Psychologists at California State University, Northridge, studied 234 professional performers, looking for a reason why mental health disorders are so common in the performing arts.
“The notion that artists and performing artists suffered more pathology, including bipolar disorder, troubled us,” dance coordinator and psychologist Paula Thomson, a co-author on the new study, told Psypost.
“No one seemed willing to also include the effects of early childhood adversity and adult trauma and its influence on creativity and psychopathology.”
The study examined 83 actors, directors, and designers; 129 dancers; and 20 musicians and opera singers. These study participants filled out self-report surveys pertaining to childhood adversity, sense of shame, creative experiences, proneness to fantasies, anxiety, and level of engagement in an activity.
The participants were able to be categorised into three groups: those who reported a high level of childhood adversity; those who had experienced a lower or medium level; and those who had experienced little to none.null
It’s the high-level group that demonstrated the greater extremes. These performing artists had much higher anxiety, much more internalised shame, and reported more cumulative past traumatic events. They were also more prone to fantasies.
But they also seemed more connected with the creative process, the researchers said. They were more aware of it, and reported feeling more absorbed in it. They reported heightened awareness of a state of inspiration and a sense of discovery during the process.
They were also able to move more easily between the state of absorption and a more distant state for critical awareness, and were more receptive to art.
“Lastly,” the researchers wrote, “[this] group identified greater appreciation for the transformational quality of creativity, in particular, how the creative process enabled a deeper engagement with the self and world. They recognised that it operated as a powerful force in their life.”
Obviously the study has caveats, as self-reported studies can be prone to personal bias. Also, since it was limited to performing artists, comparisons couldn’t easily be made with other subsets of the population.
Nevertheless, the finding, the researchers said, may indicate that adult performers who have experienced childhood adversity are better able to recognise and value the creative process; and the ability of that group to enjoy the creative process could indicate resilience.
“We are saddened by the number of participants in our study who have suffered multiple forms of childhood adversity as well as adult assaults (both sexual and non-sexual),” Thomson told Psypost.
“So many participants in our sample have experienced poly-traumatization and yet they also embrace their passion for performance and creativity. They are embracing ways to express all that is human.”
Long suspected throughout many CSA Victimsâ childhoods, in 2018 Scientific Alert published the following article on the proven-identified link: âScientists Have Found a Strong Link Between a Terrible Childhood And Being Intensely Creativeâ. Opening with âexposure to abuse, neglect or a dysfunctional familyâ throughout a victimâs childhood, expands to join together how these impacts have a clear linkage. Complemented through Counselling and verifying some Victimsâ long-held suspicions, this Article gives another (Scientific/Journalistic) POV â which may also satisfy those of us who often felt disbelieved, palmed-away or ignored. We knew what we were/had survived; we just didnât know how to word, or should I say âScientifically categoriseâ what we âenduredâ! ⌠WTF ?!!!⌠we were only young, innocent kids at their time: the perfect hunting ground, for these Criminal-Pedophilic-Dirty-(typically)-Senior/Old-(WO)-Men.
I apologise for going off on an emotional-outburst, yet this is a toned-down form of many of the conversations had with Victims, Parents and Relations; Thankfully, their mutual aim is to protect this triggering news from younger Siblings; As horrifying as this possibility is to consider, perhaps this is (another) layer of defence which the Criminal-Pedophilic-Dirty-(typically)-Senior/Old-(WO)-Men know of + exploit. Having (naturally?) always having entered the Arts, this Article gives many reasons and answers questions, yet more interests may be shown. Perhaps this is an underlying advantage of Creativity, yet CSA Survivours Iâve spent any time with each have their own âchecklistsâ to work through. At this point, Iâll aim to re-publish the complete Article ASAP, in addition to again providing the Private + Confidential Counsellors. Of great interest, is the amount of focus I am working through with my Counsellor on the âminor and inconsiderateâ events, which are actually mounting up to explain the devastating impact which may result.
Hopes are that each of you, your loved ones and each of our ecosystems copes alright throughout this COVID19 Pandemic.
