‘Treading Water’ Exploring the Landscape of Mental Health Through Poetry With Alyssa Harmon
This poetry book is more than a collection of poems; it’s a lifeline for anyone navigating feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and more.
Your book "treading water" delves deep into the landscape of mental health. Can you share the inspiration behind the title and how it reflects the themes within your poetry?
So often, when I was dealing with these mental health issues, I felt like I was just constantly treading water. If you've ever tried it, it's exhausting. You are just aching for a chance to get to the shore or a boat or somewhere safe and just rest.
Dealing with mental illness feels a lot like that to me. I played around with so many titles, but I just kept coming back to that one. And I loved that it fit with the theme of swimming, sinking, and drowning, which are so often referred to when talking about mental health.
This book takes you on a journey of just treading water and "surviving" to learning how to swim, finding healing, and then "thriving."
The collection is divided into four sections, each representing a different stage of coping with mental illness. Please walk us through the journey you hope readers will experience as they move through these sections.
My book is structured in four parts to take you on a mental health journey. The first section discusses when you first start noticing symptoms and things start getting bad.
The second section is when you hit rock bottom and realize that you need to get help or things are never going to change.
The third section focuses on getting that help, going to therapy, learning coping skills, and managing it.
The fourth section is what healing looks like, and even though it may never leave, you learn a new way of living and find happiness.
Your poetry is often described as mesmerizing. How do you use the poetic form to capture the ebb and flow of emotions in your work, and why is this important in the context of mental health?
When you're dealing with mental health, your healing isn't linear. There are some days where you feel amazing, and other days where you're at the bottom of the ocean.
But learning how to deal with the waves of emotions can help, and I tried to capture that through the story in this book.
With the four sections, I take the readers on my mental health journey, hoping that someone else is going through the same thing.
Many poets draw from personal experiences when crafting their work. Can you share how your own experiences with mental health have influenced your poetry in "treading water"?
I always write from my own personal experiences. Writing poetry, for me, is a way of analyzing the world around me and also a form of therapy to process and cope with my emotions.
When you're dealing with mental illness, you're feeling such strong feelings, and getting them out on paper was a way for me to compartmentalize it.
While everyone has a different experience with mental health, many of us have shared experiences, and it can feel isolating unless we talk about it.
Sharing these poems is scary because they're so personal and raw, but if it can help one person feel like they're less alone, that's enough for me.
The book is described as a lifeline for those navigating feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Please discuss some specific poems or themes within the collection that will resonate most with readers facing these challenges.
My poetry book helps remind people that they're not going through all of these feelings alone.
Neil Hillborn said it best in his poem:
"Whatever you are feeling right now, there is a mathematical certainty that someone is feeling that exact thing. This is not to say you aren't special. This is to say thank god you aren't special."
When you have mental illness, it can feel isolating. I don't want people to have to experience that, so that's why I published treading water. I think everyone will find at least a few poems they can relate to in my book.
Poetry has a unique power to create connections and empathy. How do you hope your poetry will foster understanding and support among your readers?
The one thing I want my readers to take away from this book is that there's hope at the end. That's why I have a semicolon on the cover; it's a symbol to keep going.
Instead of putting a period to end a sentence, use a semicolon and keep going. When you're dealing with mental illness, it can seem like there's no way out, that you'll be treading water forever.
And I know it gets tiring. But there's help coming, even if you have to call out for it. If my book can even give one person hope, it'll have done its job.
Can you tell us about any particular poets or literary works that have influenced your approach to poetry and the themes you explore in "treading water"?
Oh, I have so many artists that influenced my style. I think one of the biggest influences was "Down With the Ship" by Tom Leveille. I fell in love with their style and the way they approached mental health.
Neil Hillborn was also a great poet who spoke on depression and his books "Our Numbered Days" and "The Future" shaped the way I thought about incorporating imagery and metaphors into my poetry.
Another one that I really enjoyed was "I Wrote This For You" by Iain S. Thomas. Their poetry helped inspire my short and punchy style, but their overall theme of writing for someone else to help them through their struggles was a big foundational part of my work.
Imagery plays a significant role in your poetry. What are some of the recurring symbols or metaphors in your work that you believe best captures the emotional landscape of mental health?
One of the recurring themes in this book is the idea of treading water, sinking in waves, and trying to swim to the shore. I also have a lot of nature themes recurring in the book.
With my style of poetry, I like taking everyday, ordinary things and finding the poetry and beauty in it.
In your creative process, how do you strike a balance between conveying the intensity of mental health struggles and offering a sense of hope or respite for your readers?
In my creative process, I just write what I feel. I naturally wrote these poems as a progression through my own journey, so I was able to arrange the poems in a way that supports the narrative, and I hope other people can use it on their own journey.
"treading water" is described as an island that gives readers a break from their struggles. How do you envision your book being a source of solace and renewal for those needing emotional refuge?
When I was going through these mental health issues myself, one of the biggest things that made me feel less alone was reading others' poetry.
Knowing that someone else could describe exactly what I was feeling and put it into words assured me that I wasn't the only one going through this. And seeing that those people went through the same things and made it out on the other side gave me hope.
That's what I hope treading water can do for someone else. I always say that I write these poems to help myself heal and cope, but I publish them to help others heal and know they're not alone as well.
I hope this book lets them know they're not alone, and that there is hope, and they don't have to feel like they're treading water in the middle of an ocean by themselves.
Alyssa Harmon is a poet, editor, and author who holds a Master's degree in Creative Writing from the University of West Florida.
She writes poetry based on personal experiences as a means of healing and emotional processing, and they publish their work to support others in their healing journey.
She currently takes residence in St. Petersburg, FL, with her boyfriend and enjoys activities such as reading, swimming, and traveling when not writing poetry.
‘treading water’ was released on October 17th. You can purchase the paperback and eBook on Amazon.
For signed copies, visit Alyssa’s website: alyssa-harmon.com.
Instagram: @alyssa_harmon_
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