Christopher McEvoy BA (Hons) Interior Design 2020
The Healing Hideout is a specially designed spaced to help support positive mental wellbeing through reading, writing and object displaying. Derived initially from research of how inanimate objects become animate through personal meaning and experiences. In the present times we live in, mental health is being talked about more than ever and slowly stereotypes are being broken down. From the initial starting point of this project, it was clear that focusing on mental health would be the motive for this entire scheme. Research was conducted on how reading and writing can be used as a form of therapy as opposed to the traditional ways of verbally talking. It has been proven that reading is a form of therapy known as Bibliotherapy, which was first discovered at the time of ancient Greeks.
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” The Mental health benefits of reading range from memory improvement to stress reductions and allows individuals to remove themselves from the bubble they recreate in their minds and see that the world is much bigger, creating a new sense of perspective.
Writing therapy or expressive therapy has known values of gradually erasing feelings of emotional trauma from bereavement, desertion or abuse enabling individuals to rebuild themselves and safely expose their vulnerabilities. Creating a piece of writing of your life experience can be the answer to self development.
Including objects within ‘The healing Hideout’ also creates appreciation for inanimate objects and provides deeper meaning to a story or life experience, creating a true understanding of how objects can mean so much to an individual.