Hope Bastine was brought up in a âfree loveâ community where sexual abuse of children was rife. As her abuser Derek Lincoln is finally brought to justice, she speaks to Sharon Hendry
DAN KENNEDY FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE Sharon Hendry
Sharon HendrySunday August 09 2020, 12.01am BST, The Sunday Times
For years I have suffered from raging insomnia, and as usual I was pacing the streets of my local town centre fuelled with adrenaline after a poor nightâs sleep. I found myself in front of a drab police station and suddenly there was a eureka moment.
I was ready to break the codes of the deeply secretive religious organisation I had been born into and tell the story of horrific, repeated abuse that has haunted me for more than 40 years. So, just like that, in 2004 I walked into Watford police station and reported to the desk: âI want to talk to somebody about some abuse please.â
It should be made clear, that from the range of âStatementsâ collected, that most âInstitutionsâ overseen by the 2013-17 CARC continue the traditions of:
Hegemony,
Class-dynamics (IE low-0SES),
Layered-secrecy (âsecret societiesâ)
Numerous others exist, yet these have been highlighted in the Admin of this RCbbc Blog. Through the inclusion of the UKâs Visible Program, further explanations are able to be shared. Hopes continue that similar Australian/NZ bodies may join RCbbcâs goals. The current NRS is Australiaâs victim-survivours to seek Redress 2018-28. ABC have already released provocative Series on 4Corners (St. Kevinâs) + Revelation (Catholic Church).
It can be very disorienting to feel like you have done something, but you havenât. Itâs also disorienting to be someone who tries to be a nice person, but is constantly accused of being disingenuous. If youâre experiencing either of these feelings as a result of another personâs actions, itâs possible that you might be a victim of gaslighting.
Though many people have been introduced to the term gaslighting recently, itâs important to understand exactly where it came from. The term has a long and varied history in the public eye, but it mainly takes its name from the 1944 film Gaslight, in which a woman (Paula, portrayed by Ingrid Bergman) is psychologically manipulated by her husband to feel like she is insane when in reality she is perfectly fine.
Despite the fact that her mental state is perfectly fine, she still believes that she is going mad, a worry that gives her intense discomfort and produces legitimate feelings of madness.
Itâs important to note that Paula eventually gets out of the relationship after realizing what is happening to her and learns to deal with manipulation, but the situation set a useful precedent for talking about psychological manipulation as it happens in society. Because of this, the term âgaslightingâ referenceâs the movieâs title as a way of describing the specific method of manipulation.
It might seem easy to understand manipulation as something that simply happened in a movie, but it can occur quite frequently in society. The most damaging thing about the practice is that many people who suffer from it donât actually know that theyâre being gaslit. Instead, they mistake their confusion for legitimate feelings against themselves, leading to lowered self worth and possible situations that make it more difficult to deal with gaslighting, such as Paulaâs position in the aforementioned film.
This is why manipulation is important to understand and fight against when you notice that it is happening to you or somebody you know. More often than not, gaslighting occurs between two individuals who trust each other, with one subtly manipulating the other. Because it occurs often within intimate interpersonal relationships, manipulation can be incredibly difficult to spot.
Like with many other conditions, failing to notice manipulation early on can result in the condition getting worse, the victim becoming even more unaware, and potentially more damage in the long run.
To prepare yourself to deal with gaslighting before itâs too late, itâs essential to familiarize yourself with its symptoms. This is why weâre here to helpâin this article, weâll be taking a look at 10 Warning Signs of Gaslighting to Never Ignore.
Before we get into this article, we want to say that if you think that you might be experiencing symptoms of manipulation, it is important to get professional help from a psychologist or therapist. Medical professionals are the people who truly understand manipulation and how to deal with gaslighting, so please be careful and get help if you notice any of these 10 symptoms happening in your life.
#10. Itâs Not All Negative
Itâs easy to think that abuse and emotional manipulation is simply constant negativity and nothing else. However, abusers often mix in positive comments and what looks like love to make a victim believe that they actually do care about them. This type of hot/cold treatment is a cornerstone symptom of abuse.
