Addiction, Identity, and the Masquerade
Having an addiction could wreak havoc on one’s personal identity. When facing addiction, whether you identify with being a mother, father, student, man, woman, athlete, artist, or any other combination of the diverse identities we embrace in defining ourselves, it could be difficult to detach from that of “the addict.” Throughout the process of rehabilitation, where one’s experience with addiction becomes ever more salient, this could be especially challenging, but the opposite could likewise be true. Dr. Glenn Walters, an expert in the field of addictions, explains that strongly identifying with an addiction and its associated activities increases involvement in addictive behaviour, whereas maintaining the ability to simultaneously identify with incompatible activities, could lessen both addictive behaviours, and the degree to which one identifies with being “an addict.” As such, re-awakening alternative identities and interests in individuals struggling with addiction, is a highly worthwhile activity.
Guided by their wonderful recreational therapist, Shelia, the residents of Andy’s House recently engaged in an art activity encouraging them to create a mask portraying the face they wish the world could see. Inspired by the lavish and imaginative masquerade ball, the benefits of such an activity are multifaceted, as it encourages participants to entertain desirable alternative identities, help them detach from their pain, and explore their emotions in relation to who they wish to be, in a realistic, or fantastical sense. Whether it be a vibrant mask, celebrating a colourful alter-ego, a fierce mask exuding power and confidence, or a darker, concealing mask designed to shelter and protect, the ultimate goal of art-therapy and such projects, is to explore emotional phenomena through artistic expression. With this activity, participants learned that there are no limits to what one could imagine and become – that for a time, they could be anything or anyone they wish to be, and silence their negative, limiting identities.
