“The Game Face”
Feelings often get a bad rap in our developed world. We’re not taught to understand our feelings, nor given skills to know what we can do when we feel angry or sad, hollow inside, scared or any of those other feelings. We’re taught to be ‘rational’ and to try and think our way out of emotionally complex situations. Often, this doesn’t work and is more confusing!
Many people wear what one of my clients calls her “Game Face”-the social mask we all have which says “All good- nothing to see here”. Even sometimes when you’re distraught and feel dreadful inside, you might engage this mask when you meet others.
Sometimes it’s a habit to always wear the mask and we don’t know how to let anyone behind it. That can increase our loneliness.
In 30 years of working, I’ve heard so many times: “Everyone’s got it together except me”. This is when we see the mask we see in others when we’re out in the world. Everybody has troubles, challenging feelings, and situations they don’t know what to do about. You’re not losing it!! It’s an act of courage to show you feel vulnerable or unsure about something.
You’re fortunate if you have people in your life who see the real you behind the mask. Sometimes, the most important thing that you can do for yourself, is to meet the parts of yourself behind the mask, and learn how to support yourself. This is the internal or self-support you can allow yourself. In doing so, you can be more authentic and learn to be ‘at home’ within yourself.
Learning how to mobilise your self-support, and then to extend receiving environmental support from the word around you, increases your whole person health: the quality of your thinking, your feeling and your physical wellbeing. Your sustainable growth requires this.