Easter eggs and another nugget

Easter egg, noun, delicious chocolatey goodness (except those small, solid ones that nobody really likes), but also, a secret feature, hidden element or inside joke in a piece of work such as a video game or film.

There’s an easter egg below – happy hunting!

50. It’s just a bilby in the bath

Attributed to ‘Mr Archimedes’ Bath’ Pamela Allen, 1998, Harper Collins

Look at this drawing – a bilby (small, furry Australian marsupial) is about to be blamed for the bath overflowing. But it’s not really the bilby’s fault. Lurking in the bath are some very big animals (DIMs). Sometime in life, we blame the small, or most recent concerns/problems/DIMs for the pain without recognising the bigger picture – DIMs (even big ones) can hide in hard to find places. Another way of thinking about it might be blaming the last glass of wine for your headaches the next day. Your ‘bilbies’ could be hearing certain words, fearing certain movements or even a worrisome thought.

Ponder this – sometimes when you think ‘have I got a headache?’, just this thought could be enough to tip you into a headache state. Identifying the difference between bilbies and alligators is an important part of recovery. You might not need to worry about every bilby but the DIMs in the bath need your attention.

The story of the bilby in the bath helps explain why minor injuries can become major problems, it powers up the use of the Protectometer, it challenges singular blame, it enhances emergent thinking and it encourages a wider search for contributions to pain states.

When you find the surprise, don’t spoil it for others, but feel free to share an I found it! below