May 24, 2016
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the sixth issue of Please Hold Magazine, Over & Over.
When I originally proposed this issue's theme, I had intended on it being a mental health issue. The prompt "over & over" was inspired by two of my personal chronic struggles: anxiety and depression.
My experiences with these issues are cyclical. Part of my anxiety manifests in an obsessive compulsion to analyze a single uncertainty in every way I can, repeatedly, often with no new information. This is self-perpetuating since there may be no exit from the circle of thoughts. My depression ebbs and flows and has done so throughout my life. The knowledge that it will inevitably return can make the fight against it sometimes feel hopeless.
The stigma around mental health challenges can cause many people to suffer in isolation. I wanted to put together an issue that spoke to those struggles so that readers who have also faced them may feel less alone.
Once again, artists across the world surprised me with their unique takes on our theme. While some of the work in this issue does touch on anxiety and depression, there is a greater variety of approaches to "over and over" represented. Other perspectives you will see explore cross-generational traditions, the mundanity of day-to-day life, measures of time, universal gestures or expressions, the human body's functionality and its wear-and-tear, memory, and rhythm.
It is always enlightening to see our themes from fresh perspectives that pull me out of my own interpretation and take me somewhere new. There is much more to notice over and over than just those persistent challenges that tend to consume my attention. As such, I hope that this issue not only sheds light on the prevalence of those isolating struggles but also reminds you of all the other facets of life that surface over and over.
I hope you enjoy Over & Over again and again.
Much love,
Kristie
--
Kristie Wickwire
Editor-in-Chief
Welcome to the sixth issue of Please Hold Magazine, Over & Over.
When I originally proposed this issue's theme, I had intended on it being a mental health issue. The prompt "over & over" was inspired by two of my personal chronic struggles: anxiety and depression.
My experiences with these issues are cyclical. Part of my anxiety manifests in an obsessive compulsion to analyze a single uncertainty in every way I can, repeatedly, often with no new information. This is self-perpetuating since there may be no exit from the circle of thoughts. My depression ebbs and flows and has done so throughout my life. The knowledge that it will inevitably return can make the fight against it sometimes feel hopeless.
The stigma around mental health challenges can cause many people to suffer in isolation. I wanted to put together an issue that spoke to those struggles so that readers who have also faced them may feel less alone.
Once again, artists across the world surprised me with their unique takes on our theme. While some of the work in this issue does touch on anxiety and depression, there is a greater variety of approaches to "over and over" represented. Other perspectives you will see explore cross-generational traditions, the mundanity of day-to-day life, measures of time, universal gestures or expressions, the human body's functionality and its wear-and-tear, memory, and rhythm.
It is always enlightening to see our themes from fresh perspectives that pull me out of my own interpretation and take me somewhere new. There is much more to notice over and over than just those persistent challenges that tend to consume my attention. As such, I hope that this issue not only sheds light on the prevalence of those isolating struggles but also reminds you of all the other facets of life that surface over and over.
I hope you enjoy Over & Over again and again.
Much love,
Kristie
--
Kristie Wickwire
Editor-in-Chief