Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 07/Jul 07:44

Shari La Shae finds therapy in art

Cheryl Metivier Shari La Shae daily defies the odds and turns her mental health challenges into successes. A humble, deeply intuitive young woman whose wisdom belies her mere 29 years, La Shae is a self-taught abstract artist and photographer who has battled depression and bipolar disorder since her teenage years. She comes from a small family, having just one older sibling. And because she is very close to her family, she did not hesitate to alert her parents when she recognised that she was beginning to experience the early signs of adverse mental health. [caption id="attachment_1094777" align="alignnone" width="668"] Shari La Shae on opening night of her solo exhibit, Big Feelings, at the ARC Co-Create Hub in Tunapuna. -[/caption] "I was a good student and I enjoyed studying and kept my grades up, so it was confusing when I began experiencing difficulty in keeping up. So much so that I began to frequently absent myself from school," she told WMN. The sense of being constantly overwhelmed consumed her, and she said that she even recalled having suicidal thoughts. After doing her own online research via "Dr Google," she was satisfied that her symptoms warranted a deeper intervention, and she reached out to her parents. That conversation was perhaps the watershed moment for her, and she is thankful that they were sufficiently enlightened, and that they were open to helping her to find the support she needed. Unfortunately, this was not the case for everyone in her circle. "I had friends and relatives who would have preferred that I keep my diagnosis a secret. Others admonished me to ‘pray about it,’ because they were of the view that this 'invisible’ disease was not real." La Shae has been very deliberate in how she has navigated her mental health since being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She said after confiding in her parents and seeking out professional help, she was able to identify that practising her art has had a calming effect on her. She pointed out that it is not a new hobby, since she has always had an affinity for it. In the early part of her practice, her preference was for portraits and sketches; but post-diagnosis, she found herself drawn to the abstract genre; and basically navigated herself in a new direction, teaching herself all the fundamentals of this new style and embracing it fully. "The more involved I became; the more benefits I saw myself deriving from this activity." [caption id="attachment_1094797" align="alignnone" width="684"] Shari La Shae is a self-taught abstract artist and photographer who has battled depression and bipolar disorder since her teenage years. -[/caption] She has also ventured into art therapy, having connected with a therapist whose speciality is art. Their sessions began just before the start of the covid19 pandemic in 2020. When the country was in lockdown, the weekly sessions continued online, and she describes them as "really amazing." "These sessions took the form of conversations to address my concerns and issues, after which the art would be used to translate and process those emotions; this would be followed by another conversation to discuss the pieces I had created – a joint analysis of sorts." But, she was quick to point out that the progress she made in improving her mental health did not come exclusively from her art, but from therapy and medication as well. She credits her doctor with taking the time to properly evaluate her, and over time, identify just the right "cocktail" to keep her in balance. This, together with the arsenal of "tools" she has amassed from her time spent in therapy have “gone a very long way in helping me to control my thoughts and my actions.” She said the invisibility of mental illness makes it easy to ignore. "There’s no leg in a cast, no runny nose, no visible or tangible symptoms; but for those who are afflicted by any number of mental health diseases, it is as real as either of these afflictions." La Shae’s openness about her struggle has been a double-edged sword, bringing her commendation from some who have expressed pride and admiration for her courage, while, on the other hand, attracting robust criticism for embarrassing herself and her loved ones. "I've been admonished to 'just pick yourself up and do what you have to do,' but that’s more difficult than it sounds. And while I believe that we do all have the potential to change, dealing with some of our elders who have a mind-set that ‘this is what we know; and this is how it will continue to be,’" can be frustrating. [caption id="attachment_1094780" align="alignnone" width="684"] Shari La Shae says in those moments when she feels herself becoming overwhelmed, she has found that turning to art has really helped her to re-centre. -[/caption] "They don’t get it, they don’t understand it, they don’t think I should share…” She said the default position for some of them is that, “Nobody needs to know all your business.” In the earlier period of her diagnosis, La Shae was confronted head-on with the conflict of having to balance her spiritual upbringing with the acknowledgement that there has been a significant growth in the awareness of mental health. This, she said, has contributed to a level of acceptance among her religious community. She believes that her generation has contributed to normalising conversations about mental health, and has managed to break down some of the barriers around this taboo subject. She has noticed a marked difference in the reactions and advice she was offered ten years ago when she was first diagnosed; when she would be asked if she “was sure that she didn’t need to focus more on her relationship with God.” She now has a sense that many of these people now understand that what she is experiencing is not an indication of the quality or authenticity of her relationship with God. "They acknowledge that this is a ‘real thing.’" La Shae is thankful, though, that as she gets older the frequency and intensity of her episodes have reduced; and in those moments when she feels herself becoming overwhelmed, she has found that “turning to art has really helped me re-centre." She has got to the point where her therapy sessions are scheduled only as needed. Along the way, La Shae also started doing photography, and has developed such a passion for it, that it has morphed into a parallel income stream, along with her painting. She said she has a natural inclination is to seek knowledge, and she sees herself continuing to learn through formal training and her experiences. She recently completed her first solo art exhibition at the ARC Co-Create Hub in Tunapuna, on June 29, which interestingly enough was titled Big Feelings. [caption id="attachment_1094793" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Shari La Shae hosted the Oasis: Art as Therapy exhibit in association with the Ministry of Health. -[/caption] She is also passionate about creating opportunities to help others, and she has collaborated with the North West Regional Health Authority and Pembroke Street Wellness Centre for the Mindful Expressions exhibit, and later hosted the Oasis: Art as Therapy exhibit in association with the Ministry of Health. These have afforded her the chance to become one of the faces of people living with mental health challenges. She recounts that those networks had the effect of generating conversations around the topic of addressing mental health issues. She is thankful that in the midst of everything, she has an opportunity to live her dream of being an artist. She recognises that not everyone has the privilege to live their dream as she does. ”Many people feel tortured going to work every day; I think it (art) helps me. For instance, on the days when the journey gets difficult and I feel like I can’t do much, because this is something that I love and I feel passionate about, I am inspired to keep going.” Anyone interested in connecting with Shari La Shae can visit www.artby-shari.com IG - @artbyshari_   The post Shari La Shae finds therapy in art appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.