FAQ & Helpful Resources

Why is this important and relevant in today’s world?

Our society is only beginning to understand the wide-ranging impact of mental health struggles and what it truly means to have mental and emotional “health”. Far too many suppress their needs, experiencing shame or confusion, fearing judgment or dismissal, and this further complicates their ability to be well.  We want to move the conversation away from having “illnesses” or “disorders”, and reframe them into more open conversations around appreciation of how mental health struggles develop and can be helped through understanding, connection, acceptance and change.  We trust that each person is an expert on their lived experience. #tellyourstory

Why remove the stigma around mental health struggles?

When individuals, families and communities experience hardships, the single most effective route to wellness is to seek help and understanding.  Far too often in our society mental health adversities are seen as shortcomings or deficiencies within the individual.  Generally, this leads to shame, guilt and embarrassment, which further intensifies their troubles.  Hiding or suppressing these experiences causes the dangerous and life-threatening consequences we all fear.  Also, our society often takes the most extreme examples of mental health manifestations and applies it to the whole, further deepening this shame and fear. Psyche Signature hopes to allow people the active or passive outlet to express what they might experience and open more meaningful conversations around their unique and personal experience.  The hashtag campaign of #askmewhatitslike ventures to promote story-telling and greater community education, connection and understanding.

What do the designs represent?

The designs were inspired by the periodic table of elements.  Mostly, the elements exist naturally, they are part of the human fabric and existence. They are part of our make-up.  Replacing the common element symbols with representations of mental health conditions is a nod to the perspective that we all experience mental health disruptions in different ways at different stages of our lives;  some more intensely than others, and if we change the way we see it, maybe we will be more open to sharing and discussing our experiences.  Also, using the table of elements design is also a more literal validation of the chemical and biological nature of mental health issues, challenging the myth that it is “all in your head”.  Our hope is that educating around this truth will help reduce feeling blame for struggles.

Another part of the design is that it offers a recognizable and elegantly simplistic way of communicating information. The numbers in the designs all have meaning meant to lead to understanding, education and conversation.  Finally, in a more metaphoric or poetic way, the elements are essential to our lives on their own, and when they combine, they become something very different. We may experience depression, anxiety or trauma, and it is not all of us.  It is part of us, and does not define us as a whole. And when these experiences are combined with courage, strength, acceptance or change, they become even more.  #iammore

Helpful Resources