MonnaMo

Live in the moment – it is A present, not just the present

MonnaMo: A Journey of Healing and Resilience

This catalogue features a deeply personal collection of self-portraits, capturing the raw emotions of abuse, self-discovery, resilience, transformation, and healing. MonnaMo is more than art—it is a visual testament to survival, strength, and the ever-evolving journey of reclaiming the self.

Surviving Narcissistic Abuse – 2020

Donald Winnicott coined the term “false self” to account for the carefully designed persona that most narcissists put out into the world. This is not an authentic expression of self—it’s a costume or disguise.

Spending long periods with a narcissist negatively impacts an individual, and breaking away from one is soul-tearing. A lot of self-reflection and self-healing are needed to recover and remember who you are and not who they made you out to be.

Verbal abuse usually happens in private where no one else can intervene and eventually becomes a regular form of communication within a relationship. For people experiencing it, verbal abuse is often isolating since it chips away at your self-esteem making it more difficult to reach out to a friend. Many people who experience it rationalize the abuse in their minds and don’t even realize it’s an unhealthy form of communication. But that doesn’t make it any less distressing or mentally exhausting for people on the receiving end. Ultimately, verbal abuse is a means of maintaining power and control over another in the relationship.

You are perfect just the way you are….just need to change one thing: everything about yourself.
Change is difficult, uncomfortable, unpleasant and every part of our being resists change.
Change can be beautiful, flourishing, and refreshing. From the ashes comes the Phoenix

Tired of hiding. Tired of looking over my shoulder. Tired of wondering what is next? New lies or the same old same old. I’m breaking free and I’m going to live my life like there is no tomorrow. Continue spying and spreading rumors, I’m no longer looking back. Gossipers only tell you what they want you to know. Those who gossip to you, also gossip about you. Gossip holds some truth and rumors are just unethical information. Perhaps its perception is flawed. Take care in where you place your trust.

That feeling when one finds themselves surrounded by friends, acquaintances, and associates and you have never felt more alone. That feeling of vulnerability creeps in. Act “normal” and no one will see through the cracks. No one will see your true self. Loneliness creeps in deeper as one fears rejection or judgment to show one’s true self.

I’m tired of being tired.  I feel drained, empty, like there is nothing left inside of me. The world is a little broken at the moment. On every side I turn and look, and I see exhausted faces. Faces barely hanging on. It’s not a picture that inspires hope or courage.  I feel like a dried-out bone…even the marrow is long dried up. Not even the vultures see a reason to circle.

Just so tired of being tired.

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We all have something we hid from the view of others and from ourselves. No one is perfect. We all have selfishness and negativity in us. But how much we feed is, determines which becomes the strongest – the light or the shadow…

“Exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.” She might be vulnerable, but she does not wait to be rescued. She is strong. Strong enough to pick herself up and put herself back together, one piece at a time. She is vulnerable, and it is in her vulnerability that she is strong.

She is strong.

She will stand.

This way. That way. Up. Down. Anxiety. Holding breath. Frustration. Submerge. Break free. Breakthrough. Change patterns. This pattern. That pattern. Every pattern. Which one first? Find balance. Change thinking. Change brain. Holding breath. Remember to breathe. Need sleep. Not more time. Not enough time. Check this. Check that. This way. That way.

F%ck!

Breath, just f%cking breathe!

They say your body makes itself sick of your thoughts. So, it stands to reason that by your thoughts you can heal your body as well.