What ARE Monsters?
- Feb 9, 2017
- 2 min read
I like to personify things; to take inanimate objects, intangible concepts – even pets! – and imagine them with human qualities. I find it highly amusing and, if I think about it, quite fulfilling; I can relate to everything in a more personal way. Connecting with things in a similar way to how I connect to people allows me a sense of understanding, and the comfortable illusion of being understood by these things as well. I've been doing it all my life – mostly for my own entertainment – and find it very effective.
Very recently – that is, when I created this blog – I suddenly (spontaneously) came up with the concept of a “head full of monsters” the personification of depression, anxiety, stress, and anything that encourages cognitive dissonance. I know theses things are a part of my thoughts and how they work. .. but for me, imagining them as monsters is an interesting way of addressing what's been happening in my mind.
To me, monsters – particularly the ones I am visualising here – are adorable. They are small and squishy and with a vast array of stylish, punky details. Spikes, teeth, stripes, tails, horns. Mine are all two-legged, two-armed, but if you're comfortable with it, they could have as many appendages as you like - or none at all, like a cute little ball of fuzz.
My understanding is that these monsters don't mean any harm. Certainly, they're a little rough sometimes, treading on tender areas, weighing us down, eating things they shouldn't (like our happiness, our motivation, our peace). But with a little training, I think they could learn how to be our friends. We just have to teach them.
And as I discovered, I'm not the first to personify emotions this way!
So, when I say a head full of monsters, these are the sort I'm referring to. Adorable creatures that just need a little love and guidance in order to change their ways. Project #OOMMAHFOM is all about making the more unpleasant aspects and experiences of turbulent mental health even just a little bit more manageable.
In the meantime, here's a place to create your own monsters! I found it very therapeutic, if extremely simple in its design. However, I cannot personally verify this site, so make sure your computer is protected, just in case.
Stay tuned, lads and ladies!
Aurora Jak Rose
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