Regardless of how it happens, itâs worth noting that positivity does not negate emotionally manipulative behavior and cannot be justified as love no matter how brief the negative behavior was.
#9. They Project Their Emotions
Many abusers often project their own problems onto their victims. For instance, if an abuser is having trouble managing money, they might criticize their partnerâs financial situation more harshly than their own as a way of getting their partner to doubt their sense of reality.
#8. Confusion is Their Priority
Many abusers will start to gaslight victims by making them feel as though they are perpetually confused. Itâs important to see these symptoms as they occur so you donât fall prey to emotional abuse.
#7. They Get Others to Doubt You
Sometimes an abuser can manipulate the relationship a victim has to others by getting them to also be complicit in manipulating the victim. This is often without the others even knowing, getting them to admit to small personality traits and then blowing it up in the face of the victim.
For example, if an abuser wants a victim to think that they over-exaggerate everything, they might get a close mutual friend to admit that the victim blew one situation out of proportion. After this, theyâll present the findings to the victim in order to make them think they do blow things out of proportion.
#6. They Target Friends
A lot of the time, many people who are victims of gaslighting donât realize it because they donât have much contact with others who might be able to see the symptoms. This is often because the abuser makes the victim feel like they canât trust their friends, resulting in them not socializing as much as they once did.
This can also be done by making their friends seem inauthentic or like liars themselves, causing the victim to believe the abuser and willingly limit their contact.
#5. Using Their Emotions
Itâs no secret that being in a relationship involves both partners being able to listen to the otherâs needs. However, abusers will often manipulate this relationship dynamic to make the other person do things they donât want to do without evidence. Similar to what was previously mentioned regarding targeting friends and making the victim feel uncomfortable around those they used to socialize with, abusers can also cite their own personal feelings without providing evidence for something.
For example, if an abuser refuses to let their partner go see a friend on the basis that they hate them (or other aggressively negative feelings) without having any actual anecdotal evidence, that can be a form of gaslighting.
#4. Lying as a Precedent
When people lie, sometimes we have to think a bit to actually see through it clearly. This is why when somebody lies so blatantly, we take notice. Abusers manipulating victims will often take advantage of this dynamic, spewing blatant lies as a means of setting up a precedent.
By lying so directly, they will make the victim assume that everything they say from that point onward is a lie, something that makes manipulation a normal routine.
#3. Denying the Victim Agency
When we think of abusive behavior in relationships, we typically assume that it is something drastic, such as an abuser literally locking somebody into their apartment so they canât go outside. However, there are more subtle ways this can occur through manipulation without the victim even noticing it, sometimes even being willingly complicit.
For example, if youâre in a relationship with somebody who continually questions your ability to not flirt with others while alone, they might be able to pressure you into feeling guilty for going outside or feeling that you canât socialize without them by your side.
#2. Repetitive Nature of Symptoms
Many people falsely assume that they will be able to spot manipulation as soon as it begins happening, allowing them to quickly put a stop to the behavior. However, this couldnât be further from the truthâgaslighting typically occurs over long periods of time, with the abuser slowly introducing more and more tactics into the victimâs everyday life until it has gotten too far to recognize it cleanly.
This is why itâs important to not take certain denials of agency lightly. If somebody is doing a similar action to deny your agency multiple times over, it could be an effect of how manipulation is now entering your relationship.
#1. Deny Something They Said
One of the most distressing symptoms of gaslighting is that the abuser might directly deny something they surely said previously. This is especially insidious as it pushes the victim to start to question their sense of reality.
When somebody says something didnât happen that surely did happen, what does that mean for the rest of reality? Is it possible to even have an objective sense of reality when someone is lying so blatantly? This is why manipulation is such a harmful form of manipulation, as it can really get into somebodyâs head and make them begin to question their entire life.
A way to prevent this can be to create objective proof of certain conversations so when theyâre brought up again, youâre able to be sure that the abuser is definitely manipulating you.
