29 Projects

Tracks:

Song #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUhRePPW0kY

Song title: Dial Drunk

Artist: Noah Kahan (featuring Post Malone)

To me, this song describes the desire for human connection, even when it involves going back to past or toxic relationships. It can be especially easy to go back to old habits when we’re not thinking straight – whether it’s caused by a lot of strong emotions, difficult life events, or drugs (or a mixture of all these things). This song details the actions we take when we feel vulnerable, and how some of those coping mechanisms can backfire and result in an even worse mindset. This song goes in-depth as to how addictions form and why they persist – beyond the substance simply “feeling good”. Feelings of regret and vulnerability can lead to substance of abuse, specifically alcohol in this song, which then leads to reaching out to past relationships for any form of consolation. This song illustrates how the drugs used to escape reality often aren’t enough to completely detach someone from their feelings, which is why the artist continuously calls his ex, and even gives “her name as my emergency phone call” when he is pulled over by the police.

Song #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzPQ_jA00bk

Song title: Chemical

Artist: Post Malone

This song describes what it’s like to be with a person who enables poor behaviors and a bad mindset for growth. Becoming dependent on a person can lead to negative effects, however it can be tempting to continue to engage in the relationship because it provides temporary pleasure. Post Malone has struggled with addiction in the past, and this song emphasizes this with lines such as “Oxytocin makin’ it all okay”, and “Outside of the party, smokin’ in the car with you”. While this song incorporates some aspects of substance abuse with these lines, the song also focuses on how he is addicted to the love and attention a person is giving him, even though he knows it’s not good for himself. This adds another layer to addiction – that while drugs are involved, they are really being used to cope with an unhealthy relationship.

Song #3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPvDlF0raWI

Song title: Novacane

Artist: Frank Ocean

This song personally tells of how the standards for modern relationships and dating contribute to emotional pain, and eventually unhealthy coping mechanisms. This song personally describes how temporary solutions are more tempting, and easier to indulge in compared to making difficult decisions about confronting our emotions and feelings. This song perfectly encapsulates how reliance upon drugs to replace the enjoyment we get from other sources, such as from relationships, can contribute to serious substance abuse problems, which makes it more difficult to get away from drug usage. This song also illustrates how intertwined drugs are with partying and “having fun” with younger people, which makes it hard to connect with people without some form of drug addiction/dependence.

Song #4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDb3ZZD4bA0

Song title: Marvin’s Room

Artist: Drake

This song involves Drake being heavily intoxicated and calling his ex-girlfriend, talking about his struggles in life and lack of emotional support in his life. This piece of music describes how alcoholism can contribute to poor decision making in the heat of the moment, leading to being overly dependent and vulnerable to people who have moved on. This song speaks to how coping with major life changes can take a toll on anyone, especially when Drake says, “I need someone to put this weight on”, indicating that even his alcohol consumption isn’t enough to deal with his problems. Drake also describes how he’s “Had sex 4 times this week”, indicating that alcohol is being used alongside sex and possibly other pleasurable destructive habits.

Song #5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1DabeMRz5I

Song title: King of the Dead

Artist: XXXTENTACION

This track gives insight into the thoughts within the artist’s head, specifically revolving around his inner turmoil, the concept of death, and the constant ‘numbness’ he experiences daily. This is referenced when he says, “The needle, my veins, I’m falling asleep (Okay)”. X’s mental state seems to spiral throughout the song, indicating that there is heavy reliance on substances to maintain any tolerance of reality. This track illustrates how easy it can be to mentally spiral with the influence of drugs due to hardships experienced in life. X’s reliance on drugs also allows him to live and deal with his problems without any reliance on others, which lets him preserve his pride and own self-image.

Song #6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqiO8wV4-wc

Song title: Wasted

Artist: Juice WRLD (featuring Lil Uzi Vert)

Juice WRLD describes how he’s constantly “wasted” – that is – always under the influence of some kind of drug to numb his life. He does this to clear his mind, as described in the lyrics “Wasted, get her off my mind when I’m wasted”, but it also serves as a way to pass the time, “Wasted, I waste all my time when I’m wasted”. His close connection with substance abuse allows him to cope with his emotions, however it doesn’t solve any of the deeper problems plaguing his life – leaving him feeling wasted, or mentally drained.

