Upgrading
I’m in the midst of upgrading both of the blogs here to the latest version of WordPress. Seems like everything is working, but if you find a problem around here, hit the email link above and let me know about it!
Similar Posts
Link – The Benefits for Children When Adults Take Good Care of Themselves
This is something we don’t take seriously enough. We seem to do the opposite, admiring the parents who are overstressed, overworked, over-everything, instead of the ones who take care of themselves. All this month in our HRI blogs, we’re looking at protective factors against child abuse. At first glance, it may seem counter-intuitive that self-care…
Link – Let’s Talk About Depression
I’ve said it before. If you don’t think you know anyone whose life is being impacted by depression, you’re just not paying attention. Depression is a common illness, affecting more than 350 million people of all ages around the world. It’s currently the number one cause of disability, and is predicted to be the number…
Sharing – Why Is It So Hard to Explain Mental Illness?
In 2022 we could say the same thing about “sad” but I would argue that we see the same thing even more so with the word “anxious” or “having anxiety”.
Of course, with a war going on in Ukraine, two years’ worth of pandemic, political turmoil, and everything else we see when we tune into whatever news source we follow, almost everyone would consider themselves anxious, so how do we differentiate between being anxious about the state of the world, and the kind of anxiety where we are consistently dealing with panic attacks at the very thought of leaving the house?
We don’t have a different word for that. We only have anxiety, or panic, which again, just seem like normal reactions to what is going on around us.
On top of that, when I try and describe my anxiety to someone, even if I can get them to understand that it’s something more than just watching the news and feeling a bit nervous, I can’t really describe it. I don’t understand it. If I did, I might be able to just fix it and be better, but I don’t.
Mental Health Blogs
Kevin has put together what he’s calling the “The Best Mental Health Blogs We’ve Found (So Far)” over on the Blunt-Therapy website.
He was kind enough to list this little blog among the 49 blogs that are already listed, and he’s taking suggestions for more.
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that we really need more information, education, and support, when it comes to mental health. Maybe consider checking out his list, following these bloggers on social media of through email or RSS subscriptions, and spend some quality time finding better mental health?
Link – Does Non-Verbal Mental Health Stigma Exist?
I’ve seen and experienced the things Laura talks about in the first paragraph, but don’t really recall anyone giving me odd looks. “I see unspoken mental health stigma primarily as people’s behaviors toward those with mental illness. While many wouldn’t argue that avoidance, discrimination, and bullying can all factor into stigmatizing behavior, there is one type of…
Sharing – How to Respond When Mental Health Advice Feels Like Judgment
Look, I get it, you tried something and it helped you, or you’ve seen it help someone else. Clearly, you are excited about the possibility of helping others, but you’re forgetting something. You’re forgetting that the person you are sharing this advice with, isn’t you.
When you come walking into a conversation with friends, or especially into online communities with statements like the ones above, the message you are actually sending is “Gee, fixing this is easy, you’re just doing it wrong”.
Imagine using those actual words towards someone you barely know. You wouldn’t, would you? At least if you’re a decent human being, you wouldn’t. But you are totally willing to take your beliefs, your own experience, and completely railroad another person’s current reality with it, you are doing something awfully similar. In a moment of emotional vulnerability, you have come in, guns blazing, with the suggestion that all of this pain they are in, and all of this struggling they are going through, should have been easy to avoid.
