My Inquiry

 I've been thinking a lot about my inquiry topic since the great comments from my previous blog. There's SO much within the topic of mental health in our industry that it was hard to find a focus on one thing. I went back and looked at my module 1 essay where I wrote:

 ''Risk of suicide is elevated in the performing arts: 69% higher for women than the average and 20% higher for men’ (Berger, 2020). We work in an industry unlike any other, where it’s seen as normal not to work for months or face a great deal of rejection, where without a strong sense of self-worth we would all just break. It’s important that we start recognising this more and learn to see the warning signs in not only the people around us but also in ourselves. '

This is what I want to focus on, the normality of not working and rejection in an industry where we focus so much on the people in the shows, the people who have 'made it', when the reality is, unless you're in the top 2% of people who go from job to job, you'll have times in your career where you have to get by doing something other than your passion. I want to find out how this impacts our mental health. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we do this because we love it, because there is nothing else we could possibly imagine doing with our lives, therefore on this train of thought, the fact that we spend most of the time NOT doing it must have an impact and/or a toll on our mental health? 

This brings me to Covid times, where everyone in our industry has been forced to be in this same position, I wonder whether the impact for those already struggling has been greater or less than those who were in work before lockdown hit? 

I'm still a bit unsure of how specific or vague our inquiry needs to be, but I know this is the area I want to head towards with a title perhaps like The Impact on a performer's mental health during unavoidable gaps in Musical Theatre work. I'd love to know your thoughts on it!

A short but sweet blog today :)

Happy Valentine's Day <3

Literature Review

 Module 2, Module 2, Module 2-why do you hate me so?

- I call this a poem about Module 2 so far haha, i hope you enjoyed it!

I'm currently a bit stuck on my Literature Review so have taken to my blog to see if anyone else from my module or module 3, or even some crazy amazing module 1s could help shed some light on it.

I think the bit that I'm struggling with most is the 'different perspectives' on my topic. As my topic is to do with negative impacts on your mental health, it's very easy to find literature to support this, but I'm finding it a lot harder to find literature saying 'mental health is a myth' 'people are just getting weaker' all these different perspectives to my own. Someone made the brilliant point of looking up the 'Snowflake Generation' which I really love and really works with my inquiry, but then I come to another issue...

I read somewhere, probably in the handbook, that we should check our sources, ensure they're not bias or something along those lines. However, surely within this topic it is mostly all opinions and therefore all a bias? In regards to the 'Snowflake' topic, I found a few articles but they're published by the likes of the Daily Mail etc. so I don't know whether I can include it as it's one person's opinion, if you get what i mean? I really hope you do! 

I have however found a book called 'I Find That Offensive' - Fox, C, that seems to be just that! a reputable source with the opinion that we're all too sensitive! woohoo! BUT that's just one book and we apparently need AT LEAST 3 on each perspective? I wondered if anyone else had any ideas or suggestions on whether I'm thinking too much into this or ways round what I'm saying, if what I'm saying makes sense!!

A question for any module 3s out there, if you could please help me!? When writing your review I have a few questions that I've been told to blog about, to see if you can answer :)

So as we have in the literature review template a section of research methods, I assume we have to include this in our written essay on it? however then it makes me question the perspectives bit again, so do we have to write about 3 books (at least) on each research method that we find interesting, because it just seems like an awful lot to me to be done in 1000 words if i'm interested in say 3 research methods? or is that where I'm getting confused?

I'd also like to ask what the handbook means by an overview of the most established artists/scholars in my field, because I know for a fact that the most established artists in my field have not written anything on my topic and therefore aren't mentioned in my review :( 

Overall I'm very confused and I just need someone to cuddle me, stroke my head and tell me everything is going to be okay :'( 

But in every other way I'm doing good! 

Keep Smiling xx

Welcome to Module 2

 2 months break and we are FULL pelt back into more work than I think I even thought about for Module 1! I'm lucky in a sense that since doing my mod 1 essay I've known that I really want my inquiry to be based around the negative impacts on people's mental health in our industry. I now just need to read about and find specifically what area I want to focus on. The last couple of days I've really been thinking and I can't seem to make my thoughts clear so I thought I would put them on here to see if anyone else could assist me?

I think it's really interesting how singing and performing as a whole are used as ways to aid people in helping with their mental health. Singing has scientific proof that it releases endorphins in the brain etc. people who have been through troubled times use these mediums to bring about a more positive future. So why when it becomes a profession does it perhaps go against this? we all get into this industry for these exact reasons, because it brings us a joy no other thing can replace so why are there more and more cases of mental illness coming to light? There's an added pressure, the stakes are higher, you may not eat if you don't get this job. There's an uncertainty to our profession where we may not know when we next get to do what we love so much, we can't plan holidays incase we get a job or audition, we spend the money we do earn on extra training so what's left for a social life? For something we all undeniably adore why does it create such an unstable life? 

I want to explore the effects of this lifestyle and career that we choose and how it correlates to our wellbeing and mental health? is it really worth it? I think so. I think no matter what we go through that opportunity to perform is second to none. But then this brings out the question of people working for free and people being manipulated to do things they don't want to do because it may get them a job. But that's a WHOLE other story!

I just want to understand more about why something we love so passionately can also be the thing that causes the most anxiety, stress, depression, to name a few. (Sounds like a relationship now too) actually thinking of it as a relationship, it's because it means SO much to us. But i'm rambling now. 

I'd love to know any thoughts you all have on the splurge that I've written! or if you see a pattern in what I'm writing? 

Welcome back chaps!

Module 2 here we come...