Song #7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuCwP-NbY0s

Song title: Addiction

Artist: Kanye West

Kanye is aware that relying on expensive items and drugs to fill other parts of his life – specifically emotionally – that are lacking is unhealthy, however he still chooses to indulge in a fast-paced lifestyle anyways. He knows that smoking weed will only provide temporary relief, followed by guilt and shame, however he continues to do it to chase those good feelings. This is represented in the lines, “Why everything’s that supposed to be bad make me feel so good? Everything that they told me not to, was exactly what I would”. Kanye lives life based on how he’s feeling in the moment, and this includes using drugs to chase the high he’s experienced before, even though he also knows that it will lead to feelings of guilt and self-loathing.

Song #8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDFEQyx7o4k

Song title: Initiation

Artist: The Weeknd

The Weeknd uses drugs in this song to describe the darker aspects associated with fame – including the world of drugs and pleasure he frequently indulges in. He constantly uses drugs to “fit in” with the lifestyle, however he is also aware of the destructive nature of his own habits. This is emphasized by the line, “This party won’t finish, it’s a fucking celebration, oh yeah”. This song highlights the dangers that lie when drug use is normalized and glorified, as it is in the music industry when surrounded by other celebrities who continue to push this lifestyle onto other artists. It’s also easy to be sucked into this lifestyle without caring about other aspects of life, as described in the line, “And the clocks don’t work, you don’t gotta check the time”.

Song #9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uirzHXHpgqM

Song title: Once an Addict (Interlude)

Artist: J. Cole

This track details the addiction of J. Cole’s mother, rather than a story of personal addiction. His mother would drink alcohol and smoke weed and neglect the emotional well-being of her child. This caused lasting damage to J. Cole and permanently damaged the relationship between the mother and son. This song describes how addiction can not only impact someone personally, but it also damages everyone around them. The last lines of the song provide insight into what his mother’s addiction taught J. Cole, “Life can bring much pain. There are many ways to deal with this pain. Choose wisely.” This emphasizes that drugs and alcohol only provide temporary bliss, while ignoring the deeper problems – and this can be detrimental to any relationship, especially relating to familial bonds.

Song #10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S12POqJuVHQ

Song title: Marijuana

Artist: Kid Cudi

Marijuana serves as a way to relieve all of Kid Cudi’s pain and stress – albeit for a temporary period. Kid Cudi acknowledges that this form of coping serves to escape his problems rather than to actually solve them, and after each “high”, he is forced to face all his problems head on, which he fears. The drug serves as a soothing voice, telling Kid Cudi that “It’s all gon’ be okay”, and Kid Cudi repeatedly says, “Always had my back, hey” in relation to marijuana.

DJ Statement:

I focused on substance abuse because drug usage is often a coping mechanism employed by people who don’t have a strong support system but are tired of experiencing the negative thoughts and emotions which plague their everyday life. The intended audience includes people who struggle with their addiction to drugs and relate to the feelings of vulnerability and numbness the tracks describe. The audience also includes people who search for ways to avoid their problems and reality – even if it doesn’t necessarily involve drugs, as well as those who are impacted by the substance abuse of others.  No matter how extreme, anyone who uses drugs or other unhealthy habits as a way of coping with their feelings is the audience of these artists, especially if they use past relationships or unhealthy “flings” with people to numb their pain. Personal accounts within many of these tracks – for example, Dial Drunk and Marvin’s Room, are relatable to the audience and can steer people away from making the same mistakes and partaking in the same actions as the artists. This can contribute to the listeners finding healthier and more sustainable coping mechanisms rather than turning to alcoholism and past relationships for comfort. Other tracks, such as Wasted and King of the Dead, emphasize how numbness induced by substance abuse can be favorable for people who must face harsh realities, and how burying their problems and trauma underneath a feeling of calmness can lead to dependence. This describes the situation of many people – young and old – who don’t know how to deal with issues in their life, and so they turn to substances to mute their feelings. All ten of these tracks emphasize the different self-destructive ways people have of coping with difficult times of their life (or how others’ destructive behaviors have impacted them), however rather than being judgmental and frowning upon people struggling with substance abuse, these artists provide their own personal experiences and problems. This allows the audience to feel heard and relate to the artists, which allows them to confront their problems and rely less on substances to feel good. This can also help listeners address the past trauma that they have endured from their close friends or family members who rely on substances and have damaged their relationships due to their addictions. By listening to similar experiences in these tracks, the audience feels less isolated and instead feels more understood, which aids in the overall healing process.

