Language

So there are these lessons I am learning along the way and one in particular that has had me thinking for some time is language and the usage thereof. I've always been interested in the words we choose and the meanings attributed to each particular concept as it relates to what we intend to convey; each person adds a hint of who they are and what they've experienced to their word choices. As a Mental Health professional I was always inclined to ask clients to tell me more about what they mean so that I may be able to understand them a bit more fully. You see when we pick words, whether they "form on their own" or "we look for them" it does not mean that they express or imply the same thing that others might despite words' universal conceptualization. "How is that possible?" one may ask, but it's fairly simple. Each individual speaks a different language.

It is difficult to fathom the thought of someone speaking English and one not being able to understand them, but nonetheless it occurs daily in our lives. Lacan, a theorist that focuses on language and signifiers that open ways to the unsayable teaches therapists to help their clients find the universal definition of words that will enable others to understand us better, that would enable the client to understand him/herself better in particular to see light in the cyclical pattern of trauma. (of course this is a super vague explanation of this theory and although it's not more complicated it is very multifaceted).


I have come to a place in my life where I now see that I need to study my own language; I need to find the words that can describe what was of me and what I've become in order to allow others to understand me, so that I can finally whisper and be heard (by them, but more importantly by me).