Transformation Of Yourself, If You Are Not A "Slave"

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Today we watched the film "Holom". I know that many went to the movies and wrote laudatory reviews. The film is really cool!

And I, in turn, would like to share with you that I often see such effects of human transformation, his changes, or, more correctly, create, in my work.

This film especially reminded me of the psychodrama method, which I practice. And I know for sure that such dramatic changes can be achieved not only by staging a whole reality film with actors and stuntmen, but by having the courage or from despair to come (or connect online) to change your life yourself.

Let's use the example of a movie to tell you how and thanks to what healing occurs. And at the same time I will simultaneously tell you how it works in psychodrama.

1. The film begins with the current situation in which Gregory lives. At first glance, everything suits him, but at the same time we, as spectators, can feel the feeling of longing, desolation and loneliness that accompany the main character. Gregory is not very aware of what is happening in his life, or does not want to realize. Therefore, his father asks for help. This is the actual scene of psychodrama. When a statement of the current situation is made, in which something does not suit, worries, or which one wants to change. The only difference is that psychodrama works only with the request of the client who asked for help.

2. Gregory is put to sleep, and he wakes up as a slave in a 19th century village. Actors perform their assigned roles believably, creating an atmosphere of reality. What does this give Gregory? At first, Gregory begins to act in his typical way, devaluing others, substituting them, showing arrogance and selfishness. Meeting the feelings of the affected people, and while continuing to act as before. In psychodrama, to speed up the process of how others feel when they are devalued or substituted, there is a wonderful method - the exchange of roles. If in the film, Gregory took the role of his friend substituted, and voiced the feelings from this role. However, it is this method that is further used by the screenwriter, when Gregory is promised freedom, but does not fulfill the promise. Here, a SIGNATURE event takes place - he meets a girl (who, if you watched the film carefully, was not an actress at all, and apparently got into the scene with the main character by accident when she brought a horse). She is the only one who did not play any role, but was herself. Her honesty, combined with the keywords "I believe you", played an exceptional role in transforming and changing the protagonist. Thanks to this faith, Gregory has the opportunity to show those feelings that have no place in his real life, that are not mastered by him, access to which is closed: sympathy, kindness, sincerity, pity and empathy. This is a metaphorical scene in psychodrama. The opportunity, to play something that never happened or will not be in real life (in this case, transferring to the 19th century and becoming a slave), or assignment to roles, body symptoms, some inanimate objects (hell who knows), or some higher powers (God, the universe). The purpose of this scene is to respond to suppressed feelings (fear, guilt), find which need is blocked (so that they believe in me), get the right to satisfy it, or satisfy it with the help of another person ("I believe you") and try to show other feelings, which are not mastered (kindness, empathy, and then love).

3. Gregory returns to real life to others, with mastered (practically) new feelings, and the realization of the impossibility of living the old life. The desire to change one's reality, to compensate the victims (handing over the keys to the traffic police officer), to notice rudeness and unfairness, and the desire to live in a new way, to be honest with oneself and others. The same thing happens in psychodrama, after a metaphorical scene, or a transition to the basic scene is still possible (a scene where there was some kind of traumatic situation). In the film, we learn about her at the end - it turns out that the mother of the protagonist was with him only until he was 3 years old. This is a traumatic situation, and only the girl's faith brings him back to himself alive, this is the faith of his mother, which he lacked so much in real life. There are many blocked feelings and experiences that the child himself cannot cope with. And it is their release, together with the support of a significant person, that provides fertile ground for access to their living part, which was closed by psychological defenses, because it hurts so much inside. With support, we try new patterns of behavior that suit us, some work out, some don't - and this is our way to discover them and find effective ones. And also in psychodrama we return again to the original actual scene, where we look at it as a "new" person, and discover new possibilities that we simply could not notice before. And in this way, we "consolidate" the acquired new skill, in support of the group, in a safe environment, checking with our feelings. And if something does not fit, then we can again return to the previous step in psychodrama, and react with what is left, or find a new option that will be yours. This is how the inner transformation takes place.

The group plays a separate role in such deep internal changes, because by uniting, we as a group can help share those acute, sometimes unbearable feelings alone: betrayal, despair, powerlessness, or anger, hatred. Thanks to the support of the group, which connects in their feelings with the feelings of the hero (also makes a good film), we change ourselves, gain access to our blocked feelings, and experience them with others. So, working one member helps the whole group to change. And the group gives tremendous support and energy to those who work. By exchanging, we are enriched by everything!

I want to end by saying that I conducted a group psychodrama in an online format, which has shown its effectiveness and efficiency. Her only drawback is the inability to embrace and support with warmth physically, although this can definitely be expressed in words. The rest of the environment for transformation, like Gregory's, we can recreate together and in the online space.

I also believe in each of my clients and their ability to change, my task is to help remove those unnecessary ones that protect the badly wounded part inside each of us. Respond to repressed feelings, and return to your present self. I am sure that every person is good and valuable a priori, it is only important to get to his wounded part and heal it.