'It's okay to be vulnerable'

A colourful cross-shaped bouncy castle gently moves up and down by the glass walls of the UMC education centre. A blower keeps the structure upright. The hands of visitors seek out the exit from the colour cross and spread the flaps open. Three students appear in close succession, with their hair all messed up. 'And what did you think of the colour cross?' Dienke Bos smiles at the visitors. 'I was really in a different world for a while', the student replies.

"I thought: That’s it! The perfect sensory room"

The colour cross. An initiative sponsored by the UU, for the youth research theme Dynamics of Youth, and which started out as a Lowlands Science project. 'We had conceived a sensory room, a low-stimulus environment where you can come to your senses for a while. These are also often used for children with autism, for example.' Professor of Brain Developmental Disorders and initiator Sarah Durston was inspired by a different project. 'I was watching the Dutch children's news programme with my kids and saw a large green cocoon made by artist Florentijn Hofman. I thought: That’s it! The perfect sensory room.' And so the artist also ended up working for Durston and her team.

Bringing psychological vulnerability up for discussion

The aim of the colour cross is to initiate the conversation about psychological vulnerability. Co-initiator and researcher Dienke Bos explains: 'We want people to truly experience a different reality. What happens to you when you step into a completely different world? All of a sudden, you get a whole different set of stimuli. Just like people with mental health issues.' The attraction forms part of the #kletsbaar project [a Dutch play on words which means bringing vulnerability up for discussion], which also involves a study. Visitors first answer a number of questions about a case study in which someone has various psychological vulnerabilities.

Labelling mental health problems

The study also makes two medical students, Marc Hapegger (20) and Laura Slooter (19), think. Marc is against ‘labelling’ people as having psychological problems. 'Everyone has characteristics that tie in with specific labels. But what are these kinds of labels really worth? They were invented by humans. I don’t think anyone ever fits exactly into these kinds of boxes.' Laura counters: 'I agree, but sometimes a label can also be helpful. You can take other people into account more if you know that they struggle with certain things.'

Perceptions: light, sound and colour

The two students take off their shoes and get ready to enter the colour cross. Dienke gives them a little guidance: 'The idea is for you to go in and get different perceptions of light, colour and sound. So be sure to talk to each other and compare how you experience the different colours. You can get in here.' Several researchers help to hold the entrance open. One step further and the two students are briefly immersed in a different world.

"Everyone has a different experience, even though everyone has been in the same object"

'The yellow is a lot lighter. But blue is my favourite colour', Marc says afterwards. The colour cross is round in shape and lacks a clear horizon. 'It makes you a little seasick, somehow. It’s really odd that everything no longer seems straight. You feel a bit unbalanced. I hadn't expected that before I went in.' Sounds distort as soon as the students enter the green arm. 'My voice is heavier here. But other than that, it doesn’t affect me much', says Laura when the exit comes back into view. The researchers sometimes get that reaction too. 'All these individual differences underline exactly what is going on here. Everyone has a different experience, even though everyone has been in the same object', reports Sarah with enthusiasm.

Stigmas

The initiators mainly want to break through stigmas about psychological vulnerability. Sarah explains: 'In society, we secretly make value judgements about people who exhibit certain behaviours. If a child is too active to sit still for a long time in the classroom, he or she will soon be labelled as having ADHD. The implicit underlying standard is that we expect a child to be able to sit down for hours at a time. That's a choice we've made as a society. If we label this as an illness, we are turning hyperactive behaviour into a problem on the part of the child rather than his or her environment. Nonetheless, it is a clear interaction between the child and the environment.'

Helpful

The researchers do not deny the fact that labels can also be helpful. Dienke says: 'There is a bit of a conflict here. After all, you go to see a psychiatrist because various things aren’t going so well. In this case, a label can often provide a sense of relief or an explanation as to why things aren’t going well in your life, but also simply access to care.'

Harmful

On the other hand, of course, labels can also be harmful. Dienke continues: 'When it comes to autism, most people think of children who aren't good at making friends or engaging in social contact. But this paints a very generalised picture. It doesn't say anything about all people with autism and can really form an obstacle. That’s what we want to break through. Forget the label and just look at the person in front of you.' She hopes that people will start to talk more about their psychological vulnerabilities. 'In many cases, a label says very little about who you are as a person or your strengths. I hope that people will become more aware of this. 'It's okay to talk about vulnerability. It's okay to be vulnerable.'

The colour cross will be on display at the Dutch Innovation Days in Enschede, Lowlands, the Weekend of Science and at the Betweter festival.