Diary of A Mummy: Naked

It has been a long time since I blogged or tweeted.
Being a full-time Mummy is not as how I envisioned it to be.
Yes, I can go for coffee or tea with my friends BUT not without dragging along a huge heavy diaper bag filled with baby necessities AND two babies. A simple outing is like preparing for an excursion.I don't even dare think about packing for holidays! *shudders

Anyway, I managed to be released from my 'work' duties on one Friday to watch a play by Teater Kami. I was excited to watch Dalifah Shahril in action, performing a monologue based on bipolar disorder.

The first time I heard of this term was a few years ago when my friend jokingly suggested that I should have myself checked for bipolar disorder since I always have insomnia. At that point in time, I asked him what that was but never bothered to research further on it.

The play was performed in a simple black box theatre and began with the actress lying down on the ground, singing out loud obviously lost in her own world.There was a deafening sound as the actress drifted to mania and as an audience, I believe if exposed to such sounds for a prolonged period of time, I would go crazy too.

I guess that must be how it is like in the minds of those suffering from this disorder. As the play progresses, there were some funny moments when the character behaved out of the ordinary and it made me laugh out loud but I couldn’t help but feel guilty and sympathetic at the same time. I feel that is is wrong for me to laugh at her as she did not ask to be in that state.

Towards the end of the play, images of the real person whom Dalifah is playing was flashed at the projector. At that point of time, I really felt like crying as the reality stared right at me.

This is a real situation that is being faced by an individual and probably many other individuals in similar or different forms. The general public (me included) are ignorant of the situations faced by those facing mental disorders or their caregivers.
Much support needs to be given to the caregivers especially. When the play ended, I did not expect a Q&A session. It surprised me further when the writer, Yohanna Abdullah was introduced. I felt even worse at laughing earlier during the play.

I wondered what she felt when we laughed at the character as I was aware that the play is based on a true story and the character in question is based on her. I was overwhelmed by my strong admiration at her courage to share her story. She looked perfectly normal and no one could ever guess that she had done all those crazy things like not wearing an underwear under a dress while having her menstruation period or singing at the top of her voice while playing a guitar in public.The images just couldn’t match in my head. There seated in front of me was a calm, composed lady in hijab answering questions posted to her without feeling embarrassed or fearing for the stigma people might have against her.

The play by itself was not very fanciful or theatrical. It was direct, with basic lighting to reflect the mood or to highlight the actress and with sound effects that were necessary for the audience to be immersed in the storytelling.
I applaud Teater Kami and Dalifah Shahril for successfully educating the audience on bipolar disorder. I am now aware and keen to learn more about this illness and other types of mental disorder.

The play has also dispelled some typical myths on people with mental disorders such as they are not in mania all the time. There is a certain level of consciousness in them but they are just not in control. We may feel sad for them when we see them do things out of the ordinary but the fact is they might just be having the time of their lives. Mental disorders can be treated just like physical illness and should not be stigmatised. Having a mental disorder is just like having cancer or stroke. Caregivers need to be tolerant and patient. They need to attend support group sessions to learn more in handling the challenges. I hope that there will be more programmes to generate awareness on mental conditions.

Here's my review of 'Naked' on Berita Harian: http://beritaharian.sg/gah/realiti-hidup-pesakit-bipolar-ditelanjangkan