World Mental Health Day | Terence Wilde on isolation
Saturday 10 October 2020 is World Mental Health Day with this years theme being ‘mental health for all.’ This year I asked one of my artists Terence Wilde to share something that has been on his mind recently. As with many others, he has felt isolation more prevalent than ever, but art has been a stability throughout. Now, more than ever, we need to look out for another and contact others you may not have heard from for a while - you don’t know how important that phone call might be.
“I've become accustomed to living a partially isolated life, it's been my choice, through a need for personal space and silence, which helps me cope with a background of PTSD. Other word associations of this noun include closeting, protection, separation and seclusion - there are many more which we can all relate to as well. In my teaching job, I work alongside other people with mental health problems and see many struggles with isolation, particularly with loneliness. Many of us have learned to live with isolation, and although it separates us, it is a common link - an invisible bond. It gives us too much time to think and dwell in our internal worlds, with big stretches of time to face ourselves… everything about ourselves. Loneliness is our uninvited friend, always there for us when we are at our lowest ebb… at our most vulnerable and self-conscious. Then 2020 decided to give Covid-19 to the world, with no manuals on how to stay safe and sane. Misinformation about the pandemic and crushing lockdowns, all allowed loneliness to come closer to our doors.
To get through this enforced isolation (I was fortunate enough to only be furloughed for 12 weeks) I took refuge in my art, although I was scared of getting artists block and needed to constantly check my mood for total withdrawal from society. I made the most of Instagram, to see what other artists were making and how they were feeling. I joined the Artists Support Pledge, on Instagram at the advice of a good friend. It is the brilliant initiative set up by the Matthew Burrows studio, which gives artists the chance to sell their work, but more importantly as a way to feel connected to an artist's community, who are currently working in isolation. It's been a lifesaver!”
Image: Terence Wilde, Return to Feral, 2020