Apologies for the delay today, looks like there may be some technical difficulties with getting the post automatically from Diigo to here again!
It’s all forward-looking. It celebrates how far I’ve come without constantly constantly reminding myself of what I haven’t done. In Todd’s words, it allows me to simply be human, like every other adult. In the end, isn’t that what we all want, to not see ourselves as the freak abuse survivor, but as an adult like other adults? With strengths and weaknesses, with quirks, and with success alongside failures?
We need to let ourselves be human and create a life where we can feel safe to be human.
“PTSD not only affects one’s mental health but it can negatively affect one’s marriage as well. The symptoms of PTSD can create problems with trust, closeness, intimacy, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving, often giving rise to the destruction of relationships. The loss of interest in social activities, hobbies, or sex can lead to one’s partner feeling…
I’m not a researcher but these two facts make me wonder if there’s not something we can do.
If we have a list of “nudges” that can help people feel like they belong or help educate people about things like safety plans, etc. and we don’t know who is at risk and which nudge might help them, maybe we should just continue to generally be kind to the people around us. That means trying to understand what makes them feel supported, connected, etc., and doing those things consistently. It also means noticing if a “nudge” has the opposite effect, and trying something different instead.
Help people feel like they belong, educate people about prevention resources, help them stay connected to family and friends, involve them, accept them, etc.
Help your friends and loved ones by communicating the kinds of things that help you. When you feel disconnected or like you are a burden, what can they do to keep you connected? What things do they do that make it worse?
When we don’t talk about these things we only make it worse, and we only continue to lose more people. We have to learn how to have these conversations. We have to be open to listening to the people closest to us and connecting to them without stigma and judgment. The researchers will keep working to learn more about prevention, but in the meantime simply caring about each other and being honest with each other is the best tool we have. We should use it.
Yes it should, I don’t know how many studies we need, or why we even need studies to show us, that getting to a mental health condition early is always better than later! The message I try to leave with teens is that they are not alone. Millions of people around the world live with…
“I too have been both disheartened and dismayed at the recent conversations I have had with others on the topic of educational campaigns, especially in relation to campaigns focussed at younger children. Comments such as the following have been made by those not willing to discuss abuse with their children: “The childhood years are so…
