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Welcome — You’re Not Alone Here

Hi, I’m Mike McBride. I’m a survivor of childhood abuse, and I’ve also walked through the deep valleys of depression, dissociation, and even a suicide attempt. This space is deeply personal to me — it’s where I share my journey, not because I seek recognition, but because I believe in the power of connection and the healing that comes from knowing you’re not alone.

This site is a safe place for survivors, supporters, and anyone seeking to understand the long road of healing. This site, along with all the social media accounts linked above, is dedicated to spreading awareness, education, and support for all survivors.

I’m glad you found it.

Here, you’ll find:

  • Personal reflections on trauma, recovery, and resilience
  • Educational resources about mental health and abuse
  • Curated articles and commentary on current issues affecting survivors
  • Community support through shared stories and experiences

I also share my interests in technology and photography on other sites because healing is also about rediscovering joy and creativity.

Whether you’re here to find hope, learn more, or support someone you care about, I’m happy you found your way here. Please feel free to explore, subscribe, and share — and remember, healing is possible, and you are never alone.

Latest Posts from the Blogs

  • When Stigma Hits The Ones We Love
    Can you imagine the double blow it must be to have your spouse struggling with addiction or severe mental illness, and know that your friends are likely avoiding you as well? Is there stigma directed at you for being married to someone with mental health issues?  The post When Stigma Hits The Ones We Love appeared first on Survivors News and Reviews.
  • What if we all need to dissociate?
    They are correct in adding that it exists on a spectrum, and while it may serve us when things are very stressful beyond our control, it can also become debilitating in its own way. Still, I think we all dissociate from time to time, and in our current social climate, it might not be the worst thing. We need to buffer ourselves and set boundaries that allow us to continue with our lives, even as things are messy around us.  The […]
  • Sharing – National Poll: Parents Say Mental Health and Belonging Are as Vital to School Safety as Building Security
    It seems many parents want schools to do more in this space, which makes sense, because mental health issues only get worse when kids grow up without support.  The post Sharing – National Poll: Parents Say Mental Health and Belonging Are as Vital to School Safety as Building Security appeared first on Survivors News and Reviews.
  • Sharing – How would a new bill requiring parental consent for mental health emergencies impact child sex abuse victims?
    One problem with blanket rules for everything is that there will always be a situation where the rule harms someone. Parental consent rules are one example. Sure, it's great when parents are involved in their kids' care. It's ideal, even.  That assumes they have good parents, though. When the thing a kid needs protection against is the parent, you can't demand the parent's consent for that. The post Sharing – How would a new bill requiring parental consent for mental health […]
  • Sharing – How Perfectionism and Childhood Trauma Are Connected
    As a kid, I needed everything to be perfect, not because I was some overachiever. It was because I knew in my heart and body that anything that wasn't right could create a violent situation. Any detail overlooked, any warning sign missed, or any wrong word could end up with me getting abused. It became a learned behavior like Pavlov's dogs. Any mistake created anxiety and fear of repercussion.  The post Sharing – How Perfectionism and Childhood Trauma Are Connected appeared […]
  • Sharing – Half a million Australians lack access to needed mental health services
    As I've said many times, I want to teach people that it's ok to reach out, which means that I also need to advocate for the resources to be available when someone does!  The post Sharing – Half a million Australians lack access to needed mental health services appeared first on Survivors News and Reviews.
  • Sharing – Why Deprivation May Be More Damaging Than Trauma in Childhood
    Why would a kid growing up in poverty, without enough food, and without the social support to succeed in school, feel any different about themselves as they enter adulthood? There's a connection there; good mental health is hard to find when the entire world tells you you're less-than.  Maybe we should stop viewing anyone as less-than and fight to make sure no kids go without.  The post Sharing – Why Deprivation May Be More Damaging Than Trauma in Childhood appeared first […]
  • Sharing – Strange Healing is Still Healing
    My biggest epiphany in therapy was the freedom to make my own life moving forward, because I had never felt I was allowed to do so. Going back to the person I was before I was abused would not have been that.  After all, everyone is changing all the time. Trauma or not, people move forward in their lives and change. Going back isn't a solution.  The post Sharing – Strange Healing is Still Healing appeared first on Survivors News and […]
  • Worth Reading – The mental toll of continuous transformation
    This feels like a small hand being raised in the corner of a deafening room, trying to point out the obvious. We're only human. We need a break. That unsettled feeling you get every day at work might not be imposter syndrome or everyday stress, but the sheer exhaustion of knowing that you can never pause and focus on getting work done. The skills and knowledge you have now will be worthless tomorrow.  The post Worth Reading – The mental toll of continuous transformation appeared first on Mike McBride Online. If you want to see more […]
  • Worth Reading – Learning AI Feels Like a Second Job
    It's no wonder that people are burning out professionally. Every week there are new things to learn, changes to deal with, strategies to reconsider, projects on deadlines, etc. We don't often get a chance to simply do the work, let alone rest.  The post Worth Reading – Learning AI Feels Like a Second Job appeared first on Mike McBride Online. If you want to see more like this, consider subscribing to the RSS Feed.
  • A Small Way Social Media can be a Mental Health Positive
    I know opening social media right now can feel like an open invitation to a never-ending scroll of rage. I've been avoiding much of it myself for the last few weeks, busying myself with travel and projects instead for the benefit of my mental health. I know, however, that the internet can be a source of inspiration, fun, community, and happiness. I need to commit to finding that rather than lazily scrolling through algorithmic feeds.  The post A Small Way Social Media can be a Mental Health Positive appeared first on Mike McBride Online. If you […]
  • The simple things that improve employee mental health
    Employees want to know they are being treated fairly and are trusted to find the best way to accomplish the required work. That doesn't seem so difficult. Both of these things reduce the risk of burnout, a phenomenon that is becoming a workplace hazard everywhere. You would think they were asking for the impossible from the way some companies act, though.  The post The simple things that improve employee mental health appeared first on Mike McBride Online. If you want to see more like this, consider subscribing to the RSS Feed.
  • Do You Feel Pressured to Work From the Plane?
    Years from now, is anyone going to remember that thing you tied yourself into a pretzel to complete while 30,000 feet in the air? It's unlikely. But your body and brain will be affected by the rest you didn't get. The goal of life is not to spend every minute being productive. There's so much more than that. The post Do You Feel Pressured to Work From the Plane? appeared first on Mike McBride Online. If you want to see more like this, consider subscribing to the RSS Feed.
  • Worth Reading – Poor mental health is driving young people out of their jobs. My own journey showed me how to help
    Then, when the labor market pendulum swings back the other way and there aren't enough qualified workers to fill the jobs that it turns out AI can't do, these same workplaces will come out talking about how they've always supported worker mental health, they even have an EAP hotline for workers! Could you not buy it for a second? If they aren't doing it now, they don't care. If they don't care, you owe them nothing more than what your wages buy them. This is what young people in the workplace understand, and many of us […]

Get in touch if you’re looking for a podcast guest to talk about child abuse or how to use blogging and social media to share stories of survival and mental health advocacy.