Similar Posts
Sharing – Talking to Others About My Mental Health
I do understand this. I don’t make a habit of talking about my mental health when I get to spend time with friends, even though many of them read this blog and know about my history. Mostly, that’s because we’ve bonded for years over other things like work, shared interests, music, etc. Talking about mental health just hasn’t been what we’ve done in the past when we’re together and it’s comfortable to simply slide right back into those same roles when we are together.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Talking about mental health doesn’t have to occur each and every time we communicate with friends. We all get to have fun nights out without having that deep of a conversation. But, talking about it some of the time lets everyone in the group know that, when they need it, they can talk about it.
Sharing – Recovery Doesn’t Have an Expiration Date
Expecting life to bend to our expectations and definition of what “complete” looks like will only lead to disappointment. Life is constantly in flux, full of ups and downs. Why anyone would expect treatment for mental health issues to somehow be different, is hard for me to explain.
Sharing – 11 Factors That Increase the Risk of Child Sexual Abuse
For example, if we know that kids who don’t understand boundaries, are lonely, live in stressful family situations, and do not have open communication with other people in their lives, are more likely to be sexually abused, what does that mean when a teen comes out and is not accepted by their family? Or when a blended family becomes dysfunctional, or a kid with disabilities is not taught boundaries but kept hidden away from others?
You have kids who are lonely, who don’t feel safe and loved, who don’t understand boundaries, etc.
If a kid who’s lonely and lacking in self esteem is at risk. And a kid who identifies as LGBTQ+ is at risk, can we stop for a minute and consider that it’s not being LGBTQ+ that is a risk factor, it’s how much more likely that kid is to be lonely and lacking in self-esteem?
And thus, the cycle continues. When it shouldn’t. We know what it is about disabled kids, kids from blended families, or LGBTQ+ kids that make them more prone to abuse, mental health issues, and suicide. It’s not their reality, it’s the responses to their reality that create the risk factors. The things that make them more likely to be loners, disconnected from family support, lacking safe adults to communicate with, etc.
So maybe we should focus on being more supportive of all kids?
And, since we’re on the topic and it is June. Happy Pride!
Sharing – What’s going on in depression to make negative beliefs so sticky?
I think this is important to understand because so often we assume that someone with negative thoughts or doubts about themselves and the people around them just needs to be shown some contradictory information and they’ll move away from it. For many of us, that is true. I can say “I’m bad at this”, or distrust people but if someone were to offer some contradictory facts I might be swayed fro that thinking.
When I was dealing with major depression? There was never enough contradictory evidence that would cause me to rethink my feelings, they were too powerful and they were too much a part of me.
RT @SurvivorNetwork: This Week’s Links (weekly): Personal Experiences of Depression tags: CA Depression Breaking the Silence About Men… …
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