3 Things This Week #4
The delight of upcycling, my preschool beauty muse, and ancient coping techniques
Welcome to this week’s report on three things that I’m doing or thinking about.
1. The Preschool Beauty Muse
My oldest daughter, who was born when nail salons were closed for lockdown, lost her mind the first time she saw my toenails painted. Now we have tradition that I ask her what color polish I should get before I bike to my monthly pedicure. This week, she said turquoise. She squealed when I came back with my toenails painted what I told her was “mermaid blue.” The look of joy on her face when I do the big reveal never gets old.
2. The Unexpected Delight of Upcycling
I dropped off a new little leather bag that I bought on our recent trip to Spain at our neighborhood cobbler to have the strap shortened. (I like my crossbody bags to fit closer to my waist.) I’ve recently discovered that repairing or improving the fit of an existing item gives me a similar dopamine boost to buying something new.
3. The Anthropology of Coping Mechanisms
I finished reading “What Happened to You,” and one section that stuck with me discusses how across time and space, ancient human cultures relied on the same four tools to process trauma. I think about how our ancestors endured suffering that are beyond what many of us can imagine: battles, accidents, disease, famine, maternal and child deaths. Yet small family groups continued to function and survive over millennia. Today in the West, our lives are safer, yet rates of anxiety, depression, addiction, and suicide are on the rise. Our powers of resilience seem to be at an all-time low. (Anyone been triggered by a work email?) The book’s author, brain and trauma expert Bruce Perry, argues that we’ve forgotten the healing practices that served our predecessors:
Connection to clan and the natural world
Regulating rhythm through dance, drumming, and song [Somatic therapy, anyone?]
A set of beliefs, values, and stories that brought meaning to even senseless, random trauma
On occasion, natural hallucinogens or other plant-derived substances used to facilitate healing with the guidance of a healer or elder
When faced with mental health struggles, here in the United States we usually gravitate to pharmaceuticals (#4), or maybe Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Who else is interested in exploring ways to make the other time-tested alternatives part of their family’s life?
So true about trauma. I always say we’ve never had more depression and anxiety than we do now—and yet we have everything we need, in essence!