Children struggle to understand abstract concepts, and when something as serious as cancer is not effectively communicated from a parent to their child, then it becomes crucial to understand how the child’s quality of life is impacted and what can be done to bridge a divide within a family caused by a cancer diagnosis. Parents often withhold information from their children so as not to burden them with their struggles, however avoiding important conversations about cancer creates feelings of unease and isolation in children. This contributes to emotional struggles and increased feelings of anxiety, which hinder the ability of children to develop normally and feel as if their emotional needs are met within their own home. However, if the children were able to attend a support group where they create art depicting their favorite activity with their parent who has cancer, then they could express themselves with art while being around other children who are in a similar situation. By writing a question on the artwork, which is targeted toward the parent with cancer, conversations about cancer can be had between parents and children – which will relieve some of the emotional turmoil within the children.

My intervention is seeking to answer the question: How does having a parent with a cancer diagnosis impact the well-being and emotional needs of their children?

Children who have a parent with cancer express a higher amount of stress response signals, which can be attributed to having more household responsibilities as well as from uncertainty regarding their parent’s health. Interestingly, post-traumatic growths were also reported in some children, which shows how a child’s response to parental cancer can be complex (Visser et al., 2011). This indicates that children need an outlet to fully express themselves so that they can work through all aspects of their confusion and emotions – which could be something as simple as making art for their parents. The feelings of anxiety and uncertainty present can be managed through clear, effective communication between the parents and child. This contributes to the child feeling supported and promotes positive coping strategies (Semple et al., 2012). It is essential to have nonjudgemental conversations where the child can talk with their parents about what is going on and what to expect – so involving parents outside of when the support groups are occurring is crucial to encourage them to talk with their children so that they don’t feel as isolated.

Physical discomfort also arises in children who cope with parental cancer, expressing symptoms such as stomach aches and difficulty sleeping – which were linked to diminished emotional well-being. Engaging in services such as professional counseling and having healthcare professionals assess children’s quality of life in multiple areas could provide additional support (Hauken et al., 2018). Professional counselors or other adults specially trained in helping children work through their emotions could lead support groups, which could involve activities (outlets) for the children to express themselves. Parents also generally underestimate the impact of their cancer on their children, which contributes to their gatekeeping information without realizing the adverse effects this has within the family (Inhestern et al., 2021). Having these support groups could help parents realize how much their child was being affected by their cancer and motivate them to have regular conversations about it with all family members.

Although there are some services available for children dealing with parental cancer – such as a summer camp called Camp Kesem – they don’t offer the consistent support that my intervention is attempting to accomplish. Camp Kesem only meets once a year for a week, and the support services available year-round are primary electronic messages which don’t offer much human contact. However, there is not a Camp Kesem chapter at the University of Iowa, which would make it challenging to expand the program here. Instead, by proposing a support group which meets weekly, my intervention will allow children to make friends to consistently interact with and form stronger bonds with the adults facilitating the activities. My proposal will hopefully facilitate more conversations with parents regarding their cancer, which is the end goal.

