What comes to mind when you read ‘space: a key psychological need’?
Do you think of physical space – enough room to move?
Or do you think of metaphorical space? Freedom to move? To think? To feel?
Physical space
What kind of space makes you feel safe?
Do you like things to be ordered or do you prefer a bit more chaos?
Would you prefer to feel snug, tight and closed in? Or do you prefer things to be open, airy and spacious? Maybe there’s a middle ground between the two?
If you close your eyes and think of somewhere that feels like ‘home’. Somewhere comfortable, where you can just be. What comes to mind? What is it about that space that gives you cues of safety?
And what’s the effect on you when you are in a space that feels comfortable?
How about when you’re in a space that doesn’t feel so free? What is the impact of that on you? How do you know? In what ways does it affect your thinking? How you feel? What you do?
Does it tend to be physical cues that stop you feeling free or emotional cues? Is there a sense that you can’t move your body as you would wish or you can’t be yourself?
Are your children the same? What kind of spaces help them to thrive? Which environments do they struggle more in? How do you know? What are your children’s cues that they are struggling in their environment?
Headspace
When you think of ‘headspace’ what comes to mind?
What helps you to feel as though you have enough space to think? How do you feel when you organise your thoughts?
Do you find writing a helpful practice for ‘tidying up’ what’s going on in your mind? How about drawing? Music? Dancing?
What gets in the way of you creating headspace? Do you even know where to begin?
Routine, structure and schedules
To what extent does routine help you to feel free? Are you someone who likes to ‘relax within a structure’? Or would you rather have a free schedule and be spontaneous?
How does your timetable affect your wellbeing? What happens when you are heavily scheduled?
What happens when you start doing ‘nothing’? How does it feel to just ‘be’?
Sometimes, people find that if they have a lot on they feel great… until they stop. Furthermore, the more they do, the harder they find it to stop. Does this happen to you?
How does it feel when you see your children enjoying the mundane? Relaxing? Doing ‘nothing’?
What do you think happens in that space?
Creative space
Where does your creativity come from? Often, people find their most creative moments are in the shower, our for a walk or just before they fall asleep.
That is, often people find they are most creative in times when they are doing ‘nothing’. How does this sound to you?
Why might this be?
When are your children at their most creative? When they are on a tight schedule or when they’ve had freedom to roam?
Taking your space
What does it mean to you to take your space?
How does it feel to own your thoughts? Your feelings? Your desires?
What gives you the confidence to ask for what you need? Or to take what you need without guilt?
What kinds of environments or people make it possible for you to feel safe enough to be you?
Have you ever considered doing that? What gets in the way?
How does it feel when your children do that? If it feels uncomfortable (which it does to many of us), why might that be? How can you soothe yourself through that discomfort?