Self-Exploration for Inspiration

Our sources of inspiration series continues with self-exploration. Have you ever had one of those moments where you have an epiphany about your own psyche? As a mental health survivor, I have to tell you, I've had them quite frequently now that I'm well on my journey of recovery. You'll just be sitting there and all of a sudden you’ll realise why you act the way you do sometimes, or realise how far you’ve come and that you want things you never would have imagined in the dark days.

Self-exploration is one of the hardest things to do. Being honest to yourself only goes so far. You can think you’re being honest about your mental functions and key life events, but the brain has a way of hiding things even from itself. Maybe you’ve misremembered something, that’s pretty common. On the more extreme scale, your mind may have shut out certain experiences altogether, one’s that are deeply impactful in all aspects of life. For self-exploration, it really is like venturing into the unknown, wild and sometimes scary side of the mind.

So where to start? It's different for everyone. Psychology is possibly the most personal and unique thing in the world. You could have the exact same experiences as another, have grown up together, and still perceive the same events entirely differently. I learnt that from talking with my sister about our childhood. There are a couple of options to get you started:

1. Reminisce on a key milestone in your life Why was it a big milestone for you? What were you feeling when you achieved this milestone? What was your next step? Why?
   

2. Wait for something to elicit emotion/reaction What elicited this emotion? Was it the people/place/situation? Why did you react this way? Did you associate it with another memory? Which emotion? Was it reasonable/overdramatic/under-dramatic?
   

3. Think about the last time you felt a surprising emotion for the situation What elicited this emotion? Was it the people/place/situation? Why did you react this way? Did you associate it with another memory?

Understanding your own psyche can help you to understand your characters and build rich backstories for them that have believable impacts on their journeys.