on offering an amazing experience that (within the confines of the grade 2 listed Jacobean building…) anyone can experience. You can chase all the clues flitting through the house, you can systematically follow a story, you can interact with people, or you can sit with a cup of tea and do jigsaws and all of these are right.
One thing we can say is that what ever comes next, we will always have the many and varied needs of our wonderful community in our thoughts.
We still have early booking at the moment through the sign up expressions of interest forms, with a special little bonus of free cocktails if you place your deposit before the end of May — and it will keep the anxiety beasts from my door for a little longer too.
Dream Responsibly!
Laura
