Oops, but let’s talk about it
I made a mistake yesterday by publishing an article about my depression that was actually meant for my Fibromyalgia blog that I write to occasionally. However, a couple comments made me think that it might be a worthwhile subject to talk about here, although maybe not so personally. 
One comment was about how many artists seem to be more apt to have mental illnesses or some type of psychological issues they must deal with. This piqued my interest, as I feel like two separate people sometimes. On one hand, I’m the creative artsy former ballerina who has a Master of Fine Arts in Dance and who absolutely loves ballet and teaching ballet. On the other hand, I’m a mother of three children who works at a bank and suffers from depression and Fibromyalgia. Many people only know one side or the other, but truly I’m not whole unless you see the bigger picture, and I do believe that giving way to our creative sides can also possibly lead to difficulty in dealing with the world at large.
It’s not so much that I’m ashamed to be depressed; it runs in my family, after all, so no one is to blame (except maybe my batty grandmother, but even she probably inherited it from higher up the family tree!). It’s just that I try to keep this blog based on ballet, making it appeal to both those who are dancing and those who are teaching. But since I slipped up, I’m thinking perhaps it might not be a bad idea to talk about this condition, as I’m sure it affects many more people than you and I might realize.
If you or someone you love have the following symptoms, I highly recommend speaking to your primary care physician, who can prescribe medication if needed or who can recommend a psychotherapist or psychiatrist for you to talk to. Below are the basics. Read the rest of the article to see what the treatment options look like.
I wish everyone a happy, healthful life while dancing and teaching ballet! There is absolutely no stigma attached to finding help if you or someone you love needs assistance with this common illness.
It is very common, and genetics are certainly a major factor. It’s also common for people to feel ashamed or set apart from the rest of the world somehow. When I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression it was scarey, but I was very open with other people about it. I found many others were suffering as well. Some were seeking help, and some were still to nervous about telling anyone. I think information is power. Here is a list of personality traits that seem to go hand in hand with various types of depression and anxiety: perfectionism, inner nervousness, tendancy to over react, low self esteem, guilt, sesative to criticism, emotionally sensative, extremely high expectations, inability to make decisions, obsessive thinking, extremely analytical, suggestible to others problems, overly concerned with the opinions of others of you, tendancy to worry about health problems, and a need to appear in control. When I saw this list I was all of the above! Haha. Even without the factors of heredity, can you see where, as dancers, we were driven to aquire some of these traits? So what can we do as teachers?I am very aware if I have a student that is too much of a perfectionist, a negative thinker, and a worrier. I try to get them to have a more positive and realistic outllook on their training. It is a fine line. I have to go tip toe on that line now
Off to teach…