This Week’s Links (weekly)
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
tags: CA ChildAbuse
Column: Depression thrives on secrecy and isolation – it’s time to speak out
tags: CA Depression
5 Mistakes People Make When Managing Their Depression
tags: CA Depression
Depression, Anxiety and Life’s Ups and Downs
tags: CA Depression
How to Trust People Again | After Trauma
tags: CA ChildAbuse
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Growing up, I was timid and socially awkward. There are other reasons for this, but let’s be honest, hiding my secrets and being much too busy surviving to bother with learning social skills played a big role. I had to learn later in life; even at age 54, I’m still learning. If you find yourself in the same situation, perhaps one of these could help. If you know of a teen or child, who could use some help with social skills, there are items on the list for them too.
This is part of the connection we need for our mental health. It’s not clear that AI tools can provide this. It’s not human. It’s the illusion of connection when our humanity deserves the real thing. AI can supplement; it is always available and provides access to a wealth of information, but it can’t provide a real human connection.
One of the struggles that I had as an abuse survivor, and one that I know other survivors have talked about, is defining who we are. Take everyone else away, remove all the ways we define ourselves based on our relationships with others – son, daughter, spouse, brother, sister, parent, coworker, friend, employee, boss, etc.
Who are you? As I often say, when you’re too busy trying to survive the chaos of an abusive childhood, you don’t get the guidance that would help figure this out. So we exist in these relationships with family, friends, and romantic partners, and we don’t know who we are outside of how they see us.
I’ve been saying it for years. Any article that claims to identify the “one thing” you need for your mental health is a lie. There is no one thing that works for everyone, but trying everything will help you identify what works for you. The things that are good for you anyway, like eating right, exercising, learning, social connections, etc., will only help. Why not do them?