Final Thoughts on Gaslighting
Gaslighting is an incredibly harmful form of emotional manipulation that is important to be aware of. By learning how to deal with gaslighting effectively, you can help yourself or your friends to catch the symptoms before itâs too late.
If youâve noticed that you or somebody you know is experiencing symptoms of gaslighting, read the tips to this article and understand that speaking with a medical professional is the best way to deal with gaslighting!
Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May (Reuters / Phil Noble) Š Reuters
At least 20 former MPs, government ministers, judges and other prominent figures abused children for decades, claims a former child protection manager.
At least 20 former MPs, government ministers, judges and other prominent figures abused children for decades, claims a former child protection manager.
Whistleblower Peter McKelvie, whose allegations led initially to a 2012 police inquiry, told BBC Newsnight a âpowerful eliteâ of pedophiles carried out âthe worst formâ of abuse.
He told the programme there was evidence that victims of abuse were treated like âlumps of meat,â taken from place to place to be molested.
McKelvie, formerly a child protection manager in Hereford and Worcester, took his concerns to Labour MP Tom Watson in 2012, who then raised the matter in parliament, prompting a preliminary police inquiry that became a formal inquiry in 2013.
âFor the last 30 years and longer than that, there have been a number of allegations made by survivors that people at the very top of powerful institutions in this country … have been involved in the abuse of children,”McKelvie told Newsnight.
Asked if claims had been made against people still in positions of power today, he said, “Very much so … what are allegations may or may not be true, but the allegations are there and they are against very specific named individuals.â
Announcing two reviews into the claims in the House of Commons on Monday, Home Secretary Theresa May said the first would be led by an independent panel of experts headed by Lady Butler Slosson law and child protection, while the second would cover how police and prosecutors handled information given to them.
She said further inquiries would focus on the Home Officeâs alleged failure to act on allegations of child sex abuse contained in a dossier handed to them by Home Secretary Leon Britton in the 1980s by former Tory MP Geoffrey Dickens.
May claimed that files in the missing dossier were not deleted or destroyed intentionally, but pledged the inquiries would determine whether state bodies and âother non-state institutionsâfulfilled theirâduty of care to protect children from sexual abuseâ.
âIt will, like the inquiries into Hillsborough and the murder of Daniel Morgan, be a non-statutory panel inquiry. This means that it can begin its work sooner,” she told MPs.
After Australiaâs July 2020 weekend of âBlack Lives Matterâ, ABCâs Afternoon Briefing had Patricia Karvelas interviewing US Prof. Goff (sp.?). For many Survivours of Child Sexual Abuse, much of these debates have carried the same passion as what weâve felt throughout our lives. Ignorance & turning attention away from are even spoken against in the bible. School lessons. Child care. Sports practice. School camps. A pattern forming…?
Black Lives Matter
JOE MCKENDRY
News of Jeffery Epstein also forms âfront page newsâ, including parts of the British Royal Family, upper levels of US & International society. At the targeted end of this game are low income, low SES (socio economic status) population & young adults/teenagers. Suitably, Australiaâs Judicial System has begun to publicly deal with more allegations following 2013-17 CARC. Highest of these has been George Pell. Sound familiar…?
From the topics presented since 2013, this RoyalCommBBC.blog has aimed to republish noteworthy journalism, factually-based info & âthe other side of the coinâ POV. We donât claim to be a Journalistic Reference to prove legal data; it isnât to be used as an excuse or a bet; links can be arranged with suitable portals, where need be; as are related channels, following earlier BBC involvement of later âguiltyâ Nudgee College staff. A later post will be arranged re: queries of Overlack. Seems too surreal…?
Each of these 3 marvellous ABC Documentaries reveal more of the Institutional deceptions of Child Sexual Abuse!Twitter samples – positive + occasional negative feedback, during 3rd Episode.Timely image of Gerald Ridsdale, accompanied by George Pell – early Court appearances.
