Stigma makes it difficult for people to talk openly about burnout and mental health. Many also lack the confidence to try creative activities to explore their experiences.
Creative anthology – ‘Reading Bodies: Burnout, Overload and Resilience’
A collection of 35+ creative writing and artwork pieces, co-created with academics, health professionals, and members of the public. Submissions came from the UK, USA, Europe, New Zealand, and China. Anthology available here.
Participants attended a workshop using provided images and translated Spanish texts for inspiration. Others responded to an open call. Co-edited with Sally Flint and published with Riptide Journal.
- Participants felt an increased willingness to share their experiences of burnout.
- Participants felt an enhanced sense of community through participation in the project.
- Gave voice to lived experience of stigmatised health issues.
- The anthology features on the Behavioural and Cultural Insights Hub, a knowledge-sharing platform for healthy practices developed in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
Understanding how creative activities can reveal people’s experiences of burnout, and illness more generally, could be valuable to the Department of Health and Social Care.
- Blog Post: K. Murphy: Reading Bodies in European Literatures and Cultures – the polyphony.
- Blog Post: K. Murphy, ‘Historical Narratives of Illness in the Multilingual Medical Humanities’ The Polyphony.
- Blog Post: O. Glaze, ‘Languages, Medical Humanities, and Policy: Intersections in Research and Practice’ The Polyphony.