Additional Personas

[billiedemott]

Use SHL as a model & Spillnow streams to help construct 3-4 more personas.

[billiedemott]

@akshatpradhan - if you have time, can you put this in Omni format to send to Marina & Hamza.

Kate

Kate is a generally happy, well-functioning human being. She laughs frequently & has lots of friends. She is able to keep up with her schoolwork, but can get very anxious & overwhelmed by the quantity of work she needs to get done. She feels fine when everything is in control, but when things start getting a little out of control she is easily frazzled. No one would describe Kate as having “mental health issues,” but she does find it helpful to see a therapist to keep herself centered. She knows she is an anxious person & knows that she has to manage that anxiety to make sure it doesn’t consume her.

Quote: “I’m happy, but my anxiety is always in the background. And I know it can flare up & upturn my life.”

Characteristics

• Female student, 20
• Generally happy & well-functioning
• Can have bursts of overwhelming anxiety
• Doesn’t seem to have “mental health issues”
• sees a therapist to manage anxiety/keep things stable

Goals

• prevent anxiety from interfering in life plans
• express anxious feelings so they don’t balloon
• figure out what triggers anxiety
• figure out & employ methods to alleviate anxiety

Questions

• What do I do when I feel overwhelmed & out of control?
• What makes me super anxious? What are my triggers?
• What techniques can I use to manage my anxiety?

Frustrations

• Finds it difficult to deal with overwhelming anxiety
• Doesn’t know methods to deal with anxiety
• Doesn’t want anxiety to define her life
• Doesn’t want methods of dealing with anxiety to interfere with her life

[billiedemott]

Tim

Tim is an unusual character, but has found his niche on his college campus. He is a stellar pianist, gets good grades, gets along with other students and has a core set of close friends . He however suffers from terrible insomnia and can sometimes go days without sleeping. The combination of not sleeping & having to keep up with school deadlines overwhelms him. He feels shaky & out of control often. He is incredibly stressed out when he tries to sleep and is not able to. When he can’t sleep, he feels he is wasting time, but also can’t concentrate because he is so tired. He takes sleeping pills, but they don’t help fully. He also knows they cause addiction. He goes to a therapist to talk about these problems, worries and general life issues. He was told that therapy can help insomnia. As well he goes to get prescribed sleeping pills. He often has to explain his sleeping problems to his professors because he has to get deadline extensions. He hates doing this.

Quote: “My sleeping problems lead to anxiety problems & a feeling of being out of control. I still however enjoy life & my friends.”

Characteristics

• Male student, 21, Harvard College
• Suffers from insomnia
• Gets very anxious b/c keeping up with workload when exhausted is difficult
• Still gets good grades & is very social
• Sees a therapist to talk about how insomnia interferes with daily life & ability to thrive

Goals

• prevent insomnia/anxiety from interfering in life plans
• figure out & employ methods to deal with insomnia & ensuing anxiety
• figure out how to talk to professors to explain his situation
• figure out if there are insomnia triggers he can control for
• express the feelings he has so he feels less out of control

Questions

• What do I do when I haven’t slept for days & have tons of work?
• What triggers my insomnia? Is my insomnia & anxiety related?
• What techniques can I use to manage my insomnia & the anxiety that results?
• Will I be able to lead a normal life with this problem?
• What keeps me smiling even though I have this problem?

Frustrations

• Finds it difficult to deal with not sleeping & keeping up with work
• Doesn’t know methods to deal with insomnia
• Doesn’t want insomnia to define his life
• Doesn’t want methods of dealing with insomnia to interfere with his life
• Wants to live like a normal person

[billiedemott]

Sam

Sam has been dating a girl for a year that he’s not sure he wants to be with. She is attractive, but he finds her boring. In fact, his friends joke about what a bore she is. It is really stressing him out. His girlfriend is really nice to him & very attentive, but he’s not into it. This has happened before so he wonders if it’s just him. He also struggles with the idea of breaking up with her. The thought of breaking up & not knowing when he’ll meet someone else makes him nervous. Since his friends make fun of his girlfriend, he doesn’t feel like he can get objective advice from them that he can act on. He does regularly talk to them about relationship issues, but this is serious. He sees a therapist every once in a while to go over issues like this. He always has since he was a little kid.

Quote: “Should I stay with my girlfriend or shouldn’t I? How can I break up with her without her hating me?”

Characteristics

• Male student, 22, Connecticut College
• Uncertain about what to do about his long-term relationship
• Gets anxious thinking about breaking up with his girlfriend & whether he will meet someone else
• Sees a therapist off and on to talk about various life issues that are bothering him

Goals

• figure out how to deal with this girlfriend situation
• try to understand if he’s been feeling more happy or unhappy
• try to understand how his happiness/unhappiness is related to his girlfriend & the things they do together
• express his feelings so he feels better

Questions

• Should I break up with my girlfriend?
• Does the time I share with her make me happy/unhappy?
• Will she hate me after I break up with her? Will I regret it?
• Will I find someone who likes me as much again?
• Do I have a commitment problem generally that will affect my future?

Frustrations

• Doesn’t feel like he can get an objective opinion from people he knows
• Hates feeling nervous/guilty about thinking about breaking up
• Doesn’t know if he’s happy/unhappy when he spends time with his girlfriend

[billiedemott]

Xiawu

Xiawu is a perfectionist. She attends a very prestigious university & was top of her class in high school. She was on the swim team at her boarding school & was such a good violinist that she was accepted to the most famous conservatories in the States. She feels immense pressure to be perfect in every facet of her life – in academics, in her musical talents & physically. Her obsession with perfection has led her to develop an eating disorder. She swims 2 hours a day & fasts regularly. She constantly thinks about food and her calorie intake. Her hair is beginning to fall out & she mentions this several times to her freshman roommates. Her roommates let their Resident Counselor (an older student that lives on their floor) know about Xiawu’s problem. The RC holds a floor meeting to let all the residents know about the mental health services offered because he doesn’t want to single Xiawu out. This meeting makes something click in Xiawu & she investigates seeing a therapist online. She wouldn’t want to visit the counseling center on campus because that would tarnish her image of perfection.

Quote: “I’m obsessed with being perfect & my obsession might be getting out of control. Why is this happening?”

Characteristics

• Female student, 18, Williams College
• Perfectionist
• Likes being social, but doesn’t form close connections
• Obsessed with controlling food intake
• Articulates having a problem, but simultaneously denies & doesn’t address problem

Goals

• Try to find myself & understand what I’m doing to myself
• Be happy with myself as I am
• Get healthy & stop dying to be perfect

Questions

• Do I need to talk to a therapist?
• Do I have an eating disorder?
• Am I happy or unhappy?
• Why do I feel like I need to be perfect?

Frustrations

• Strives for an unreachable level of perfection
• Wants to eat, but stresses that it will make her imperfect & unattractive
• Doesn’t know how to feel happy & what makes her happy

[billiedemott]

See dropmark personas folder.