Having been a BBC Old Boy, who actually went onto experience some of a Teacherâs experiences, during both Revelation (ABC) + after speaking with a Counsellor, I was able to remember a trait/habit of Butch (Buchanan). As part of his strategies (to test, +/or encourage his young boysâ memories), heâd often include some of his âsuggestionsâ/strategies/techniques of memory manipulation. Although, Iâm unsure if this was a way that he tried to get inside his targetsâ minds before trying to get inside other items … , I will be adding this to my Counsellorâs upcoming appt. They indeed seemed pleased, that I was using a agenda-planning habit (alike my regular Psychiatrist APPT).
Rudd house – Boarders
If any of the viewers of this Blog have any of their suggestions, please send through yours. Slowly, the (hidden) culture of Child Abuse is becoming revealed.
Anglican Church officials wrongly told a woman who was sexually abused more than 60 years ago they had to hold off resolving her complaint, then offered a payout and an apology if she agreed to a gag clause.
The church’s Brisbane diocese has admitted to again failing Beth Heinrich over her 1995 complaint, which culminated in then-governor-general Peter Hollingworth publicly blaming her for a priest sexually exploiting her as a 15-year-old.
Its apology for causing her “additional trauma and distress” through “unacceptable delays” came a day after the ABC questioned its latest missteps in the case, which led to Dr Hollingworth’s public downfall but still fuels calls for him to be stripped of millions of dollars of public benefits.
The diocese in January belatedly offered Ms Heinrich up to $30,000 for its mishandling of her complaint, which Dr Hollingworth dismissed repeatedly when he was archbishop of Brisbane.
Beth Heinrich pressed the Anglican Church in Brisbane for redress after former archbishop Peter Hollingworth stood by the priest who sexually abused her
The diocese said it could not resolve her complaint because it would “prejudice” another church investigation of Dr Hollingworth
Church investigators denied this and the diocese then offered Ms Heinrich a payout and an apology if she kept it confidential
The offer was a fraction of the $200,000 she sought â a figure she said was increased after independent legal advice and church officials in Melbourne advising that her original request for $50,000 was too little.
The Brisbane diocese also told her in January it was “happy to provide an apology” but this should be kept “confidential” until its Melbourne counterpart ended a separate investigation into whether Dr Hollingworth should be stripped of his Holy Orders.
Its request for secrecy contrasted with Dr Hollingworth’s widely publicised 2002 comments on ABC TV’s Australian Story program that it was “not sex abuse” by priest, and later bishop, Donald Shearman, but “rather the other way round”.
“It was devastating for me at the time [and] I’m still really angry about it because there’s been no ending to it,” Ms Heinrich told the ABC.
“[Dr Hollingworth] knew the true story but he chose to lie about me and victim blame.”
A church spokesman said: “The Brisbane diocese acknowledges there have been unacceptable delays in finalising a redress claim of Ms Beth Heinrich”.
“The diocese apologises that this has caused her additional trauma and distress,” the spokesman said.
Child protection expert and University of South Australia adjunct professor Chris Goddard said Ms Heinrich’s was “the most extraordinary case of so-called secondary abuse I have ever seen”.
He helped Ms Heinrich prepare her testimony to the royal commission into child sexual abuse, with a 300-page presentation involving about 70 documents.
“To my knowledge [Dr Hollingworth] has never publicly apologised for the public humiliation of Beth,” Professor Goddard said.
In 2005, the Bathurst Anglican diocese paid Ms Heinrich $100,000 over Mr Shearman’s abuse of her while running the church hostel where she was a school boarder in the 1950s.
Ms Heinrich said she decided to press a complaint over Brisbane diocese’s mishandling of the matter, after it advertised in a newspaper for survivors to come forward in the wake of the royal commission into child sex abuse in institutions.
In October 2017, the diocese told her it had “little option but to wait for the findings of the Melbourne investigation before [we] can advance and conclude the consideration of your complaints and claim”.
âHappy to consider an apology’
It said any examination of her complaint “could not be safely concluded until the findings of the Melbourne committee are known, and may risk prejudicing the Melbourne investigation”.
