Potato Nose Diaries (nothing has really changed since I started my Potato Nose Diaries when I was 14 going on 15) July 22, 2021 Dear me, This is my S.A.D. time. Seasonal Affective Disorder is not about winter and sun lamps for me. I struggle in the summer with sunshine and these inevitable depressions. The…
Tag: anxiety tools
Unnecessary Violence and Ramblings- archiving of my Shadow Work Journals 1986 to present. Sample 40: August 26, 1997
This daily archiving series is about organizing and dating my journal collection, as well as acknowledging the self-directed violence as important therapeutic shadow work. See previous samples: Unnecessary Violence Project Explanation and Sample 1 Oct 21, 1992 Sample 2 Date Dec 15 1994 Sample 3 May 16, 2000 Sample 4 August 14, 2002 Sample 5…
Unnecessary Violence and Ramblings- archiving of my Shadow Work Journals 1986 to present. Sample 14: April 20, 2013
This daily archiving series is about organizing and dating my journal collection, as well as acknowledging the self-directed violence as important therapeutic shadow work. Processing my projections and darkness. Trying to figure it out. How can today’s journal be 7 years ago?! How can last Saturday be a week ago already? How can it be…
Mind mapping this month’s Power Path as personal therapy.
When I read something that really needs to sink in- I mind map it out. My whole brain is engaged and I can then look at the mind map throughout the month and be instantly reminded of the lessons. This morning was all about the Power Path- taking some quiet personal time for a coffee,…
Surprising the inner critic with group art projects
Regarding my creative process, I welcome the conversations my inner critic instigates. [This is not the same voice that picks at my skull with negative self-judgment. That’s another thing all together]. I have learned how to dance with the inner critic in my art process, welcoming its critique versus criticism, allowing mistakes, experimenting, allowing editing,…
Ok, Molly, I’ll eat a shit sandwich for you.
I had a very anxious week last week. It was a crawl to the finish line. It was a mix of grief, self-doubt, money stuff, fearing I don’t have what it takes to succeed in this life, blah blah blah. It’s familiar, having suffered from anxiety all my life. But last week was particularly hard….
Magical thinking and Christmas knickknacks.
Christmas is here- magical time of year. One of my favorite and one of the hardest. So true for many of us. It’s a time of joy and connection, of reminders of loss and longing, of financial hardship and worry, a time of creating and sharing and giving… I love surrounding myself with old Christmas…
A week of triggers and difficult conversations. And authenticity.
There were many triggers this week, both personally, professionally, and financially, that led to a multitude of emotions- most especially anxiety. Triggers that give rise to deep-rooted memories and default reactions. Anger directed at self. But I was delighted to find that I also defaulted to the “don’t know mind” technique and that I allowed…
… everything that remains unsolved in your heart.
I was at the grocery store the other day purchasing food for a youth grad event, about an hour before I needed to be there and I STOPPED. I couldn’t go forward; I couldn’t go back. I had no idea what to buy. I was dizzy. I couldn’t see or think clearly. I knew in my heart,…
Shhh brain… Shhh… How I wind down.
Too much output this week. Leading to lots of thinking and reassessing. Squirrelliness. Harumphyness. But enough is enough. Weekend work done and I stop in to ease the racing thoughts with a walk in the cemetery with my dog… Wind down with some doodling… A pot of coffee on a Sunday night… A conversation with…
Contemplating death, loss, hope, acceptance…
Release Leap of faith Acceptance Peace Honorary Karin Roar Life rough on the seas Sacrifice Mother father daughter love Death Release Hope Promise Defence Loss Rose Thorn Thorsen Memorial Cycle Allowance Honor New beginnings Immortal Bud Blossom Farewell Dedicated to my mother Karin September 17, 1936 – November 8, 2008 and my father Roar August…
Drawn Together Therapeutic Art Workshops
For more info or to host a workshop, contact me! DRAWN TOGETHER WORKSHOP SERIES with Katarina Thorsen: FULL DAY (6.5 hours) or 3 PARTS (2.5 hours each) In this therapeutic art workshop series, artist/author and art facilitator, Katarina Thorsen takes you through personal explorations of your Past, Present and Future through creative expression tools. Katarina creates…
Tools for anxiety- esteem hearts at ArtQuake 2014
I was honored and elated to be part of ArtQuake 2014 at SFU Harbor Centre yesterday! ArtQuake envisions a transformed world where every youth is a vehicle for change, fueled by their own creative expression. The theme of yesterday’s event was Madness Matters: Re-creating Mental Health Through Art and Community. I provided two workshops on…
Losing heart… Fix or accept?
So— things haven’t gone as planned. It’s not working out as I hoped. My mom’s shattered dove and pot above tell the story. When they broke, I cried. I cried yesterday— alot. Broken-heartened, dis-heartened… But I found myself surrounded by love and support from my kids (Anna and Julian) and together we dug deep into our…
“Collages can help us all open up our creative and artistic sides to create a sense of peace…”
Sometimes we get can get lost in simply living life, raising our children, and our everyday responsibilities. We often lose our own identities and forget about the goals and possibilities that we have always wanted to reach. We ignore the creativity of our inner child, setting it aside as trivial and immature. Collages can help…
DRAWING ON PAIN: Aug 29 – Oct 13, 2013 at Espana Gallery, Vancouver BC
DRAWING ON PAIN Aug 29- Oct 13, 2013 Opening August 29, 2013 7-9 PM Espana Gallery 689 Abbott Street Vancouver BC Includes Artist Talk DRAWING ON PAIN exhibits my personal therapeutic process as I utilize art to help me process the difficult challenges I have encountered (and continue to encounter) in my life– such as…
“Do you ever stop? I mean truly just stop?” How the #RightBrainBusinessPlan is helping me quiet my mind.
Kat, do you ever stop? I mean truly just stop? Just taking a day and doing nothing, just drinking tea in pjs and doing nothing? – Maryellen to me I have to say the answer is no. Or more accurately, yes- sometimes– but when I do, I feel my body reacting. I feel the migraines…
Alarm! “Failure.” Snooze. Repeat. #journal
Those first thing in the morning internal conversations can be brutal. From: How to Stop Morning Anxiety Few things are worse then than waking up stressed and facing anxiety which is a highly unpleasant but rather common occurrence. The reason that anxiety is worse in the morning for many people is because this is when…
Anxiety from anticipating/processing loss requires pulling out the tool kit. #journaling
I’m working on a book with Dad and it’s a beautiful process. It’s about maintaining connections through art and with art. But as Dad goes through his past, and I take dictation and notes… … I am filled with nostalgia for a life passed, I am filled with the heaviness of missing my mom. I…