Mental Prison Is No Place To Live: What is the Lens Concept?

As you review content on our website or social media pages, you will see our team using the word "lens" or "lenses" often. Perhaps you have a vague idea on what we mean. However, it's really important to understand this concept well, as it is the basis of our program and what we do here.

Simply put, we define a lens as --

"Our unique, individual perception that alters our true view of ourself. This is caused by labels and stigma that gets attached to us through life events, genetics, personality traits, and the choices we make. Cognitive distortions play a crucial role in this development. These things tend to make our inner critic deafening and our inner supporter silent."

Each of the 14 circles in the program came because I wore these lenses at some capacity. The only exception here is the immigrant lens which was inspired by other experiences and also a nod out to decolonization.-- STILL HERE!

These are the lenses I had deconstructed through my healing journey that ended at Mayo Clinic. This blog is more about the concept of the lens, but in the next few blogs, I am going to get REAL with all of you and share more of my experiences in a Deconstructing the Lens series. For now we will keep it simple and use a generalized example.

Someone who has gone though a violent crime such as a school shooting or home invasion may experiences things like survivors guilt, shame, fear, anger... their inner critic may say things like "you could have done more," or, "you were so stupid to believe that person"." They may also find themselves avoiding situations that trigger those overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety.

Someone who is in recovery from an addiction may experience things like shame, guilt, hopelessness, and disappointment. They may say things to themselves like "I'm going to fail at some point," or " I am just going to disappoint everyone again." They may feel like their past path is dictating their future directions. They may be waiting for that next boot to drop.

Now consider this-

These people both have similar struggles with depression, anxiety, anger, relationship issues, communication issues, health issues, and more.

While they both may have depression-- the way they SEE it is different. One person is experiencing depression through an addiction lens and the other person is experiencing depression through a survivor lens. One person communicates with an addiction lens on, another communicates with the survivor lens on. And so on. Similar, but different.

If you approach depression ( or an array of other things ) through the right lens, it becomes much more manageable. For example, in the addictions case above, cognitive tools would be used with the addiction lens to help with depression. Experiences of this population are considered as we move through the basic life topics. In the addiction circle, there is a strong element of acceptance and forgiveness because often times, this population needs to forgive THEMSLEVES in order to heal, and usually others as well.

This is the concept with each circle. To let you know that WE hear your inner critic, and it is not necessary to so be mean to yourself. That voice that tells you that you are not good enough, that you will not make it, that you will fail, that you are ugly, that everyone else can do everything better than you...that voice does not serve you any purpose, it holds you back! But, I have found a way to tame it.

You have to do the work! It is a lot. But it is the peace that you have been craving. Talk therapy doesn't work! This is a brand new concept, and while you may always struggle with that inner critic... you CAN go from drowning to being able to manage. You can go from being overwhelmed with that critic to muting that critic and hearing your inner supporter!

Finally, consider this-

What if the person who was viewing depression through an addiction lens, WAS the same person with the trauma survivor lens? Because many people wear more than one lens, this is very common thing. How much of your world is filled with cognitive distortions? (Not sure what a distortion is? More on that later). What if I told you the lenses you wear are LYING to you? That is pretty much a quick way to explain cognitive distortion. Your brain tricks you into believing that inner critic, but that inner critic is influenced by so much.... and our brains are so good at over thinking....

So I ask you:

What Lens do you wear?

How many Lenses do you wear?

And how's that going for you?

Could your lenses use an adjustment to hush the critic and empower the supporter?

Well then, now you know why Silver Dove Hope Circle exists, at least, the mental health component!