To infinity and beyond...
If you have ever felt like you are on the outside looking in, not quite sure where you fit this can inevitably lead to feelings of not being good enough,
like no matter how hard you try nothing changes,
that the life you would like is just not possible.
This can lead to self destruct and seeking extreme feelings… addiction, self harm, crime but also everyday coping mechanisms that reinforce the fact that you’re not good enough- hiding, avoiding feelings, social awkwardness- coping strategies that in any social place just enhance your weirdness and once again make you feel like you don’t quite belong.
Playing safe often ends in less safety so how can we be a human being that has a beating heart for life?
What neuroplasticity researchers are finding is that it doesn’t matter what age we are we can rewire our brain, and change how we respond to things by laying down new neural pathways if we can let ourselves experience new feelings-
this means we have to LET GO
and let ourselves get in to the push pull of fight or flight.
Anxiety and excitement are best buds and so we can use this time to flip ordinary habits of resistance or destruction to create a new story and learn something new.
Now change takes effort and energy- THIS IS NOT EASY- so why wouldn’t we make it fun?
Play is something we can all experience… but for some reason it has been ring fenced for children or turned in to team building or mocked loudly as something stupid and unimportant. The lack of permission to play in our society- at whatever age- is getting in the way and as a result play is not valued.
At The Shoopery we aim to raise the heart beat, release the chemicals that make us anxious and excited and stay there in the moment to see what happens. We do this through play- in a group, taking risks, backing one another up, making it way more fun to be in than to be out, and most of all to be seen doing this. This is not about looking silly or feeling stupid… this is about jumping in because we want to, and so finding the right game is part of the process.
We want to stir things up for discovery not panic and exposure to new feelings where we can reflect, and then do it again- because we feel safe and we find new ways to respond to fear.
Everyday people shoop in real life and this exercises the brain and over time keeps us in control and able to make decisions to positively change our future.
- Catherine
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