The White Book Book Club: My Experience
Having found the stories in White: Behind Mental Health Stigma rich in content, I joined the White Book Book Club to dive deeper into the each piece. What I had first thought would be an intellectual discussion turned out to be a surprisingly soothing experience – and I’ve found a safe space in these sessions that came in particularly timely as I undergo some transitions in my career and personal life.
About the sessions
Each session started with a short meditation and grounding exercise, before the discussion opened with a short book excerpt. We engaged in discussions through low pressure interactions like using the annotation tool to post little hearts and short answers to questions and polls. There were also “breakouts” where we could talk face to face in smaller groups, which made it easy for us to share more vulnerable parts of our life in response to the thought starters. At the end of these “breakouts”, we would again reconvene to learn more about our emotional and mental wellbeing, and even how other people might perceive or experience behaviour differently from us – and thus impact the way we communicate with each other.
Our moderator, Shihui, guided us through these sessions with accepting, balanced presence. She was both mellow and feisty, great at acknowledging every participant, and also brought up relevant concepts from other books she’s read.
My takeaways
I’ve gained so many helpful self-care skills, especially the part about the three major forms of self care: physical/somatic, thoughts/speech, and emotion. Being more used to exercise and creative movement as a way to get out of my ruminative mind and into my body, I learned the importance to be more attuned to the unhelpful thoughts once they pop up and reframe them to something more helpful for myself.
I also found the small group discussions invaluable and inspiring. Most importantly, I felt less alone after chatting in my small group. I learned that everyone faces mental health issues and life problems to some degree, and mutual acceptance and sharing of effective ways to cope can be way more comforting and freeing. A few of us even continued to keep in touch and support each other after the sessions!
The White Book Book Club sessions became my first time setting time aside with the intention to check in with my mental state. Why wait until the mind is cluttered and messy before doing housekeeping and giving it some TLC? I’m committed to these weekly sessions as a form of self-love and self development, and my greatest takeaway is probably learning to be more at ease on my own.
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About The White Book Book Club
The White Book Book Club offers a safe space to deep dive into issues of mental wellness in our personal, social and civic spaces. Organised with and facilitated by Common Ground, these sessions will share excerpts from White: Behind Mental Health Stigma as an introduction to explore our emotional and physiological abilities.
Sessions are free for all.
Season 2 runs twice a month in April and May.
Book now to ensure your slot.
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About the Author
Leianne is an actor and WeBarre instructor. In her free time she loves reading, watching films and being in nature to recharge. She is also passionate about sustainability, holistic health, politics, and ideas that make the world a better place.
Photo: Leon Wei