Considering the benefits of art therapy among children, I propose a program where children can create art together and share any experiences, positive or negative, relating to dealing with a parent with cancer. My intervention would have two support groups, one for children ages 6-9 years old, and the other for ages 10-14 years old. The children participating in the groups would be from parents receiving cancer treatment at a hospital who were told about the support groups by a healthcare professional responsible for informing parents of resources available for them during their treatment process. It could be difficult getting enough children to join the intervention if parents are skeptical about the program, however pamphlets could be provided by the healthcare worker detailing the specifics of the support groups, such as what the children will be doing, for how long, and what benefits they’ll get from the experience.

The support groups would be 90 minutes long, have a maximum of 8 children in each group, and would run for 12 weeks long. They would be on Saturday mornings from 10:00-11:30 am for the younger age group, and 12:00-1:30 for the older group – however siblings in different age groups could be put together in the same group if requested. There would be two adults to serve as facilitators/supervisors – one would be a licensed child therapist, and the other would be an art therapist (preferably with experience in counseling or grief therapy). Each group would meet at the hospital, and then walk together to a nearby community center, where a room would be available for the support group to take place. This means that access to the community center and having a room reserved for both the younger and older support groups would be necessary. Art supplies would need to be provided for the children, which would be composed of various markers and crayons, as well as paper to be drawn on.

To incentivize the children to attend the sessions, there would be snacks passed around at the beginning and end of every meeting. The first 15 minutes would involve gathering up all the children and going to the community center (and eating snacks once there), and then 40 minutes would be allotted for children to create artwork involving their favorite activity to do with their parent with cancer. The next 20 minutes would be the children discussing any positive or negative experiences they would like to share relating to their parent with cancer, or how they are feeling in general. The discussion would be led by the children, with each one taking some time to go around in a circle and talk about their feelings (but only if they would like to!) Stickers would be given out to children who talk during the discussion time to incentivize participation. During this time, the children would come up with a few questions to write down on the back of their drawing based on what they heard from the others, which they would ask their parents after they got back. Although the children are the ones creating the artwork and engaging in the discussion, the goal is for the kids to continue the conversation outside of the support groups with their parents. The last 15 minutes would include giving out snacks and taking the children back to the hospital where they would meet up with their parents.

The artwork created by the children could either be hung up in the room at the community center they meet at or given to their parents after the session. During the last session of the 12 weeks, the parents of the kids would attend a support group session where canvases would be given to each child, and the parents would paint alongside their child. All the paintings would then be placed around the hospital where the parent with cancer is receiving treatment with a small description written next to each painting with the child’s name and one thing they learned about their parent by asking them questions they wrote down from the support group sessions.

From participating in this intervention, the children dealing with parental cancer will be able to better communicate and understand their emotions by discussing their feelings and experiences and from listening to other children experiencing a similar struggle. The children will also learn healthy coping strategies, such as creating art to express their feelings. By writing down questions for their parent with cancer, communication between parents and their children is promoted, which will lead to stronger and healthier relationships within families – benefiting the parent as well as the child. This intervention could realistically be applied to many hospitals and community centers (or other areas such as libraries, parks, etc.), however a major difficulty would be finding enough child and art therapists to facilitate the support groups. Possibly school counselors or people of similar professions could fill in the space if there were none available.

Children are dependent on their parents as a source of emotional support, reassurance, and happiness, which makes it important to consider how their lives are impacted when one of their parents is battling cancer and can’t completely be there for their child. The general lack of communication of this sudden change to the child exemplifies any emotional harm this may cause, which negatively impacts the child’s overall quality of life. This is why my intervention works to surround a potentially confused and anxious child with other children to connect with, caring facilitators who are experienced in working with children and art therapy, and providing an outlet for the children to express themselves in a healthy manner. The discussions where children are free to say anything weighing them down in a supportive environment works to initiate the communication which the child will continue with their parents outside of the support groups, which is done through writing thoughtful questions during the support group session. I anticipate that doing this will not only relieve much stress and anxiety from the child, but it will also provide the parents reassurance knowing that their child is working through any emotional turmoil in a safe way. This proposal will help bring families closer together during a difficult time where parents may have a hard time communicating their struggles and feelings with their child.