However, the diocese changed its tune in August 2018 after Ms Heinrich questioned the delay.
It told her that it “might be possible to deal with your claim on a private and confidential basis without waiting for the outcome” from Melbourne.
It said the diocese was “happy to consider an apology” but it would be “better delivered” after Melbourne’s findings.
Any settlement would need to be “private and confidential” so as “not to prejudice” the other investigation, it said.
But Melbourne church officials contradicted this last November.
“I can confirm that any compensation or redress paid to you will not impact the investigation,” Kooyoora Ltd executive director Fiona Boyle said in a letter.
The Brisbane diocese then offered Ms Heinrich “$25,000 in full and final resolution of your current complaint, plus $5,000 towards counselling”.
It told her it still had no “established redress policy” to deal with mishandling of complaints.
The church spokesman said Ms Heinrich “did not respond” to the 2018 offer but “it was remiss of the diocese not to have followed up with further contact and support”.
He confirmed it had again “reached out to Ms Heinrich to seek to reach a satisfactory settlement”.
Professor Goddard said churches used “privacy, power and secrecy” to intimidate victims.
“As a last resort, they pretend not to have any procedures at all to deal with the complaint,” he said.
Ms Heinrich said the church’s continual “fobbing off” of her complaint was at odds with its pledges to do right by victims after the royal commission.
“I just think they’re sorry that people have got the fortitude to stand up and keep saying they’re not happy with the way they’ve been treated,” she said.
“They want you to run away and hide and take your problems with you â the reason I’m speaking up now is because I feel I’m the last one ⌠I’m standing on my own.”
Ms Heinrich said she first approached the Brisbane diocese thinking “the church is a Christian community”.
“It was just a corporation and all they wanted to do was cover up for their masters and protect them.”
Then-archbishop Hollingworth oversaw the failed 1995 mediation, in which Mr Shearman admitted to grooming Ms Heinrich from the age of 14 and sexually abusing her from 15.
Mr Shearman had continued an extra-marital relationship with Ms Heinrich in adulthood.
Dr Hollingworth did not suspend Mr Shearman, move to defrock him or offer redress to Ms Heinrich.
He wrote to Ms Heinrich that there was “a very wide discrepancy” in her and Mr Shearman’s versions of the abuse and he was a “much-valued” minister.
Ms Heinrich reported the abuse to police but a statute of limitations meant Mr Shearman could not be prosecuted.
She said the church had never acknowledged that Mr Shearman’s conduct was criminal.
In 2001, Ms Heinrich saw Mr Shearman conducting Easter Mass on TV and asked Dr Hollingworth to strip Mr Shearman of his permission to officiate.
Dr Hollingworth refused, telling her Mr Shearman was “now well into his 70s [and] has sought to resolve the matter with you and exercised contrition in a Christian spirit”.
“I am sorry that you cannot accept the efforts that he and we have made which does allow for a new start with a penitent heart,” Dr Hollingworth said.
Ms Heinrich said after the failed mediation, Dr Hollingworth breached diocese protocol by refusing to give her a hearing before its sex abuse complaints committee.
She said a staffer for Dr Hollingworth gave repeated excuses for not providing a copy of the protocol, including that Brisbane weather made people “lethargic”.
A 2003 Anglican board of inquiry was split on Dr Hollingworth’s support of Mr Shearman.
The chairman found it “reasonable” and another member said he failed to show “proper moral leadership”.
But the inquiry found it was “inappropriate and unfair” of Dr Hollingworth to repeatedly suggest Ms Heinrich was “acting unreasonably in not treating the matter at an end”.
The inquiry condemned Dr Hollingworth for allowing another confessed child sex predator to remain a priest and he quit as governor-general.
In 2004, Mr Shearman was defrocked.
‘We know how traumatic these matters can be’
Ms Heinrich unsuccessfully complained to the Queensland Law Society after a lawyer acting for the Brisbane diocese removed parts of her affidavit for the proceedings.
