Inside Out Arts exhibit helps eradicate stigma surrounding mental illness
The Santa Fe New MexicanSep 23, 2017
"I was ashamed of it," she said.
The
Through her artwork -- most often a process of cutting paper into tiny pieces and reordering the fragments, as if imposing order on her life, Rest said -- she tried to heal herself.
When she reached her 50s, Rest finally decided she needed to reach out and get help. "It took nine years for me to get the right medication," she said in a recent interview. "... I felt like a guinea pig." But when she did find the right treatment about six years ago, she said, "It's been like a new life."
Rest is one of about 40 artists with mental illness whose works are on display at the
The mission is deeply personal for Herling, whose brother, Bruce, suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child and later developed a mental illness. Some of his work is included in the show.
For Rest, who remained silent about her illness even after receiving treatment, participating in the show was a big step toward busting her own stigma. "This is really a coming out for me," she said. One of her cut-paper pieces, titled Fragmented, is an image of Rest in her youth. "It took a lot for me to think about this ... whether I could put myself on a wall and say, 'I have a mental illness.' "
This year's Inside Out show, which drew a crowd of about 150 people to the
"I think the work is getting more and more confident, and I think the artists are getting more confident," said
The exhibit comes as the community continues to lament the death of
Awareness has been building, both locally and nationally, of a need for increased and improved patient access to mental and behavioral health services. The most recent federal data, from 2015, show about 18 percent of adults suffer from a mental illness each year, and more than 20 percent of teenagers experience a severe disorder. Suicides rates have steadily risen in the last decade, and substance abuse has surged, with opioid overdose deaths at an all-time high in the
In
Still, a sense of shame persists for those who suffer from disorders.
Webster discussed concerns about her mental state with her loved ones over the years, but they dismissed her fears. "People just said, 'That's your Latina blood,' " she said.
After she finally began treatment a few years ago, a psychiatrist encouraged her to try to balance her moods through art.
Webster, an Inside Out veteran who participates in weekly art workshops through the Compassionate Touch Network, has painted about cutting, images of dark pink hands with cut lines, and about the powerful surges and plummets of her emotions. People have approached her at the Inside Out shows to let her know "they get it."
"It makes you realize you're not alone," she said.
Rest also has come to understand, through the art program, that she doesn't have to endure her illness in isolation.
"Sending out my invitations," she said, "I was just quite surprised by how many people have identified with my story and also have suffered from depression."
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