DICTIONARY

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Title: Creative Balance Dictionary: Share Your Words for Wellbeing

About Creative Balance: Creative Balance is Scotland's first research project exploring mental health and wellbeing for racialised* people in the creative industries.

About the Dictionary: One thing that came through strongly in our research is that "mental health" doesn't translate directly across all cultures and languages. For many of us, wellbeing is understood through different words, concepts and frameworks that aren't captured in mainstream Western terminology.

We're creating a multilingual creative wellbeing dictionary that celebrates these differences and shares the richness of how our communities understand and talk about wellbeing.

What we're looking for:

We want to hear from you. Are there words, phrases or concepts from your language, culture or community that describe:

  • Wellbeing, wellness or feeling good

  • Mental health, emotional balance or inner peace

  • Struggle, difficulty or hardship

  • Grief, loss or sadness

  • Community care, collective support or togetherness

  • Healing, restoration or recovery

  • Feeling unwell, unbalanced or not yourself

  • Concepts that don't have a direct English translation

How to Contribute: You can share your words by:

Please include:

  • The word or phrase

  • The language it comes from

  • What it means or how it's used

  • Any context about why this word matters to you (optional)

Please note: We won't include slurs, hate speech, or language that demeans any group of people. We're also screening to ensure submissions respect the dignity of the communities they come from. Language is constantly evolving; meanings shift, words get reclaimed, and context matters. Our linguists and translators will aid in navigating these complexities. If you're sharing a word that's been reclaimed or has complex cultural history, please include context so our team understands the full picture.

What happens next: Your contributions will be designed into a printed and digital dictionary, which will be launched at the Creative Balance Wellbeing Festival in June in Glasgow. Contributors will be credited (or can remain anonymous if preferred). We will also be using the assistance of linguists to ensure we are remaining authentic to your contributions. 

Deadline: 20th May 2026 

*We define racialised as people with Black African, North African, Caribbean, Asian, West Asian, Pacific Island, Indigenous and/or Latin American heritage who experience racism due to the colour of their skin, ethnicity, or heritage.