On ‘Bird Box’: psychosis, empathy & the able gaze w/ James

Freyia (she/her) and her younger brother James (he/him) use the apocalyptic horror film, Bird Box, as an entry point to examine Freyia’s first psychotic episode, from both the internal and external perspective. 

#donthushthehysterics



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Content Warnings:

Discussions of mental illness - including psychosis and psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations; trauma; death - including suicide and violence throughout. 

There are specific mentions of the following topics at the time stamps provided:

33:21 - 33:33 - InCel culture

47:30 - 50:03 - The use of the word “psychotic” as a ‘playful insult’

55:55 - 56:25 - Racism

96:26 - 96:41 - Harry Potter 



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References:

What It’s Like To Be ‘Mind Blind’ - Nayantara Dutta

https://time.com/6155443/aphantasia-mind-blind/#:~:text=Aphantasia%20is%20often%20described%20as,unable%20to%20imagine%20most%20senses.



/



The Walking Dead

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520211/





A Beginners Guide To DID - The Entropy System

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkyMdbf5QIPF-xuh90wEMJ6hixqDo7gz_



Structural Dissociation- DIDR

https://did-research.org/origin/structural_dissociation/



Introduction To Structural Dissociation - The CTAD Clinic 

https://youtu.be/L9D8f8OgA3s



Memory and Trauma - Jessica Maguire 

https://youtu.be/0F3woISlV7o



Plural Selves - Meg-John Barker
https://www.rewriting-the-rules.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PluralSelvesZine.pdf



Parts Work Therapy - Dr Arielle Schwartz 

https://drarielleschwartz.com/parts-work-therapy-dr-arielle-schwartz/#.YuVIqBAo8go



/



What Is Alexithymia - Emily Nagoski

https://emilynagoski.bulletin.com/q-a-what-s-alexithymia/?section=comments



What Is Interoception? - Embodied Philosophy 

https://youtu.be/aJ8rtjHUcNk



/



White Gold

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6010920/



/



Between Bird Box and A Quiet Place: Blockbuster Depictions of Disability - Melinda C Hall

https://biopoliticalphilosophy.com/2018/12/31/between-bird-box-and-a-quiet-place-blockbuster-depictions-of-disability



Nothing About Us Without Us

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_About_Us_Without_Us#:~:text=%22Nothing%20About%20Us%20Without%20Us,s



Sia’s Movie: Another Autistic’s Response Because Y’All Won’t Listen - Tianasao

https://youtu.be/xMWdA-Xif7I



/



What Is Epigenetics? - Centers For Disease Control and Prevention 

https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm#:~:text=Epigenetics%20is%20the%20study%20of,body%20reads%20a%20DNA%20sequence.



/



Homeostasis vs Allostasis
- UChicago Online

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wcliBV3-WaE



Allostasis vs Allostatic Load - Active Health Clinic

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JeZ3Qmt91wA



Window Of Tolerance and Emotional Regulation (Dr Dan Siegal) - Lewis Psychology 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TNVlppGz0zM



/



This Is Experiential Learning - EBLS

https://youtu.be/0TeaFPSQsMY



/



The Meaning Of Bird Box | A Reflection Of Modern Society - Kevin Burke

https://headstuff.org/entertainment/film/film-features/bird-box-meaning



/



The Matrix
 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093



/



The Ghost of Christmas Past 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_of_Christmas_Past



/



Why Was Everyone Talking About Emotional Labour In 2018 -
Sophie Wilkinson 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/5ea9f140-f722-4214-bb57-8b84f9418a7e



/



What Exactly Is A Boggart? The Creepy History Of A Very Mancunian Monster? -
Saima Akhtar

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/what-exactly-boggart-creepy-history-23434917



Black Mirror: Playtest 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5709242/



Sour Hall - Laura Kirwan Ashman

https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Sour-Hall-Podcast/B08SM42H7T



Interview With Writer/Director Laura Kirwan-Ashman (Sour Hall) - The Final Girls Podcast

https://thefinalgirlspodcast.transistor.fm/episodes/interview-with-writer-director-laura-kirwan-ashman-sour-hall



/



“Canary in a coalmine”

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/canary-in-a-coalmine



/



Medusa

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Medusa-Greek-mythology



/



The Weeping Angels

https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Weeping_Angel



/



The Conjouring 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1457767/



/



Here's What The Monster In 'Bird Box' Actually Looked Like, According To Sandra Bullock -
Julia Emmanuele 

https://www.bustle.com/p/the-monster-in-bird-box-looked-like-a-long-fat-baby-with-a-green-face-according-to-star-sandra-bullock-15574116



Flanimals 

http://www.rickygervais.com/flanimals.php



Davros 

https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Davros



It Chapter Two - Grandma Scene 

https://youtu.be/SWt8NfN-gL4





The Trolley Problem | The Good Place | Comedy Bites 

https://youtu.be/DtRhrfhP5b4



The Trolley Dilemma: Would You Kill One Person To Save Five? - Laura D’Olimpio

https://theconversation.com/the-trolley-dilemma-would-you-kill-one-person-to-save-five-57111


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Credits:

H O S T

Freyia Lilian



G U E S T

James Swailes

NinebyNine (his music project)

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5WLA654NKqvLa7iekAjROp?si=2nSNQiE0SSKqo6dX9YWWmg

Bandcamp: https://ninebynine.bandcamp.com

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/nineby9



D I S T R I B U T I O N P A R T N E R

Strong365

Website: https://strong365.org



M E N T O R S H I P

Chantel Garret (she/her)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantelgarrett



M U S I C

Foxhunt (he/him)

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/foxhunt-official



S O U N D

Dr Ted Wickstead (he/him)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-wickstead/?originalSubdomain=uk

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3593-1222

Research Lab Page: https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/yuelab

Blog: https://notsomentalhealth.com/about

Instagram: @norestforthescientist

Twitter: @DrTedWickstead



A S S I S T A N T

Becca Vines (they/them)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-vines-3111b81b8



///

If you are concerned about your mental health, Folie À Deux always recommends turning to trusted members of your community first. 

In the words of Drs Amelia and Emily Nagoski:

“The cure for burnout isn’t self care, it’s all of us caring for each other.” 

Access allowing, spending your time and resources finding a supportive professional you gel with can be invaluable to your journey. 

If you are in crisis and you don’t know where to turn, Strong 365 hosts their own free 24 hour peer led online mental health chat which can be found here: 

https://www.7cups.com/p/strong365/?wla=strong365

A thorough list of mental health helplines for a range of countries can be found here:

https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm


The world is better with you in it.

Freyia Lilian

Multidisciplinary professional working in wellbeing and the arts.

https://www.freyialilian.co.uk
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